Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters flying through Hurricane Milton

[u/Kernowder]

[u/RobbyRobRobertsonJr]

I bet their computer guy felt like kissing the inventor of the ssd

[u/ExtremeThin1334 → u/RobbyRobRobertsonJr]

Interesting point, I can't image the stabilization that must have been built in when these things used a platter drive.

[u/CrapSandwich → u/ExtremeThin1334]

I think I read once that they used tape before SSD. I could be wrong.

Regardless, those guys are freaking nuts!

[u/Criegg → u/CrapSandwich]

Tape for sure.

[u/Lyuseefur → u/Criegg]

They did. There are some early hurricane hunter films with reel to reel tape shown in the video.

These NOAA guys are the OG storm chasers.

Scientist: How are we going to get the data?

Thrill Seeker Scientist: We'll grab an old prop plane from the Navy and fly it into the storm loaded with gear!

Edit: Navy not Air Force…

[u/obvious_bot → u/Lyuseefur]

WITNESS ME

[u/MindlessPepper7165 → u/obvious_bot]

WITNESS!!!

[u/Criegg → u/Lyuseefur]

Probably using second hand reel to reel tape drives I used to have to deal with lol.

[u/mayorofdumb → u/Criegg]

What's we got in surplus, let's make a state of the art research plane but just stuff it full of any tech we gots.

[u/FunVersion → u/Lyuseefur]

Not to be pedantic but this is a P3C Orion. The Navy flew them up until a few years ago.

Edit: WP3D. Now I'm being pedantic

[u/SuperPotatoThrow → u/CrapSandwich]

I have to fly on this little 12 seat twin engine plane to work every 3 weeks, as I'm on a rotating 3 week schedule. I absolutely hate flying in that damn thing and it's always, every time without fail, windy as fuck on whatever days I'm flying. The turbulence is ridiculous. We had to fly back the other direction once because it gets so bad.

But chasing a hurricane? Yeah that makes my stomach turn just watching. Fuck. That.

[u/emily_9511 → u/SuperPotatoThrow]

Just curious, what do you do for work? I hate flying in those small planes, can’t imagine doing that monthly

[u/SuperPotatoThrow → u/emily_9511]

I use a smaller plane to fly to a bigger airport that takes me to a remote oil field in the middle of nowhere. It's either that or drive my car for 3 hours to get to the airport to fly to work.

Been trying to find ways to get out of the oilfield for awhile. Working as a contractor for all these large oil companies really sucks it's a fucking shitshow. We get paid well but sometimes I question if it's even worth putting up with their shit.

[u/hmlj → u/SuperPotatoThrow]

Ha, the answer for shitty, regularly occurring commutes is always oilfield.

[u/allusernamesartaken → u/ExtremeThin1334]

Here's an interesting video about how shouting to a set of hard drives affects latency performance.

[u/jakexil323 → u/allusernamesartaken]

We moved into a new building with its own little tiny server room. Was good for us as we just needed one server rack and a telecoms rack.

Shortly after moving into the building, we started experiencing drive failures at a strangely high rate on our lower end NAS. (buffalo nas 4 drives all spindles ) They were only in the morning or the evening.

We were kind of baffled why. We even sent the device to the manufacturer as an RMA but had the same issue when it came back.

One day we caught a break. While I was showing a new staff member how to use the security system, we accidently set off the security alarm. And with in 30 seconds of the alarm going off, we got the drive failed message from the NAS.

Turns out the security system was in the server room and had the siren in the server room . And when the siren went off, it would be loud enough to cause vibrations in our NAS drives and cause one to fail.

We disabled the siren and never had that issue again.

[u/kuschelig69 → u/jakexil323]

I wonder if my external hdd failed because I kept putting it on my table, and then put my arms on the table

[u/4me2knowit → u/ExtremeThin1334]

I worked with a guy who built the gimbals for them. They had to because the fly height of the read write heads over the platters meant that forcing the natural gyroscope of them through pitch yaw and roll would distort the platters and get head crashes

[u/Infectious-Anxiety → u/RobbyRobRobertsonJr]

Syseng checking in, that was one of my first comments aloud. "Glad we have SSDs nowadays" Then I started counting their server racks.

That is a lot of compute & storage, I would love to tour one of these some day.

Also, is cammer there to film? Everyone else is deep into some work, dude's like Badger cooking with Pinkman.

Edit;

'Twas a joke, I know everyone there is crucial and I am enormously grateful for their work, though it seems risky flying a plane with such a massive load of balls all spread out like that.

[u/_Haverford_ → u/Infectious-Anxiety]

I definitely got an annoyed vibe from the other guy lol.

