Hurricane observation and parametric estimation using the Aerosonde.

Monitoring hurricanes remotely and economically has long been the goal of the Aerosonde miniature unmanned aircraft project. The 14kg, 3m wingspan aircraft's record setting crossing of the Atlantic in 1998 demonstrated that the aircraft provides capabilities that did not exist before. Over 1000 flight hours through conditions ranging through severe thunderstorms, hail, and a microburst have demonstrated the aircraft's capacity for observing severe weather. The addition of satellite communications to the Aerosonde have increased the scope of possible missions to include hurricane observations.

Methods for conducting hurricane observations using the Aerosonde miniature unmanned aircraft will be presented. These include: strategies for realtime adaptive flight planning while penetrating and returning from hurricanes in winds greater than the aircraft's airspeed (i.e. autonomous entry and escape from a hurricane), realtime estimation of cyclonic parameters from aircraft data, and hardware and software mission simulation. Flight results from the Japanese Aerosonde Typhoon Reconnaissance Missions (September-October 2000) will also be presented.