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Insitu Aerosonde
 
 
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The Aerosonde is a small unmanned aerial vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle

File:MQ-9 Reaper in flight .jpgAn unmanned aerial vehicle is an unpiloted aircraft. UAVs come in two varieties: some are controlled from a remote location, and others fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans using more complex dynamic automation systems....
 (UAV) designed to collect weather data, including temperature
Temperature

In physics, temperature is a physical property of a Physical system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that feels hotter generally has the greater temperature....
, atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure

Atmospheric pressure is sometimes defined as the force per unit area exerted against a surface by the weight of air above that surface at any given point in the Earth's atmosphere....
, humidity
Humidity

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean relative humidity. Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor in a Air parcel of air to the saturated vapor pressure of water vapor at a prescribed temperature....
, and wind
WIND

The Global Geospace Science WIND satellite is a NASA science spacecraft launched at 04:31:00 EST on November 1, 1994 from launch pad 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Merritt_Island%2C_Florida, Florida aboard a McDonnell Douglas Delta II 7925-10 rocket....
 measurements, over oceans and remote areas. The Aerosonde was developed by Insitu
Insitu

Insitu, Inc. is an United States company, headquartered in Bingen, Washington that builds UAVs. On July 22, 2008 it was announced that Insitu would be acquired by long-time partner Boeing....
, and is now manufactured by Aerosonde Ltd
Aerosonde Ltd

Aerosonde Ltd is an Australian-based developer and manufacturer of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, including the Aerosonde series. The company has customers in Australia, Asia and North America who utilize its vehicles for reconnaissance and meteorological applications....
. The Aerosonde is powered by a modified Enya R120 model aircraft
Model aircraft

Model aircraft are flying or non-flying models of existing or imaginary aircraft, often scaled down versions of full size planes, using materials such as Ochroma pyramidale wood, foam and fiberglass....
 engine, and carries onboard a small computer, meteorological instruments
Meteorology

Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting . Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the eighteenth century....
, and a GPS
Global Positioning System

The Global Positioning System is a global navigation satellite system developed by the United States Department of Defense and managed by the United States Air Force 50th Space Wing....
 receiver for navigation.

On August 21, 1998, a Phase 1 Aerosonde nicknamed "Laima
Laima

Laima was the personification of destiny and of luck in Latvian mythology and Lithuanian mythology. She was associated with childbirth, marriage, death, proliferation, and domesticity; she was also the patron of pregnancy women....
", after the ancient Latvian deity
Latvian mythology

BasicsLatvian culture, along with Lithuanian, is among the oldest surviving Indo-European culture. Much of its symbolism is ancient. Its seasons, festivals, and numerous deities reflect the essential agrarian nature of Latvian tribal life....
 of good fortune, completed a 2,031 mile (3,270 km) flight across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
.






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Encyclopedia


The Aerosonde is a small unmanned aerial vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle

File:MQ-9 Reaper in flight .jpgAn unmanned aerial vehicle is an unpiloted aircraft. UAVs come in two varieties: some are controlled from a remote location, and others fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans using more complex dynamic automation systems....
 (UAV) designed to collect weather data, including temperature
Temperature

In physics, temperature is a physical property of a Physical system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that feels hotter generally has the greater temperature....
, atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure

Atmospheric pressure is sometimes defined as the force per unit area exerted against a surface by the weight of air above that surface at any given point in the Earth's atmosphere....
, humidity
Humidity

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean relative humidity. Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor in a Air parcel of air to the saturated vapor pressure of water vapor at a prescribed temperature....
, and wind
WIND

The Global Geospace Science WIND satellite is a NASA science spacecraft launched at 04:31:00 EST on November 1, 1994 from launch pad 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Merritt_Island%2C_Florida, Florida aboard a McDonnell Douglas Delta II 7925-10 rocket....
 measurements, over oceans and remote areas. The Aerosonde was developed by Insitu
Insitu

Insitu, Inc. is an United States company, headquartered in Bingen, Washington that builds UAVs. On July 22, 2008 it was announced that Insitu would be acquired by long-time partner Boeing....
, and is now manufactured by Aerosonde Ltd
Aerosonde Ltd

Aerosonde Ltd is an Australian-based developer and manufacturer of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, including the Aerosonde series. The company has customers in Australia, Asia and North America who utilize its vehicles for reconnaissance and meteorological applications....
. The Aerosonde is powered by a modified Enya R120 model aircraft
Model aircraft

Model aircraft are flying or non-flying models of existing or imaginary aircraft, often scaled down versions of full size planes, using materials such as Ochroma pyramidale wood, foam and fiberglass....
 engine, and carries onboard a small computer, meteorological instruments
Meteorology

Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting . Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the eighteenth century....
, and a GPS
Global Positioning System

The Global Positioning System is a global navigation satellite system developed by the United States Department of Defense and managed by the United States Air Force 50th Space Wing....
 receiver for navigation.

