5.7
A small aircraft for more than just ozone: MetAir's 'DIMONA' after ten years of evolving development
Bruno Neininger, MetAir AG, Menzingen, Switzerland; and W. Fuchs, M. Baeumle, A. Volz-Thomas, A. S. H. Prévôt, and J. Dommen
As Crawford et al. (in this issue) are proposing, more and more environmental parameters can be captured by compact sensors, enabling small aircraft as suitable carriers (concept SERA: The Small Environmental Research Aircraft).
MetAir has started in 1990 to equip advanced, self launching double-seated motorgliders with long endurance with a variety of meteorological and chemical sensors. Such single-engined aircraft with relatively large wing-span and high aerodynamic performance have several advantages: it was possible to equip and certify both aircraft (the original "Stemme S-10" and the new "Dimona", which is operated since 1998) with large underwing pods. In each of the two pods, 50 kg of equipment can be flown in a basically undisturbed environment. Another 30 kg are carried in the fuselage.
Five steps in the development led to a powerful tool for atmospheric research: (i) In 1990 we started with O3, NO2, temperature, moisture, mean wind. (ii) In 1993/94, a complete gas-chromatography system, which measures more than 30 VOC-species between C4 and C10 down to 10 ppt, was integrated in one of the pods. The chromatograms (like all other parameters) are displayed in real-time to the operator during the flight. Many international field-observations around major cities (Berlin, Vienna, Milano, Paris), and within the Alps (to study, e.g., vertical exchange) profited from this capability. (iii) In 1996, the wind-measurement was upgraded to 3-d with 10 Hz temporal resolution. A fast CO2/H2O-sensor allows eddy-flux-studies since then. (iv) In 1998, a six-channel (parallel) Luminol-detector for NO2 with converters for NOx, NOy, NOy-HNO3, NOx+PAN, and Ox (O3+NO2) was developed and integrated, together with monitors for formaldehyde, and peroxides. With this "full set" of photochemical parameters, successful research was done in 1998/1999. (v) This year, a redundant CO2/H2O system and a fast (10Hz) and sensitive monitor for carbon monoxide is added (optionally exchangeable with HCHO and H2O2).
All these developments were paired with strong efforts to maintain high quality standards for the measurements, which was demonstrated in a number of quality assurance excercises. So, SERA is not just a future concept for MetAir and it's partners - it flies.
Session 5, Aircraft Platforms and Airborne Measurements
Tuesday, 16 January 2001, 8:00 AM-12:00 PM
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