The Next-Generation Wyoming King Air Research Aircraft: Plans and Opportunities

The University of Wyoming King Air (UWKA) aircraft is part of the NSF Lower Atmospheric Observing Facilities (LAOF) Program. The aircraft is deployed frequently in support of NSF-funded research, and occasionally as part of other federally- or privately-funded field campaigns. With the aircraft approaching the end of its useful life, we have embarked on a 5 year initiative, funded by NSF and the University of Wyoming, to build the next-generation King Air (UWKA-2). This facility will be built to not only meet the needs of the NSF-supported community within its current niche in the LAOF fleet, but will include new instruments and capabilities that are not currently available on any of the three LAOF aircraft. Specifically, we will convert a relatively new, slightly larger King Air aircraft into an atmospheric research platform more capable than the current aircraft, equip it with instruments that allow new research perspectives, and bring these new capabilities to a technical readiness level and a data accessibility level where they can be requested and used by the NSF-funded community.

The new instruments will enhance the UWKA’s already strong tropospheric profiling capabilities, in particular clear-air measurements of humidity, temperature, aerosol, and 3D winds (Raman lidar and Doppler lidar) and improved measurements of cloud and precipitation properties (dual-frequency mm-wave radar system). These remote sensors, deployed in synergy, together with a suite of atmospheric chemistry probes, will make the UWKA-2 a supreme yet cost-effective airborne lab for transformational research and to train the next generation of observational atmospheric scientists. An advanced air-to-ground communication technology will give scientists and students an immersive and highly-informed flight experience from the ground, thus enabling remote flight decisions. Within the scope of our Cooperative Agreement with NSF, this facility will be available to other federal agencies or institutions for targeted airborne atmospheric observations, as long as such deployments do not interfere with NSF-funded campaigns.