The kits contain equipment for installation in both the Aircraft and the Global Hawk ground station. Equipment installed in the air vehicle detects lightning strikes and encodes that data for transmission to the ground station. Equipment installed in the ground station decodes the information and presents lightning strikes on a color moving map display for the Global Hawk pilots. For the first time, Global Hawk pilots will have this vital information to avoid dangerous convective activity and thunder storms.
The Global Hawk is the biggest and most sophisticated UAV in the world. It has a range of over 11,000 NM, endurance of 30 hours and operating altitudes as high as 60,000 feet. Lightning strike information is critical for some of NASA upcoming planned science missions over hurricanes this season. Storm cells in these Atlantic and Gulf hurricanes can build above 60,000 feet in severe conditions. Flying at 60,000 feet the Global Hawk is in a critical flight regime and must avoid turbulence associated with convective activity and lightning strikes. In these extreme conditions Aviation Instrument Technologies, Inc. kits give NASA the edge in mission success and aircraft survival.
Aviation Instruments Technologies, Inc.
Past Projects and Services
- Accelerometer
- ADDS Panel
- Aeronautical Engineering Design Services and Prototype Fabrication
- Aircraft Instruments
- Aircraft Instruments – C-5B ADI
- Aircraft Instruments – CDU-800
- Aircraft Instruments – Flight Data Recorder
- Analog Displays
- Analog Aircraft Instruments
- ARC 186
- ARC 231
- Aviation and Military Analog Controls
- C-17
- C-5B ADI