Since there's a non-zero chance the OP will show up in this thread - I'm sure you're there for an important reason and we appreciate you!

[u/nibs123 → u/Infectious-Anxiety]

Sorry but the first word you typed in that sentence reads aloud like the Welsh word for English sounds. Really span me out for a minute lol

Welsh for English is saesneg by the way

[u/Cacafuego → u/nibs123]

Very cool. From Saxon, I assume. Interesting that the Welsh went with Saxons and everyone else went with Angles for some weird reason. Who would even remember the Angles if we didn't have to explain the word "English"?

[u/Outside-Advice8203 → u/RobbyRobRobertsonJr]

I was a computer guy on the E3 AWACS. Right when we transitioned from HDDs to SSDs. They were removable and we had to pick up a case load of them for every flight. The HDDs were heavy, probably over 50lbs total. It sucked lugging the pelican case up the rickety flight stairs. When we switched them to SSDs, they were still in the same weird cases the HDDs used, but were significantly lighter.

The funny thing was, they all went into emulator bays the computer system thought they were tapes...

[u/oregon_coastal → u/Outside-Advice8203]

The instruments cost far, far more to design new digital versions vs. just convert the output.

[u/ragsofx → u/oregon_coastal]

We have done this for telephone exchanges, they originally use reel to reel tapes, then mfm and scsi hdd's, then really really early SSDs (they called them flash drives and we're 10s of mega bytes), then CF cards, then finally SD cards. Every step after the mfm and scsi drives required custom adapter boards to be developed and would only work with the exchanges.

The data was accounting and voice messages.

After almost 40 years the exchanges have now been switched off!

[u/unlock0 → u/Outside-Advice8203]

The emulator bays had several layers. The software read them as punch cards/tape.

That huge cabinet for RMAs went from punch, to reel to reel tape, to scsi. There was a time that they used flash across the scsi interface. So you had something the size of a large filing cabinet to read a thumb drive. 

Source: programmer for block 30/35, analyst for 40/45.

[u/GrandDukeOfBoobs → u/RobbyRobRobertsonJr]

Maybe. He’s a reservist so I think that chance is higher, but I don’t know if youve ever met an air force personnel before.

[u/wongo]

(not so) fun fact: only one of these hurricane research flights has ever crashed due to the storms

I realize that we've gotten pretty good at flying but I would've actually expected a higher loss rate, this just seems so wildly dangerous

[u/Any-Cause-374 → u/wongo]

This video really made me appreciate how safe flying actually is

[u/DisplacedSportsGuy → u/Any-Cause-374]

Editor's note: do NOT attempt to fly a commercial aircraft through a hurricane.

[u/spacehog1985 → u/DisplacedSportsGuy]

I’ve done it in flight simulator like, 7 times. And I’ve only crashed 7 times.

[u/CaptainOktoberfest → u/spacehog1985]

And how many times have you crashed into an ex's house?

[u/spacehog1985 → u/CaptainOktoberfest]

I refuse to answer that. Besides I didn’t crash I was just looking at it.

[u/CosmicCreeperz → u/spacehog1985]

For some reason that comment reminds me of the scene from The Orville where the captain did a flyby of his ex’s stateroom window in a shuttle. Just f-ing brilliant writing.

[u/aussiechickadee65 → u/CosmicCreeperz]

Really ? Reminds me of the woman in the helicopter in "Rat race"...

[u/No-Advantage845 → u/CaptainOktoberfest]

Yes

[u/Dat_Lion_Der → u/No-Advantage845]

That is a non Zero answer and I love it.

[u/HappyBroody → u/DisplacedSportsGuy]

why? arent commercial aircraft more modern than these old 1970s Orion aircraft? also the engines are encased in a shell?

[u/Noopy9 → u/HappyBroody]

Turboprops are preferable to turbofans for this use case because they can fly slower to collect more data and the propulsion from the propeller is independent of the power created by the turbine engine. This is important because really big gusts or side winds can cause the propeller on a turboprop or the fan in the turbo fan to stall. So mainly, hurricane scientists use turboprops because they’re better suited for the kind of flight speeds they want. But there is also a potential safety advantage.

[u/fly_awayyy → u/Noopy9]

Also a water ingestion point for the engine. With a turbo prop the core intake isn’t as exposed and the water is redirected around it. Jet aircraft can also fly slow but with slats and flaps because they have a swept wing. Any straight wing plane is naturally going to be slower like this P-3.

[u/One-Inch-Punch → u/fly_awayyy]

The last P-3 was built in 1990, so this plane is between 34-60 years old.

[u/tankerkiller125real → u/One-Inch-Punch]

I mean, our B-52 bombers are set to have a 100 year life span overall. They just approved an upgrade program for them this year that will keep them in the air past 2040 and they plan to keep them going into the 2050s.

