The ISS combines surface, sounding, and remote sensing instrumentation to provide a comprehensive description of lower atmospheric thermodynamics and winds.

The NSF/NCAR C-130 is a versatile and capable research platform that carries a wide variety of scientific payloads. The C-130 has a 10-hour flight endurance, a 2,900 nautical mile range at up to 27,000 ft, and a payload capacity of 13,000 lbs. In addition to standard thermodynamic, microphysics and radiation sensors, the C-130 has a roomy fuselage payload area and many versatile inlets and optical ports. The C-130 can carry advanced EOL and community instrumentation.

The High-Performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER) research aircraft is a Gulfstream V (GV) business jet that has been highly modified for research has unique capabilities that set it apart from other research aircraft. It can reach 49,000 feet (15,000 meters), enabling scientists to collect data at the tops of storms and the lower edge of the stratosphere. With a range of about 4,000 nautical miles (7,408 kilometers), it can track atmospheric particles across the oceans or reach the South Pole from bases in South America or New Zealand.

The University of Wyoming’s Beechcraft King Air 200T (UWKA) is a twin-engine turbo-prop aircraft instrumented to support various research missions, notably in cloud physics and boundary layer processes. In service since 1977, the aircraft is operated by the Donald L. Veal Research Flight Center within the UWyo Department of Atmospheric Science.

Note: With the development of the Next Generation King Air, the University of Wyoming will be unable to support any flight requests from approximately May 2022 through Summer 2023. 

Meet the EOL staff.

Learn more about our staff's accomplishments such as awards and patents.

Major advances in radar technology have paved the way for the development of an Airborne Phased Array Radar (APAR) system that can provide unprecedented detailed observations of the dynamics and microphysics of high-impact storms such as hurricanes and mesoscale convective systems. The APAR currently under design by NCAR/EOL consists of four removable C-band Active Electronically Scanned Arrays (AESA) mounted on the top, both sides, and the cargo door of the NSF/NCAR C-130 aircraft.