Meteorological Instrumentation System on the T-28 Thunderstorm Research Aircraft

A T-28 aircraft was specially modified to permit gathering in situ cloud physics and dynamics data from the interior regions of hailstorms. Since its first use in 1969, the T-28 instrumentation and data acquisition system has undergone evolutionary changes as newer instruments and more sophisticated electronic products have become available. A unique complement of instruments that measure and record hydrometeor sizes and concentrations has been assembled to provide observations of particle size spectra over the full range from cloud droplets to hailstones. The instrumentation and the data recording system are described in this paper, and planned future enhancements that will entail greater use of on-board computers are discussed.