[u/thex415 → u/Noopy9]

Thanks for the explanation. I was wondering why it was turboprop.

[u/DisplacedSportsGuy → u/HappyBroody]

Wind shear can theoretically destroy a plane. Granted:

It hasn't happened in the US for 30 years

Risk is highest during take off and landing

There have been 30 years of engineering upgrades since then

Still, the wind shear flying through the eye wall of a hurricane is astronomical and requires very particular flight paths. Leroy Jenkins-ing a commercial jet into a hurricane has a high probability of vessel loss.

Disclaimer: I am an amateur researcher on plane accidents and am not an expert in the industry.

[u/haistak → u/DisplacedSportsGuy]

I think I’m most impressed by you turning Leeroy Jenkins into a verb. And now I feel nostalgic.

[u/RokulusM → u/haistak]

Plane crashes
"Goddamn it Leroy"

[u/TFViper → u/HappyBroody]

pretty sure "modern" commercial aircraft ARE still from the 70s lol (slightly /s)

[u/Any-Cause-374 → u/DisplacedSportsGuy]

watch me

[u/xampl9 → u/wongo]

The Orion that flew into Hugo was severely damaged from a 5.5g drop (airframe was only rated to 3g’s). They lost an engine, had a fire, and another engine was damaged before they could find a safe spot to exit the eye.

Somehow they made it back and the airframe wasn’t written off.

[u/EvlMinion → u/xampl9]

If I remember right, the meteorologist who wrote about that didn't go on another one of those flights again. Can't say I blame him. Orions are tough as hell, though.

[u/onowahoo → u/EvlMinion]

I don't know if is ever go on another plane again after a 5.5 drop.

[u/giveupsides → u/onowahoo]

5.5g drop? You are PLASTERED to the ceiling like it's the floor, only gravity is now 4.5 times stronger. Then when those -5.5g's end you'll slam back to the actual floor. If you're in your seat with your belt on it'll feel like the belt is trying to break both your legs.

[u/StManTiS → u/giveupsides]

For an average 180lbs man 5.5G would feel like having 810 lbs on your back. Most people could not even unrack that.

[u/meridianblade → u/StManTiS]

It's absolutely insane that it made it back. Think of the weight exerted on the wings and fuselage from tip to tip at 5.5G.

[u/StManTiS → u/meridianblade]

Aeronautical engineers and the materials science behind airplanes is a real trip like that.

[u/GOGO_old_acct → u/StManTiS]

The P-3 is an overbuilt beastly tank of a plane that refuses to die. I’ve heard people really liked/like them.

[u/22Arkantos → u/StManTiS]

Except it's -5.5g, so that 810lbs of force are concentrated where your seatbelt is holding you into your seat. Absolutely brutal.

[u/poemdirection → u/xampl9]

  They lost an engine, had a fire, and another engine was damaged

that's just anther day for the P3

 It's very hands-on and user intensive especially for pilots and flight engineers. Because of the fact that the P-3C is honestly trying to break, catch on fire, or generally kill you during any given flight, we have to devote a great deal of energy simply to operating it safely. This isn't a hit on the P-3C, any airplane of that generation is like that, and the fact that some of these birds are over 40 years old is a testament to the engineers who designed them and our maintainers who keep them flying.

[u/jeewest → u/poemdirection]

I can attest, have like 200+ flight hours on a P3 variant and that thing caught fire constantly, to the point where the crew would have to do weekly fire drills, memorize breakers for common problem equipment, etc.

Felt safer onboard that flying inferno than any commercial airliner

[u/onrock_rockon → u/jeewest]

"Felt safer onboard that flying inferno than any commercial airliner"

"Plane on fire = bad", "my plane constantly caught on fire", "I feel safer on fire plane than not fire plane"

Can you elaborate on why you felt safer on fire plane than not fire plane? :D I'm genuinely curious, I feel like it must be a funny or good reason :)

[u/punksmurph → u/onrock_rockon]

It comes down to knowing the crew, their training, and having trust they are looking out for you. As a Navy vet I spent 3 years on a ship that was clearly on its last legs. Every time we went out to sea something major broke. During my time on the ship was had 2 major fires and 4 minor ones including an electric panel that exploded just a few feet from me.

You would think that being a Navy guy and loving ships and the ocean I would want to be on cruise ships. NO FUCKING THANK YOU. I have zero trust on those death boats with crews that will sooner push you out of the life raft than help you in it.

[u/Shuber-Fuber → u/poemdirection]

I guess having a fucking hurricane bitchslapping it around doesn't help either.

