Hurricane Hunters Liken Flights to Sheikra

Posted Aug 24, 2011 by Howard Altman

Updated Aug 24, 2011 at 11:32 AM

After eight hours on a P-3 hurricane hunter flying into the eye of Hurricane Irene, I will never think of airplane turbulance the same way ever again.

Three times we went into the eye wall. Three times the four-engine turbo prop rocked and rolled, at one point even toying with zero Gs as we rose up and down in the fierce weather.

But far more than a thrill ride, the flights help scientists figure out where storms are going and how strong they are.

Here’s the top of my story about the ride.

As it enters the eye wall of Irene, the plane begins to shake and shudder violently, buffeted by the 100 mph winds from the season’s first hurricane.

In the cockpit, the flight crew, led by Cmdr. Carl Newman, intently focuses on keeping “Kermit’’ – the pet name for one of the two P-3 Orion turboprop planes flying out of MacDill Air Force Base - airborne amid the fury.

For Newman, flying a computer- and technology-laden plane into the heart of a huge hurricane has become routine after 12 years with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“I’ve made 220 penetrations of eye walls,” says Newman, a smile creasing his face. “Every hurricane is different.”

While commercial pilots are trained to fly away from severe weather, hurricane hunters make a living flying into it.

“It is a lot of fun flying into weather,” Newman says. “I have always been interested in flying and hurricanes. This is the best combination of the two.”

While Newman is a veteran of many such flights, not everyone on board the plane today has so much experience. Lt. Cmdr. Scott Price is a former Navy pilot with more than 1,000 hours flying P-3s – none of it in the middle of a hurricane.

That’s about to change.

You can read the full story at TBO.com and in Thursday’s Tampa Tribune.