September 2009: In a period of two months a series of flight tests with two differents aircraft has been performed. The Metro II research aircraft of NLR and the Safire test aircraft of Météo France flew in different areas over the Netherlands, Germany, France and Spain to come as close as possible to adverse weather situations like thunderstorms and icing. Both flight tests have yielded a great amount of data, which is now being analysed. In addition these flights marked the first time that real-time weather reports relayed from the ground - via a Satellite data link - have ever been combined with information derived from a new weather radar system installed on board.
FLYSAFE in thunderstorms
Last summer the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) has successfully completed 21 weather-related measurement flights for the European Union project FLYSAFE.
As part of the FLYSAFE project, NLR's Metro II research aircraft regularly flew nearby thunderstorms over a period of two months, as the pilots searched for storm clouds. These flights marked the first time that real-time weather forecasts relayed from the ground - via a Satellite data link - have ever been combined with information derived from a weather radar system installed on board the Metro II, with the combined results then displayed on a test screen in the aircraft cabin.
Never before has weather information onboard an aircraft been obtained and processed in this way. By combining weather forecasts received from the ground with the data from the onboard weather radar system, thunderstorms can be located with high reliability. Moreover, it also becomes immediately apparent what lies behind the thundercloud: is another thundercloud approaching? And how fast is it developing? Current radar systems cannot determine this. This improved presentation of weather conditions ultimately aims to improve flight efficiency, flight capacity and flight safety during bad weather.
A new Rockwell Collins Multiscan radar was installed on board the Metro II for these test flights. Once airborne, ice and storm-related weather data was relayed to the aircraft from ground stations. DLR (Germany's version of the NLR), UK Met Office, Meteo France and the University of Hanover (Germany) provided the weather data. Spain's GTD, Portugal's Skysoft and France’s Rockwell Collins were responsible for the software that combined the ground and onboard weather data. The Metro II flew near storm clouds over the Netherlands, Germany, France and Spain.
The FLYSAFE project aims to improve the integration of information flows in the cockpit, which will in turn raise the pilot's 'situational awareness', thus allowing pilots to better anticipate potentially dangerous situations. The better a pilot understands his location, the location of other aircraft, and the weather patterns, the better able the pilot is to make the right decisions.
FLYSAFE therefore focuses on reducing accidents caused by collisions with other aircraft or ground objects (such as mountains), and accidents caused by bad weather. The test flights conducted by the NLR concerned only those aspects related to weather conditions.
FLYSAFE
FLYSAFE stands for Airborne Integrated Systems for Safety Improvement, Flight Hazard Protection and all Weather Operations. The project involves 36 partners from 14 countries and has a budget of 53 million euro. It is partially funded by the EU under the Sixth Framework Programme
The Metro II's test flights yielded a great amount of data, which is now being analysed. The results of this analysis will be used for various other projects, including CleanSky, a major European Union joint technology initiative aimed at developing the greener aircraft of the future.
More information:
NLR
Ingrid Leeuwangh
leeuwangh@nlr.nl
+31 (0)20-5113663/+31 (0)6-13289669
The publication only reflects the authors’ view and the Community is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
