| Aircraft
Maneuvers |
| Instrument Acronym |
Preferred Maneuvers |
Dropsondes |
Unfavorable Maneuvers |
Unfavorable WX Conditions |
| ARMAR |
Level flight lines; Some banking desired |
One near data collection area (no rain/light
rain) |
|
|
| AVAPS |
|
|
Sharp turns |
Heavy rain, large hydrometeors |
| CAPAC |
|
|
Steep (>1000 feet per minute) descents
and ascents |
|
| JPL SAW |
|
|
Rapid descent from cold, dry conditions
to warm, humid conditions |
Rain |
| Laser Hygrometer |
|
|
Sharp turns may affect optical alignment. |
Rain on ground |
| LASE |
Moderate to high altitude (> 25 kft) |
|
Attitudes where zenith port axis is <
15 deg. relative to sun |
Clouds (data collected between aircraft
& clouds) |
| LIP |
Straight, level flight paths;
1-2 Banking maneuvers required per experiment for
calibration |
|
|
|
| MACAWS |
Straight lines at constant altitudes
of 1000 - 41000 ft; Spiral ascents/descents in optically-clear eye; Orbits
of 5-30 km diameter over a ground point |
1-2 per mission in relatively clear area |
Frequent changes in heading or altitude;
Exceeding ground speed of 450 kt; Drift angle < 10 degrees |
Optically-dense clouds, precipitation,
extremely clean air |
| MMS |
Five sinusoidal pitching cycles,
five sinusoidal yawing cycles, and square box pattern spanning 0-360 deg of heading.
Once per flight in "calm" air at a specific MACH number for instrument calibration
|
|
|
cold wet cloud encounters |
| PSR |
Straight and level flight at altitudes
between 30,000' and 45,000' from at least two different non-orthogonal
flight directions Brief 60o left rolls
|
3-5 per mission |
None |
None |