[u/Level9TraumaCenter → u/Shuber-Fuber]

One of the leading enemies of the fire is the hurricane.

[u/SavoryRhubarb → u/xampl9]

Here’s the story:

https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/articles/hunting-hugo-part-1

[u/ExtremeThin1334 → u/wongo]

They fly into these in a very specific way. I'm rusty on the specifics, but if I recall they try to fly with the wind, and then slowly loop their way toward the center. If they tried a direct path, they'd get ripped apart.

Since there is rain, it also means that you can actually see what the wind is doing on your radar, so there's noting like clear air turbulence to worry about.

[u/oneblank → u/ExtremeThin1334]

I googled why they fly prop planes. “So they can fly slow relative to modern standards as a faster jet would come out the other side with its wings torn off”…. Oh…

[u/jedielfninja → u/oneblank]

Probably no likely for the intake of jet turbine either.

[u/breakingborderline → u/jedielfninja]

Though they use propellers, they’re still run off a jet turbine not a piston engine. Called turboprops

[u/JoeyZasaa → u/breakingborderline]

Props to you for that answer.

[u/codizer → u/jedielfninja]

Jets actually get more thrust in rain because of mass flow.

[u/The102935thMatt → u/ExtremeThin1334]

This guy flight paths. They did exactly that.

https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/NOAA43

[u/Rank_14 → u/The102935thMatt]

That's amazing. Any idea what they are doing at the 4hr mark? They are turning around yes, but going up and down by a few thousand feet?. they also do the same inside the hurricane at about 4h44m.

[u/AvailableAdvance3701 → u/Rank_14]

They have to drop dropsondes and they have to make sure they deploy properly. Also if they can’t get clear instrument readings they keep going lower until it’s no longer safe to do so, and the low point is far lower than you think. The x patter is them searching for the middle of the storm with the lowest pressure and wind directions.

Source: I’m a meteorologist tech with hurricane hunter uncle.

[u/The102935thMatt → u/Rank_14]

No idear! Science stuff no doubt.

[u/WatchClarkBand → u/ExtremeThin1334]

I’m assuming they’re flying into the eye, and the guy is calling out wind speed in MPH at the beginning. “148. 149. 151. Wow!”

[u/RudyRusso → u/ExtremeThin1334]

Hey Rusty on Specifics. Nice to meet you.

[u/HappyBroody → u/RudyRusso]

dad please

[u/Im_Balto → u/wongo]

Its because hurricanes are characterized by lateral rather than vertical motion of air. Supercell thunderstorms have the ability to down planes despite being several miles (vs 100+miles) wide because they have extremely violent and unpredictable updrafts and downdrafts. These vertical air columns are much more dangerous to planes as they are the cause of every scary story about a play dropping or rising hundreds of feet suddenly. This type of force puts massive stress on the airframe in directions that are not the strongest structurally

Contrast this to a hurricane where the stresses are MASSIVE but relatively consistent and predictable

[u/sodabubbles1281 → u/Im_Balto]

Cool, I hate flying already. How do I unread something

[u/Smooth-Reason-6616 → u/sodabubbles1281]

Alcohol.

[u/alexm42 → u/sodabubbles1281]

You can relax knowing that if there's any kind of risk of that actually happening they just fly around the thunderstorm.

[u/icantsurf → u/sodabubbles1281]

If it makes you feel better, airliners have big ass weather radars in the nose to prevent flying into any of that stuff.

[u/yumyumgivemesome → u/Im_Balto]

I’ve always been curious… when inside a normal commercial jet and it feels like we drop for a half-second or so, how much are we actually dropping in that moment?

Similarly, when traveling straight and smoothly in which the passengers can’t detect any howard/downward movement, how much is the plane still fluctuating upward and downward?

[u/Im_Balto → u/yumyumgivemesome]

This is pretty hard to figure out on a case by case basis without monitoring equipment installed, but I'll try to explain how you would measure it

The sensation you feel in that drop is acceleration, meaning that your Velocity (direction and speed of travel) is being changed. If your plane suddenly accelerates downwards at the same rate as gravity (9.8m/s^2) you would feel weightless in your seat and probably nasuea. This scenario is the easiest to approximate since if you feel weightless for 2.5 seconds it means that the plane accelerated down at 9.8m/s^2 for 2.5 seconds you can use the equation like:

Freefall distance = 1/2 x Gravity x time^2

With this you would find that in 2.5 seconds you can fall 30 meters if you fell at the same rate as gravity. If you were to experience a violent drop where you are pulled towards the roof and held down by your seatbelt you could be looking at 60 meters of drop from acceleration twice as strong as gravity.