Aerosonde Laima
On August 21, 1998, a Phase 1 Aerosonde nicknamed "Laima
Laima

Laima was the personification of destiny and of luck in Latvian mythology and Lithuanian mythology. She was associated with childbirth, marriage, death, proliferation, and domesticity; she was also the patron of pregnancy women....
", after the ancient Latvian deity
Latvian mythology

BasicsLatvian culture, along with Lithuanian, is among the oldest surviving Indo-European culture. Much of its symbolism is ancient. Its seasons, festivals, and numerous deities reflect the essential agrarian nature of Latvian tribal life....
 of good fortune, completed a 2,031 mile (3,270 km) flight across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
. This was the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by a UAV
Unmanned aerial vehicle

File:MQ-9 Reaper in flight .jpgAn unmanned aerial vehicle is an unpiloted aircraft. UAVs come in two varieties: some are controlled from a remote location, and others fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans using more complex dynamic automation systems....
; at the time, it was also the smallest aircraft ever to cross the Atlantic . (This record was subsequently broken by the Spirit of Butts Farm UAV.) Launched from a roof rack of a moving car due to its lack of undercarriage, Laima flew from Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is a Provinces and territories of Canada of Canada, on the country's Atlantic Ocean coast in northeastern North America....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 to Benbecula, an island off the coast of Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 in 26 hours 45 minutes in stormy weather, using approximately 1.5 U.S. gallons (1.25 imperial gallons or 5.7 litres) of gasoline. Other than for take-off and landing, the flight was autonomous, without external control, at an altitude of 5,500 ft (1,680 meters). Aerosondes have also been the first unmanned aircraft to penetrate tropical cyclones, with an initial mission in 2001 followed by eye penetrations in 2005 .

Specifications (Aerosonde)


General characteristics

  • Crew: None
  • Length: 5 ft 8 in (1.7 m)
  • Wingspan: 9 ft 8 in (2.9 m)
  • Height: 2 ft 0 in (0.60 m)
  • Wing area: 6.1 ft² (0.57 m²)
  • Empty: lb (kg)
  • Loaded: 28.9 lb (13.1 kg)
  • Maximum take-off: lb ( kg)
  • Powerplant: Modified Enya R120 model aircraft
    Model aircraft

    Model aircraft are flying or non-flying models of existing or imaginary aircraft, often scaled down versions of full size planes, using materials such as Ochroma pyramidale wood, foam and fiberglass....
     engine, 1.74 hp (1280 W)


Performance

  • Maximum speed: 90 mph (140 km/h)
  • Range: 1,875 miles (3,000 km)
  • Service ceiling: 15,000 ft (4,500 m)
  • Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min)
  • Wing loading: 5 lb/ft² (23 kg/m²)
  • Power/Mass: 0.06 hp/lb (98 W/kg)


Sources

  • Display information at Museum of Flight
    Museum of Flight

    The Museum of Flight is a private non-profit aircraft and spacecraft museum at Boeing Field in Tukwila, Washington, south of downtown Seattle....
     in Seattle, Washington
    Seattle, Washington

    Seattle is the most populous city in the US state of Washington and the Northwestern United States. The encompassing Seattle metropolitan area is the 15th largest in the United States, and the largest in the Pacific Northwest....
    .
  • G.J. Holland, T. McGeer and H.H. Youngren. Autonomous aerosondes for economical atmospheric soundings anywhere on the globe. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 73(12):1987-1999, December 1992.


Cyclone reconnaissance
  • P-H Lin & C-S Lee. . American Meteorological Society conference paper 52113 (2002).
  • NASA Wallops Flight Facility press release:


Laima flight
  • Tad McGeer.
  • Aerosonde Pty Ltd. press release:
  • University of Washington, Aeronautics and Astronautics Program, College of Engineering: ()


External links



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Designation sequence: