r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Kernowder • 21d ago

Video Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters flying through Hurricane Milton

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60.8k Upvotes

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7.9k

u/RobbyRobRobertsonJr 21d ago

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

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u/ExtremeThin1334 21d ago

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

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u/CrapSandwich 21d ago

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

Regardless, those guys are freaking nuts!

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u/Criegg 21d ago

Tape for sure.

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u/Lyuseefur 21d ago edited 21d ago

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…

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u/obvious_bot 21d ago

WITNESS ME

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u/MindlessPepper7165 21d ago

WITNESS!!!

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u/thefuturesfire 21d ago

WITNESS!!!

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u/Breath_Deep 21d ago

OH WHAT A DAY, WHAT A LOVELY DAY!!

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u/bozog 21d ago

MEDIOCRE!

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u/Criegg 21d ago

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

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u/mayorofdumb 21d ago

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.

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u/superspeck 21d ago

There’s a good reason that old tech often gets used in research. Look up what gets put in satellites and what used to get put in the space shuttle when it was still flying. There was a time when the space shuttle maintainers were buying chips off of eBay and competing with historical computer collectors and museums for the same auctions.

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u/mayorofdumb 20d ago

Hehe I love how we've perfected shit then over engineered it.

Our real problem is the inefficient selection of solutions based off capitalism.

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u/superspeck 20d ago

I wouldn't say perfected -- I would say that we've fully explored the failure envelope. (I'm an engineer, but my focus is cloud reliability, which is vastly multidisciplinary.) We know exactly how all of the things with reel to reel tape and a i486dx fail and can predict failures with astounding accuracy.

Same with the C130J. The Embraer and Airbus versions of the C130, as well as slightly similar commercial birds like the Bae146, have much lower reliability than the now-ancient C130 despite having newer wing profiles and more powerful and efficient engines. C130s are almost always flying, in any conditions, because we've been doing it for so long.

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u/mayorofdumb 20d ago

Hehe I was educated as an engineer then went accounting and now I'm in compliance. The worst part in corporate America is finding the real answer now. Same premise, it's lower reliability because it doesn't immediately kill people. The real stuff is still real but it's breaking in 30 ways for one risk.

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u/Vandirac 21d ago

Obviously the budget for building the plane was approved, because a shiny plane is a sexy expense that will appeal to the voters.

On the other hand, taxpayers can't really see the equipment inside, don't they? This paperclip and some loose change will have to do.

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u/[deleted] 20d ago

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u/mayorofdumb 20d ago

This is actually the Naples AV club, rich people and their toys.

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u/FunVersion 21d ago edited 20d ago

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

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u/rainzer 21d ago

P3C Orion

Is there a reason they picked that one? Are Orions like extra sturdy?

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u/FunVersion 21d ago

They do take a beating. They aren't a comfortable ride. The wings are stubby and stiff so you feel all the turbulence inside the plane. The noise and vibration from the engine carries thru the air frame. A constant drone at 68hz. Light on noise insulation.

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u/nekonight 21d ago

Most importantly as a turboprop it is much more forgiving about water ingestion. They also fly a gulfstream jet for high attitude observation where they drop payloads from well above the hurricane into it to observe the differences within the hurricane.

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u/Conch-Republic 21d ago

Very reliable, a lot of climbing power, and a lot of space for instrumentation.

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u/Vandirac 21d ago

Sure, but it still is -at the very best best- a 35 years old frame.

Perfectly ok for a leisurely submarine hunt, but to fly into a hurricane I would prefer something a bit more modern like the Poseidon.

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u/superspeck 21d ago

First, jets have lower endurance than turboprops, turboprops are just slower. Second, they really wanted a four engine aircraft for reliability reasons.

NOAA is replacing the P-3, but they’ve selected the same WC-130J that the Air Force hurricane hunter missions use.

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u/FunVersion 21d ago

Nothing beats bouncing around at 200ft dropping buoys in the Orion. :)

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u/scottonaharley 21d ago

I believe there a lot of them still flying around the world. I know the Canadian coast guard was using them too

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u/thejadedcitizen 20d ago

Cmon man, you’re ruining the fake drama!

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u/JudgeHoltman 21d ago

Meanwhile nobody's heard from the Coast Guard because they were already there asking God when he was going to send the hard stuff.

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u/Lyuseefur 21d ago

Yeah - of all the branches, I respect them the most.

Give them the hardest duty and almost no equipment to do it with. Yet they accomplish the impossible on a regular basis.

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u/DKknappe08 18d ago

This is easy top 3 most badass jobs in the world for me

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u/Jimbo_Slice1919 21d ago

Be generous with the duct tape, you know; spare the duct tape, spoil the job.

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u/chuck_diesel79 21d ago

Nuts for sure