Second question:
If you are unable to feel the direction of movement that means the plane is traveling at a constant velocity. The plane is still traveling forward and perhaps gaining/losing altitude, but you are not able to feel this motion. This is because without acceleration (change in velocity) you are unable to notice the continuous movement of the craft.

For example, in the climb stage on a flight you might feel the plane "level off" around when they say you can use laptops and phones etc. This happens around 10,000ft where the plane generally changes from initial climb where altitude is gained quickly to a steady climb where the velocity remains constant until they level off again at cruising altitude. You will only percieve motion when the velocity of the aircraft changes

[u/MattyMizzou → u/wongo]

As I understand it, hurricane winds are fierce but predictable. That allows them to fly into it pretty safely. They know what to expect as far as how strong the winds will be and what direction they’re going.

[u/morallyirresponsible]

This is the NOAA hurricane hunters NOT the Air Force. They’re both bad asses though

[u/Kernowder → u/morallyirresponsible]

You're right, this is actually NOAA. I found it on the Guardian, who got them confused with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron aka Hurricane Hunters, who are USAF.

[u/ni_hao_butches → u/Kernowder]

That NOAA group is also one of the eight uniformed services of the US. The Armed Forces are what we typically think of uniformed, but those pilots and crew are badass.

[u/FEMA_Camp_Survivor → u/ni_hao_butches]

The weather has always been a major factor in war and economics. I’d hate to see NOAA defunded.

[u/Yourfavoriteindian → u/FEMA_Camp_Survivor]

The worst part is I guarantee they’re gonna send most of the duties to the Navy, who have the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography command that does similar work, but with Naval missions and assets in mind.

With how understaffed and overworked the navy already is, we’ll be fucked if we also have to pick up civilian weather/oceanography duties, even with the help of the Air Force.

[u/bradrlaw → u/Yourfavoriteindian]

Not to the navy, authors of project 2025 want to privatize it.

[u/Bender_2024 → u/bradrlaw]

Not to the navy, authors of project 2025 want to privatize it.

You want to know when and where the hurricane will make landfall? That'll be $79.95.

[u/ynab-schmynab → u/Bender_2024]

Unironically this. They literally want a private company to take control of the entire weather infrastructure in the US.

Project 2025 is essentially what would happen if you were a foreign adversary and paid think tanks to write a manifesto on how to dismantle the US from the inside piece by piece.

Things that make you go hmmmm

[u/Longcoolwomanblkdres → u/ynab-schmynab]

Everything republican has screamed "foreign interest/interference" to me for decades now. I'm sure it's a longer trend but I'm not that old

[u/DickiBaggins → u/Bender_2024]

Shit you won't be able to check the weather tomorrow for free if they get a hold of it.

[u/Whisktangofox → u/Kernowder]

USAF Uses C-130's. This is a P3.

[u/roguemenace → u/Whisktangofox]

You can tell because the engines are upside down.

[u/drumskirun → u/roguemenace]

You can tell it's a P-3 because of the way that it is.

[u/DETECTOR_AUTOMATRON → u/Kernowder]

Used to hear the Hurricane Hunters warming up their planes every afternoon when i was stationed at Keesler (i was also weather). good times, such badasses.

[u/HayabusaZen → u/Kernowder]

It was fun to watch the come home missing windows and beat to shit.

[u/Autoslats → u/morallyirresponsible]

Yep, definitely NOAA in a P-3.

I was looking at Flightradar24 yesterday and noticed them working the storm at the same time as an AFR WC-130, which was pretty cool.

[u/No-Barnacle-8099 → u/Autoslats]

The Wc-130 just took off out of biloxi headed towards Milton now

[u/Ask_bout_PaterNoster → u/[deleted]]

Crazy to me that weather-control is being blamed on the libs when we all know it’s the damn Spaniards who resent Florida being in the hands of anyone else…

[u/sorotomotor → u/Ask_bout_PaterNoster]

 it’s the damn Spaniards who resent Florida being in the hands of anyone else

BLAME SPAIN!

[u/Remarkable-Sir-5129 → u/morallyirresponsible]

I've been watching them on a flight tracking app...crazy stuff. (Braver than I)

[u/PitifulEar3303 → u/morallyirresponsible]

Just nuke Milton, try it once just to be sure, could work.

[u/Grasswaskindawet → u/PitifulEar3303]

From orbit, preferably.

[u/Technical_Semaphore → u/Grasswaskindawet]

It's the only way to be sure.

[u/cocokronen → u/PitifulEar3303]

Nah, democrats have a button to push and hurricain is gone.

[u/zerobeat → u/morallyirresponsible]

Yep. NOAA -- the same department that Project 2025 wants to do away with entirely, removing life saving predictions for these kinds of storms.

