 |
| Look carefully and you'll see the tornado in the background |
Students from the University of Colorado at Boulder have teamed up to construct and fly the “Tempest” unmanned aircraft. This team of students wanted to better understand the formation of tornadoes so they flew their airplane where few would dare.
The Tempest, an unmanned electric airplane with a 10-foot wingspan, was flown into the downdraft of a supercell (rotating thunderstorm). Students were testing a hypothesis
that this part of the storm has a critical role in the formation of a
tornado. What they learned about the
genesis of tornadoes is still being sorted out, but the team expects to be back
in the air tackling other scientific questions in the next couple of years.
 |
| Tempest Takes Flight |
Eric W. Frew, associate professor, said
Tempest proves that unmanned systems are useful to help learn about severe
weather, along with wildfires, turbulence, and general atmospheric science. The
unmanned aircraft can collect wind speed and other data on a scale of detail
not otherwise possible.
Imagine..... only seven or eight years ago, these college students were in 5th or 6th grade studying Science!
Thanks to AOPA for this story. For more information, checkout the following link:
No comments:
Post a Comment