Sunday, 11 June

T-28 Flight 754

Project Flight 9

Take Off ~ 21:15 GMT

Return to Base: 22:35 GMT

Pilot: Tom Root

 

The aircraft mission targeted a vigorous cell 55 nmi northwest of CHILL.   This storm evolved into an asymmetric MCS as the mission progressed and the storm moved eastward.  A long pass was made northwestward from the near (inflow) side well into the stratiform region to the northwest, with a return pass to the southeast.   A second northwestward pass was made just through a convective core on the leading edge, followed by  an exit eastward out of the front of the storm. Heavy icing conditions and vigorous updrafts were encountered. On the last pass the pilot encountered some difficulty in keeping the engine running.   Hail to ¾ of an inch was noted by mesonet and ballooning crews underneath the storm.  At least one balloon was launched into the storm near the T-28 position during the aircraft mission.

 

The storm went through phases where the CG activity was mainly positive, then mainly negative.  The LMA also indicated extensive horizontal flashes during some periods.

 

The DMT liquid water sensor was lost during the first pass to the northwest. The HVPS image recording was intermittent beginning about this time. Peak updrafts were <~10 m s^-1 and peak cloud water concentrations were ~ 1.5 g m^-3.  Good precipitation particle images were obtained from the 2D-C and hail spectrometer.