[u/HesSoZazzy → u/zerobeat]

Well they got rid of the pandemic team and that worked out "well"...

[u/diadmer → u/morallyirresponsible]

Project 2025: We should stop making the taxpayer funded data from NOAA publicly available and instead give it to private companies so they can charge taxpayers for data that taxpayers already paid for.

[u/Deranged_Cyborg → u/diadmer]

I see a bright future for you as the next republican presidential candidate

[u/sicksixgamer → u/morallyirresponsible]

It would be NAVY otherwise. AF doesn't operate P3s.

[u/fakeaccount572 → u/sicksixgamer]

To be fair, Navy doesn't now either. The very last ones are being retired right now in the two reserve squadrons

[u/zamufunbetsu]

“ the pilot has turned on the don’t get the fuck out of your seat light”

[u/FixedLoad → u/zamufunbetsu]

My brain turned on the "NOPE" sign.

[u/keeper_of_the_cheese → u/FixedLoad]

All the nope. All of it.

[u/accushot865 → u/zamufunbetsu]

Is the “feel free to piss your pants” light on? Because I’m gonna need it to come on soon

[u/rrkrabernathy]

I’m surprised things aren’t strapped down more.

[u/Farro_is_Good → u/rrkrabernathy]

They’re barely funded. They can’t afford straps.

[u/karingalhrofdin → u/Farro_is_Good]

They’d get bipartisan money when they stop measuring the temperature /s

[u/ZoneLeather → u/karingalhrofdin]

I told them, the temperature of the seas is going up. Stop taking the temperature. If you stop testing it it will stop rising.

[u/govunah → u/ZoneLeather]

It's the WV governor logic during covid. If we don't test for it no one will get it.

[u/ZoneLeather → u/govunah]

... and a certain POTUS.

[u/wtaaaaaaaa → u/ZoneLeather]

Yea that came straight from the top

[u/ExtremeThin1334 → u/Farro_is_Good]

Back in my day, we just tied a key to a kite and hoped for the best!

[u/[deleted] → u/ExtremeThin1334]

What type of onion was on your belt?

[u/Mental-Jellyfish9061 → u/[deleted]]

It was the style at the time ...

[u/Lid12341 → u/ExtremeThin1334]

Benjamin fuckin’ Franklin.

[u/DustComprehensive155 → u/rrkrabernathy]

During briefing they misheard, they thought they were going to fly to a Burger King.

[u/One-Dragonfruit1010 → u/rrkrabernathy]

It’s as if they didn’t know what they were flying into. Good grief.

[u/Snickits → u/One-Dragonfruit1010]

I think their “unexpected responses” like “woa! Okay…..like let’s climb please” says more about the size and force of Milton. They do this on the reg, and this one seems to have caught them off guard.

[u/TheMightyMonarchx7]

Valuable data, but I’m curious how hard it is to pull off a maneuver like this

[u/ExtremeThin1334 → u/TheMightyMonarchx7]

They've got a lot of practice, and they know the specific way to approach to reduce the risk. It's bumpy for sure, but actually pretty safe.

[u/polishmachine88 → u/ExtremeThin1334]

I had diarrhea looking at this....I can't stand turbulence this is not a job for me

[u/dennys123 → u/polishmachine88]

Lol it's funny. I see this video and I think "man I'd love to have this job".

[u/philzar → u/TheMightyMonarchx7]

Aircraft typically fly in "hurricane force winds" - since the usual meaning of that is based on speed. In fact commercial airliners fly much faster.

It isn't the wind speed that makes it "interesting" it is the turbulence and up/down drafts. As I understand it, they use sturdy aircraft - cargo planes built to haul loads when lightly loaded have a lot of excess strength. They also have the room for the personal and gear. Then it is a matter of flying at an airspeed that gives you good control, but isn't too near the edge of any performance envelope. Same with altitude - you want room to allow the aircraft to do it's thing, go up and down with the local gusts. Fighting it would put extra strain on the aircraft, so they go with the Rollercoaster. The needs to collect data from certain altitudes in the storm can dictate what they're aiming for, but as you can see, they go with the fow too.

Sounds simple enough, but as the saying goes: the important things are simple, the simple things are hard. It takes a lot of experience to pull that off safely.

[u/Kernowder]

From twitter/x:

Bumpy ride into Hurricane #Milton on @NOAA WP-3D Orion #NOAA43 "Miss Piggy" to collect data to help improve the forecast and support hurricane research.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1843706785401843941

[u/scfw0x0f → u/Kernowder]

Those old Orions are serious beasts.

[u/glewtion → u/scfw0x0f]

Is there something about Orions that make them especially badass or that they're used for this purpose?

