Weather Challenges for Emerging Modes of Aerial Transportation

Flight operations are sensitive to weather impacts, and this sensitivity is increasing with decreasing size of an aircraft. Moreover, complex environments like mountainous terrain, thunderstorms, and urban landscapes pose particular challenges for conducting safe, efficient and reliable flight operations.

We pay particular attention to the weather hazards for emerging modes of air transportation in urban landscapes, like unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and urban air mobility (UAM). We examine the current weather observing infrastructure and weather guidance capabilities in terms of their ability to support future UAS and UAM operations in select urban environments across the United States. We characterize the range of aviation weather hazards by location, season, and time of day. Results will be discussed that should help guide operators in their planning for aircraft design, fleet mix, and operational real-time weather support needs.