Cloud Research Flights above Saxony – with Partenavia P68B D-GERY
In co-operation with the Institute for Tropospheric Research (IfT) enviscope operated the Partenavia P68B, D-GERY during several flight campaigns over Saxony.
Besides extended tests for the research aircraft these flights aimed the investigation of the interactions between aerosols and clouds and the influence of aerosol particles on the radiative properties of the clouds. These investigations focussed on stratiform and polluted clouds. Therefore IfT operated an extensive set of instruments, consisting of optical particle counters, droplet spectrometers, instruments to monitor liquid water content as well as radiation sensors.
enviscope adopted the IfT scientfic instrumentation to the „GERY“, considering the special needs of the techniques for measuring aerosol-, cloud-, and radiation properties. To get relieable aerosol samples e.g. several inlet systems with integrated droplet separators were have been made availabe for these measurements. Additionally provisions have been constructed which can carry under-wing pods and instruments to measure droplet spectra and liquid water content side by side. Finally two platforms to carry instruments to measure radiative properties of the upper and lower hemisphere have been adopted to the aircraft.
Besides these aircraft modifications enviscope took care of the logistic preparations of the experiments. These included an extensive coordination with the air traffic authorities to render low level flights in the luff and lee of power plants and in the presence of stratiform clouds.
