ER-2 Flight: 96109

Date: April 27, 1996

Mission: Coordinated flight between ER-2, DC-8 and TC-39 over ARM CART site during time of NOAA-14 satellite satellite overpass.

Mission Objectives

T-39 and DC-8 coordinated flight patterns to sample contrails and exhaust. CART site overflown by ER-2, DC-8 and T-39 for combined ground-based uplooking and ER-2 based downlooking characterization of clouds.

Observe cirrus and contrails during overpass of the NOAA-14 satellite to assist in the development of satellite remote sensing techniques.

Flight Summary

Take-off time was 1600 UTC with landing at 2135 UTC. ER-2 flew to ARM CART site and flew racetrack patterns oriented approximately 10 degrees off the DC-8 orientation and in the opposite direction. At 1916 UTC ER-2 changed orientation of racetrack to be in the principle plane of the sun for coordination with the satellite overpass.

Highlights

Approximately 20 passes over the ARM CART site including coincident data with NOAA-14 (ER-2 over CART site at 1946 UTC).

Instrument Status

• MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS): Operated. Good data collected.
• Cloud Aerosol Lidar System (CALS): Operated. Good data collected.
• High-Resolution Interferometer Sounder (HIS): Operated. Good data collected.
• Millimeter-wave Imaging Radiometer(MIR): Operated. Good data collected.
• Tilt Scan CCD Camera (TSCC): Operated. Good data collected.
• Radiation Measuring System (RAMS): Operated. Good data collected.
• RC-10 Camera: Operated (black and white visible film- 6 inch lens).

Additional Pilot Notes: Solid overcast conditions over the ARM CART site until near the end of the mission when clouds began to break-up north of the site. At 1956 UTC ER-2 passed over a contrail but pilot wasn't sure if it was generated by the DC-8 or commercial aircraft. Pilot noted that from time to time cirrus overcast seemed to be casued by commerical acircraft. Pilot observed contrail remnents during mission.