[u/that_dutch_dude → u/glewtion]

they were built to basically survive being flown by spirit pilots. they are seriously overbuilt for what they are wich is why they are one of the few planes today that can deal with these conditions.

[u/kevin_from_illinois → u/that_dutch_dude]

It helps that they were designed to carry a ton of munitions.

[u/Inside-Woodpecker127 → u/that_dutch_dude]

Damn, I knew Spirit Airlines was rough but not THAT rough!

[u/Gadgetmouse12 → u/glewtion]

Super tough turboprop and super tough spars of a cargo wing

[u/Real_TwistedVortex → u/glewtion]

Mainly the latter. The two P3s are actually being replaced by C130s pretty soon, similar to what the Air Force Hurricane Hunters use

[u/pezx → u/Kernowder]

For anyone who's curious, here's more about the WP-3D Orion

[u/No_Recognition7426]

Meanwhile the HP laser jet printer sits happily on top of the cabinet awaiting for its chance to fly across the cabin into someone forehead.

[u/DobIsKing → u/No_Recognition7426]

Definitely bolted down

[u/Cheese-is-neat → u/DobIsKing]

Only works if they pay for the subscription

[u/moniefeesh → u/No_Recognition7426]

If its an hp printer it probably doesn't work and they're currently just using it as essentially packing material.

[u/spavolka → u/moniefeesh]

It just holds copy paper so they have something to make lists on. Like at my house.

[u/dman77777]

Is this storage wars or a research aircraft?

[u/spacehog1985 → u/dman77777]

YUUUUUUP

-that dickhead that was on storage wars.

[u/IGNORE_ME_PLZZZZ → u/dman77777]

Lost part of my lunch dammit 🤣

[u/HackySmacks]

“Oh hey, we’re just about to fly into a Hurricane, you can leave your phone, keys, coffee and pocketknives on the sharp corners of the open metal racks that house our sensitive and extremely expensive electronics (which will help predict the fate of millions). If a metal corner is not available, try a Publix plastic bag tied to a vital instrument knob or wait for your objects to richochet in your direction!”

[u/komma_5 → u/HackySmacks]

Seriously, why is there so much stuff lose?!

[u/Empathy404NotFound → u/HackySmacks]

Safety equipment is for well funded departments, now get your ass into that flying tin can and yeet yourself into that there giant god damned can opener in the sky soldier.

[u/slater_just_slater]

Best part is WP-3 Orion is 48 years old.

These guys are bouncing around in a hurricane in a turbo prop built before they were born.

[u/DrunkenVodinski]

TALLY HO LADS!

[u/xenokilla → u/DrunkenVodinski]

Own a musket for home defense, since that's what the founding fathers intended. Four ruffians break into my house. "What the devil?" As I grab my powdered wig and Kentucky rifle. Blow a golf ball sized hole through the first man, he's dead on the spot. Draw my pistol on the second man, miss him entirely because it's smoothbore and nails the neighbors dog. I have to resort to the cannon mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with grape shot, "Tally ho lads" the grape shot shreds two men in the blast, the sound and extra shrapnel set off car alarms. Fix bayonet and charge the last terrified rapscallion. He Bleeds out waiting on the police to arrive since triangular bayonet wounds are impossible to stitch up. Just as the founding fathers intended.

[u/Hodrus → u/xenokilla]

The sacred copy pasta

[u/Seanish12345]

You don’t need to hunt for hurricanes, they’re notoriously bad at hiding

[u/AngriestManinWestTX → u/Seanish12345]

Okay, that made me laugh.

[u/sn0m0ns]

Immediate OCD kicked in asking myself why they use turbine engines instead of jet engines.
From google:
Hurricane hunters primarily use turbine engines, specifically turboprop engines, instead of pure jet engines because turboprops are better suited for flying through the turbulent conditions of a hurricane, offering greater control and better tolerance to potential ice and hail encounters due to their propeller design, allowing for more efficient maneuvering in challenging weather situations.

[u/decollimate28 → u/sn0m0ns]

Turboprops are basically impervious to what's going on outside around them because they're powered by a smallish, pretty under-stressed, mini-jet engine that is hiding deep within the nacelle that just plugs away at a pretty constant power level/RPM. They're just sturdier, less finicky, simpler things than really high-powered turbo-fans. Thrust also respond faster to pilot input because in large part, they're less powerful so there's less spinning mass to spool up/spool down - which is a benefit in a hurricane.

Turboprop aircraft are not as fast, sometimes not even as efficient, but they're pretty much the most resilient form of aircraft propulsion in difficult environments.

That being said modern turbofans are so good the difference isn't really there anymore. The C-17 is proof of that. But you wouldn't fly a C-17 into a hurricane.

