Calibration of NASA Turbulent Air Motion Measurement System

A turbulent air motion measurement system (TAMMS) was integrated onboard the Lockheed 188 Electra airplane (designated NASA 429) based at the Wallops Flight Facility in support of the NASA role in global tropospheric research. The system provides air motion and turbulence measurements from an airborne platform which is capable of sampling tropospheric and planetary boundary-layer conditions. TAMMS consists of a gust probe with free-rotating vanes mounted on a 3.7-m epoxy-graphite composite nose boom, a high-resolution inertial navigation system (INS), and data acquisition system. A variation of the tower flyby method augmented with radar tracking was implemented for the calibration of static pressure position error and air temperature probe. Additional flight calibration maneuvers were performed remote from the tower in homogeneous atmospheric conditions. System hardware and instrumentation are described and the calibration procedures discussed. Calibration and flight results are presented to illustrate the overall ability of the system to determine the three-component ambient wind fields during straight and level flight conditions.

[1]  M. V. Cook.  Dynamics of Flight , 1997 .

[2]  B. Anderson,et al.  Airborne boundary layer flux measurements of trace species over Canadian boreal forest and northern wetland regions , 1994 .

[3]  J. Collins,et al.  Airborne flux measurements of trace species in an Arctic boundary layer , 1992 .

[4]  Andrew E. Nelius,et al.  Guide to measurement of winds with instrumented aircraft , 1991 .

[5]  Carl A. Friehe,et al.  Analysis of a Radome Air-Motion System on a Twin-Jet Aircraft for Boundary-Layer Research , 1991 .

[6]  D. Lenschow,et al.  Airborne flux measurements and budget estimates of trace species over the Amazon Basin during the GTE/ABLE 2B expedition. [Global Tropospheric Experiment/Amazon Boundary Layer Experiment] , 1990 .

[7]  K.,et al.  The Meteorological Measurement System on the NASA ER-2 Aircraft , 1990 .

[8]  Edward A. Haering,et al.  Airdata calibration of a high-performance aircraft for measuring atmospheric wind profiles , 1990 .

[9]  L. J. Ehernberger,et al.  An in-flight technique for wind measurement in support of the space shuttle program , 1989 .

[10]  J. Barrick,et al.  The development of an air motion measurement system for NASA's Electra aircraft , 1987 .

[11]  D. Cahoon,et al.  The use of a numerical filter to correct airborne temperature measurements for the effects of sensor lag , 1987 .

[12]  H. Lenschow,et al.  Probing the atmospheric boundary layer , 1986 .

[13]  E N Brown.  Calibration of the NCAR Sabreliner Research Static Pressure Source With a Trailing Cone Assembly , 1985 .

[14]  D. Lenschow,et al.  The Use of Pressure Fluctuations on the Nose of an Aircraft for Measuring Air Motion , 1983 .

[15]  Albert G DeAnda.  AFFTC Standard Airspeed Calibration Procedures , 1981 .

[16]  W. Gracey.  Measurement of aircraft speed and altitude , 1981 .

[17]  M. Lemone,et al.  A Comparison of Turbulence Measurements from Aircraft , 1980 .

[18]  T. J. Larson,et al.  Wind tunnel investigation of an all flush orifice air data system for a large subsonic aircraft. [conducted in a Langley 8 foot transonic pressure tunnel , 1980 .

[19]  The status of air motion measurements on NCAR aircraft , 1978 .

[20]  R. Reinking,et al.  A small aircraft gust-probe system for studies of boundary layer convection and transport , 1978 .

[21]  J. W. Telford,et al.  The Measurement of Air Motion from Aircraft , 1977 .

[22]  C. Meissner.  A flight instrumentation system for acquisition of atmospheric turbulence data , 1976 .

[23]  A. Buck.  The Variable-Path Lyman-Alpha Hygrometer and Its Operating Characteristics. , 1976 .

[24]  J. W. Telford,et al.  The Measurement of Horizontal Air Motion near Clouds from Aircraft. , 1974 .

[25]  L. D. Webb,et al.  Flight calibration tests of a nose-boom-mounted fixed hemispherical flow-direction sensor , 1973 .

[26]  J. McCarthy.  A Method for Correcting Airborne Temperature Data for Sensor Response Time , 1973 .

[27]  H. Lenschow,et al.  The measurement of air velocity and temperature using the NCAR Buffalo Aircraft Measuring System , 1972 .

[28]  Donald H. Lenschow.  Vanes for sensing incidence angles of the air from an aircraft , 1971 .

[29]  R Richardson Norman.  Dynamics and Static Wind-Tunnel Tests of a Flow-Direction Vane , 1971 .

[30]  W. R. Fried,et al.  Avionics Navigation Systems , 1969 .

[31]  D. N. Axford,et al.  On the Accuracy of Wind Measurements Using an Inertial Platform in an Aircraft, and an Example of a Measurement of the Vertical Mesostructure of the Atmosphere. , 1968 .

[32]  Richard V. DeLeo,et al.  FLIGHT CALIBRATION OF AIRCRAFT STATIC PRESSURE SYSTEMS , 1966 .

[33]  Charles Broxmeyer,et al.  Inertial navigation systems , 1964 .

[34]  William Gracey.  Measurement of static pressure on aircraft , 1958 .

[35]  J Ford Johnston,et al.  Error in Airspeed Measurement Due to the Static-Pressure Field Ahead of an Airplane at Transonic Speeds , 1955 .

[36]  A. S. Iberall,et al.  Attenuation of Oscillatory Pressures in Instrument Lines , 1950, Journal of Fluids Engineering.

[37]  William Letko.  Investigation of the fuselage interference on a Pitot-static tube extending forward from the nose of the fuselage , 1947 .

[38]  R. J. List.  Smithsonian Meteorological Tables , 2018, Nature.