HOW DO YOU FLY INTO A HURRICANE?

Where other pilots veer away in panic, Hurricane Hunters just keep going: They steer their aircraft straight into one of nature’s most powerful phenomena. When the first tropical storms of the season appear over the Atlantic in May or June each year, the fearless fliers will once again put their lives on the line—in the service of science…

SENSORS The Lockheed WC-130J is a modified version of the C-130 Hercules that is adapted for weather reconnaissance. It is equipped with an SFMR or “smurf” radiometer to measure surface wind and rainfall—but it does not have any special structural reinforcement. MINIMAL TEAM At least five crew members are aboard every flight. Three (pilot, copilot, flight engineer) are necessary just to keep the plane in the air. The other two are weather officers charged with compiling data. RELIABLE AIRCRAFT The C-130 was originally designed for military transport: It could take off from short and unprepared airstrips and had the ability to fly with one engine disabled. Today the aircraft is equipped with four Allison T56-A-15 turboprop powerplants that produce 4,590 hp each. It will take another 36 hours before the monster will have rumbled its way…

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iD (Ideas & Discoveries) (Digital) - 1 Issue, May 2018

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