Why? They were testing the WC-130J's improved weather radar system, which is designed to take weather avoidance software to the next level - weather reconnaissance.

Together with Air Force Reserve Command's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron out of Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., the joint test team flew multiple times into Hurricane Ivan and Tropical Storm Jeanne, said Mark Miller, 418th Flight Test Squadron project engineer.

The tests conducted were part of the final development phase planned for the WC-130J weather radar conversion - a validation of work done in June to fine tune the radar in preparation for hurricane penetration missions.

"Currently, the C-130J's weather radar can't penetrate the high-density rain fields characteristic of hurricane conditions," said Maj. Clifton Janney, 418th FLTS project pilot and WC-130J flight commander. "This weather avoidance radar operates outside the hurricane and looks in."

With the new software modification, the low-powered reconnaissance radar can investigate the storm from within, Mr. Miller said, collecting data on the winds and direction of the hurricane and providing real-time information to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

"Flying through the storm, the reconnaissance weather officer gives direction to the pilot based on the winds he's seeing on radar," said Major Janney.

"What he's trying to do is fix the center position of the hurricane where there's no wind or very light wind. This is called a fix mission; we fly through the eye to fix the center of the hurricane. The radar is used to find the eye and fine tune that position based on the winds. This fixed position is what the NHC uses to determine the path of the hurricane, as well as its speed."

Although only the initial results are in, Major Janney said that the radar pictures he saw were very good. "We did find an anomaly and can't tell if it's in the hardware or software. That needs to be run down before we know how well the improved radar system performed.

"We think we have the correct solution, but we need additional verification, validation of the data, to determine our final test results," he added.

In addition to the radar modification testing, the team also flew a new propeller modification -- a propeller with metal covers on the leading edge to protect its de-icing equipment, Mr. Miller explained.

"In order to complete this supplementary testing, we had to seek out extremely heavy rain and hail," he said. Preliminary results show that the propeller performed quite well.

Overall, the WC-130J accomplished its hurricane fix mission, proving the test team successful. "Capts. Chris Elenbaum and Melissa Cooper [418th FLTS test conductors] really had to do some hard work to make all this happen on time," said Major Janney.

"And Larry Harjes, our test conductor during the flight portions of the test, did a tremendous job modifying the radar in flight and collecting data for each test point."

As Major Janney stated, "there are some things that still need to be investigated like lightening certification, but we are very close to a workable solution. We are right on the cusp of having all the answers and will soon be able to send this aircraft on its way to operationally support the 53rd's 'Hurricane Hunter' mission; a replacement airframe for their C-130H models."

The WC-130J will provide the 53rd WRS crews a more reliable aircraft and ultimately increase mission effectiveness, said Major Janney.

Once in place, the WC-130J will conduct weather reconnaissance for hurricanes in the fall and storms in the winter. Until then, the aircraft will continue radar testing and supporting the NHC by providing vital storm atmospheric information throughout the 2004 hurricane season.

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