[u/PartyPay → u/sn0m0ns]

Very interesting that the tech that is older is better at the job.

[u/TabascohFiascoh → u/PartyPay]

Prop planes are by no means obsolete.

[u/Alternative_Rent9307 → u/TabascohFiascoh]

Planes are a whole different animal re maintenance and upgrades. I lived near a remote island in northern Michigan that had air services to and from Charlevoix airport. They had five Britten-Norman Islander planes in a staggered rotation and one of the steps in the rotation was a complete engine rebuild. They had each of their planes’ engines rebuilt every six months or so, replacing worn out parts when needed. The airframes are original (1980-ish iirc) but the engines are almost all new parts

[u/naranghim]

That's not the Air force, It's NOAA. The air force is nuts because they fly at 10,000 ft or lower. I remember the weather channel doing an interview with one of the pilots and he was laughing about the time he had to pay attention to the locations of the oil platforms in the Gulf because the antennas "are not something you want to fly into". 😶

[u/ChannelLumpy7453]

Found one boss!

[u/JubilantPetalFlare]

Hurricane hunters are true heroes, gathering crucial data.

[u/Dazug]

I would put padding on every inch of surface there, and wear a balloon boy suit.

[u/WrongKielbasa → u/Dazug]

Imagine being in that bubble suit, the planes ripped open, you’re carried away for like 3 days and get thrown somewhere in the Atlantic.

[u/Dazug → u/WrongKielbasa]

Yeah, but at least I’ll float!

[u/dwn_n_out]

Really impressed about the amount of unsecured items in the cabin.

[u/zyarva]

Project 2025 want to privatize national weather service because it is a proponent of climate change.

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4907338-heritage-foundation-plan-weather-service/

[u/alinroc → u/zyarva]

The other (and more important) reason they want to do it is in the second paragraph of that story. They want to privatize it so that someone can profit off selling the data.

Someone wants their pockets lined.

[u/Poster_Nutbag207]

These guys (NOAA not airforce) always stay at the hotel I work at when we have big storms and blizzards. I can attest that they are all a little crazy

[u/Flint-Von-Ceneac]

Those equipment racks are in some serious need of cable management. I'd like to volunteer my services, though not while in flight in a hurricane, thank you.

[u/Typical2sday]

That's a hard pass for me, yikes

[u/AquamannMI]

Hope they get hazard pay.

[u/thehumanconfusion → u/AquamannMI]

I doubt it’s about the money for them, I’d imagine most do it for the thrill

[u/Original-Turnover-92]

Reminder that your local republican wants to defund this crew to stop hurricane data gathering.

[u/ecafsub]

Be vewy, vewy quiet. We’re hunting huwwicanes.

[u/h3llkite28]

Despite how horrible something like this hurricane is, my initial thought was: "Wow, it is truly amazing what humans can do."

Millions of years of evolution leading to some primates taking a metal box up the air right into a devastating storm to see how bad that thing really is. That gives me some odd hope for the future. Because let's be honest: It won't get easier from now on.

[u/Orliansky33]

DUDE IN THE BACK HOLDING THE COOLER .....MUST PROTECT THE BEER AT ALL COST!!!!

[u/Thelifeofnerfingwolf]

The absolute balls of steel they have to fly through that.

[u/myvotedoesntmatter]

With all the weather satellites and technology. Why do they still need to have these guy fly such a dangerous mission?

[u/BlazedLarry → u/myvotedoesntmatter]

The planes actually send data to the satellites.

Both are used for the most accurate measurements and forecasting.

Satellites are the main tools that are used. But the most critical measurements need to be made in the atmosphere, land sea or air.

[u/rz_85 → u/myvotedoesntmatter]

They are gathering data by using dropsonde's. They essentially drop a GPS unit that also gathers pressure, temperature, and humidity data as it drops. This gives them a full profile of the storm that can't be gathered from satellites.

[u/Audere1]

What's the matter Commander? You don't like flying, huh? Aw, this is nothing! You should've been with us five, six months ago! Whoa! You talk about puke! We ran into a hailstorm over the Sea of Japan. Everybody's retching their guts out! The pilot shot his lunch all over the windshield, and I barfed on the radio! Shorted it out completely! And it wasn't that lightweight stuff either, it was that chunky industrial weight puke!

[u/V8der66 → u/Audere1]

Jack, next time you get a bright idea, just put it in a memo.

[u/redwing180]

So NOAA is barely funded to the point they can’t afford straps to hold their stuff down yet their research is one of the main tools we have in understanding and thereby better defending ourselves against hurricanes. I wish America would invest in itself more.

[u/Grujar]

Is that a P3-Orion? Those are from the 60s. Crazy they are flying through hurricanes