1 / 27

Incorporating general aviation volunteers into aerial damage surveys

Incorporating general aviation volunteers into aerial damage surveys. Brian Schoettmer & John Gordon WFO Louisville, KY. Outline. Ground Survey Limitations/Improvement Ohio/Grayson/Hardin County Supercell Value of Video Road Map for Implementation Mutual Understanding Between Partners

ivy
Download Presentation

Incorporating general aviation volunteers into aerial damage surveys

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Incorporating general aviation volunteers into aerial damage surveys Brian Schoettmer & John Gordon WFO Louisville, KY

  2. Outline • Ground Survey Limitations/Improvement • Ohio/Grayson/Hardin County Supercell • Value of Video • Road Map for Implementation • Mutual Understanding Between Partners • Wrap Up

  3. Ground Survey Limitations Damage occurs in places that cannot be easily accessed… Damage in heavy terrain 0.5 miles from road will not be seen If A Tree Falls In The Woods… …Was There Really Damage?

  4. Limitations – Population Bias? Tornado Tracks: 1830 - Present Legend (E)F-0 (E)F-1 (E)F-2 (E)F-3 (E)F-4 (E)F-5

  5. Other Survey Limitations • Divergent Vs. Convergent Signatures • Big picture easier to see from the air • Time Consuming • Ground surveys are inefficient • Length/Width/Start/End • Fine details are harder to determine from ground • Embedded Signatures • Tornadic signatures embedded in overall straight line wind damage – common in Ohio Valley QLCS storms

  6. How Do We Improve Surveys? • Multi-disciplined team approach for a more comprehensive survey Broadcast Media Structural Engineers Better Surveys! General Aviation Pilots NWS Meteorologists

  7. Why Not The Civil Air Patrol? The Civil Air Patrol is a GREAT resource… However… Not always feasible due to budget constraints and timeliness issues.

  8. Our First Volunteers! Photographer/Flight Instructor Glen Norman Pilot Roy Cantrall

  9. Ohio/Grayson/Hardin County Supercell Tornado? Scud? Funnel Cloud? Sparked heavy media interest…however no damage reports from the area

  10. Flight Path Surveyed EF-1 Here EF-2 & EF-0 Here Videos Shot Here

  11. Photos From The Survey Damage signatures clearly convergent

  12. Photos From The Survey Storm Motion

  13. Other Photos From Flights Huntingburg, IN

  14. Ohio County Flooding Oil Rig Oil Slick

  15. Value Of Video Quickly indentify scour marks not easily seen on ground Quick overview Distance debris scattered Path length and width easily identified Survey places that cannot be reached on foot Identify breaks in path or continuous

  16. Roadmap for Implementation • Recruit pilots at local airports with an • attractive brochure • Speak to local pilot • groups • Set up local office • procedures/guidelines to follow • NWS Jackson, KY • now participating

  17. Roadmap for Implementation Easily accessible Google Earth KML file with volunteer pilot locations, range, contact info, etc. located on a shared office drive.

  18. Highlight The Positives Unique Entry Into Pilot Log Book Receive An Awesome Plaque! Be An Integral Part In Rating Storm Damage Partner with the NWS

  19. Plaque Presentation Plaque presentation in front of a Piper Cherokee 140 at Addington Field, Elizabethtown, KY. Left: Glen Norman (photographer) Middle: Roy Cantrall (pilot) Right: Brian Schoettmer

  20. Publicity AOPA Online’s Dan Nimowitz wrote an article about the program and our first volunteers

  21. NWS Top News Of The Day

  22. NWS Top News Of The Day

  23. Mutual Understanding Pilots must clearly understand this is a volunteer program Pilots cannot be compensated Pilots cannot be asked to fly, they must already be planning to fly that day

  24. Detailed Flight Map River/Lake Airport • Be sure the pilot has a specific path with recognizable landmarks to follow. • Example…cities, rivers, lakes, airports, etc. • Don’t send them on a “Wild Goose Chase”.

  25. Future Pilot Recruiting Oil Pipeline Aircraft Local Media More local pilot groups, airshows, etc. State Police

  26. Questions?

More Related