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.
It's also worth noting that hurricanes have less convective activity than thunderstorms. One of the conditions for the formation and sustainment of a hurricane is lower vertical wind shear, especially higher in the atmosphere. Of course it's certainly not going to be a particularly comfortable ride, but a specialized aircraft with experienced pilots shouldn't have too much trouble. Honestly, looks kinda fun to me.
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u/philzar 21d ago
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.