08 Oct 2003
BAE Systems Regional Aircraft has signed a 10-year contract with Directflight Ltd of Norwich under which the company will operate the unique BAe 146 Atmospheric Research Aircraft (ARA) on behalf of the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM), operating from Cranfield, Bedfordshire.
FAAM is run jointly by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Centres for Atmospheric Science1 and the Met Office. FAAM will be based at the campus of Cranfield University. The University campus is able to provide the facilities and accommodation required to host meteorological/atmospheric science conferences.
The ARA is nearing completion at Regional Aircrafts Woodford facility after an extensive conversion programme to turn the aircraft into a key operational tool for the UKs atmospheric research community. The conversion included extending the operational ceiling to 35,000 feet, the addition of three fuel tanks in the rear baggage bay to allow missions of up to 6 hours, and the fitting of a wide range of sensors and instruments. The conversion has been jointly funded by an award from the Joint Infrastructure Fund2 to UMIST* and the University of Cambridge, and by the Met Office.
Directflight has recently been acquired by Aeromega Ltd, a UK helicopter company specialising in charter, police and emergency agency work, sales, JAR 145 engineering and overhaul. Directflight currently has two major contracts flying Cessna 406 Caravan II aircraft on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) from Exeter and on behalf of the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA) flying from Prestwick, for the patrolling and surveillance of UK fishing waters.
These operations demonstrate Directflight,s proven expertise in special mission operations, which inevitably involve low-level flying over water, as will some ARA missions.
BAE Systems is the prime provider of technical support for the Aircraft throughout the term of the contract to meet the experimentation requirements of FAAM. BAE Systems has defined with Directflight and Cranfield Aerospace Ltd an effective support programme utilising competent local skills. Such support will be provided by Cranfield Aerospace Ltd, who are experienced in meteorological research equipment installation and Avalon Aero Ltd, who currently maintain the Formula 1 BAe 146 corporate aircraft, and who will provide aircraft maintenance.
Total planned atmospheric science mission flying by the ARA for FAAM is estimated
at a maximum of 700 hours a year. In addition, it is expected that other research
and experimental flying will be carried out.
The aircraft will be used to provide observations in support of a wide range of investigations. Several of these are related to aspects of climate change and include the impact of particles, resulting from atmospheric pollution, on the formation of precipitation and on the radiation balance of the atmosphere. Other topics include studies of the composition of the atmosphere and the processes leading to the formation and removal of ozone.
Further experiments are directly related to weather prediction, such as understanding and prediction of extreme rainfall events and making more effective use of satellite instruments to provide data for numerical weather prediction models. Some experiments are more directly related to problems such as icing of aircraft.
The experiments proposed for the next few years include both ongoing long-term investigations as well as short-term studies. The scientific instrumentation includes both well-established instruments and a number of new instruments especially developed for use on this platform. The wide range of experiments will require that the aircraft is operated for short periods from a number of different locations in the UK, Europe and worldwide. Several of the proposed experiments form part of multi-national experiments involving atmospheric scientists from a number of different countries.
* UMIST - University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
Notes for Editors:
1 NERC Centres for Atmospheric Science
The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Centres for Atmospheric Science
(NCAS) co-ordinates and manages the core atmospheric science research funded by NERC. The Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) is a component of
NCAS and will use the ARA, equipped with state-of-the-art in-situ and remote sensing instrumentation, for a wide range of atmospheric research. NCAS research covers four interlocking areas: i) changes to the composition of the atmosphere; ii) high-impact weather and its effects; iii) climate variability; and iv) innovative atmospheric instrumentation/technologies.
2 The Joint Infrastructure Fund (JIF)
Launched in 1998, JIF is a 750 million partnership between the Office of Science and Technology (part of DTI), the Wellcome Trust, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. It was set up to transform the scientific research environment within universities in the UK.
About BAE SYSTEMS Regional Aircraft:
BAE Systems Regional Aircraft is responsible for Customer Support, Engineering and
Asset Management activities covering a world-wide base of 160 customers operating over 1,100 aircraft in addition to managing a trading and leasing portfolio of some 350 aircraft.
About BAE SYSTEMS:
BAE Systems is an international company engaged in the development, delivery and support of advanced defence and aerospace systems in the air, on land, at sea and in space. The company designs, manufactures and supports military aircraft, surface ships, submarines, radar, avionics, communications, electronics and guided weapon systems. It is a pioneer in technology with a heritage stretching back hundreds of years. It is at the forefront of innovation, working to develop the next generation of intelligent defence systems.
BAE Systems has major operations across five continents and customers in some 130 countries. The company has more than 90,000 people and generates annual sales of approximately 12 billion through its wholly-owned and joint venture operations.
BAE Systems, innovating for a safer world.
