Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are no longer just gizmos in a geek's garage or military tools that fly reconnaissance missions considered too dangerous for humans. They are increasingly being used for scientific study. And this spring, a UAV dedicated to research science made aerial history.

On May 6, a diminutive aircraft called the Tempest was the first official UAV to intercept a supercell thunderstorm, the type of storm that produces tornadoes. The aircraft and its crew of engineers from the University of Colorado at Boulder (C.U.–Boulder) and meteorologists from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln are a critical part of an armada of 100 storm-chasing scientists conducting the largest study of tornadoes in history. The two-year field experiment known as VORTEX 2, running from May 1 through to June 15 this year, will help scientists better understand when and how tornadoes form. Teams travel across the Midwest in tight formation chasing and surrounding tornadic storms to measure wind speed, temperature, humidity and pressure using mobile radar trucks, anemometers, disdrometers and balloon launchers.

Added to this list, the Tempest is designed to take center stage, flying into the rear flank of supercells, 150 to 300 meters  aboveground—a sweet spot for gathering data that are inaccessible to the current instruments or any manned aircraft. Now that it has made its maiden data-gathering flight, the Tempest stands ready to continue this work for the duration of this tornado season.

But it's not that simple: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations restrict the Tempest from freely flying throughout the range of "tornado alley"—the area in the U.S. between the Rocky and Appalachian mountains. Currently, the researchers can only work within about 58 small grids of land, each about 1,000 square kilometers in area in northeastern Colorado and portions of Kansas and Nebraska. Getting flight clearance in just these areas required three years of coordination with the FAA. The researchers had to file 60 applications in order to be waived from having to comply with all the rules specific to manned aircraft.

When Brian Argrow, director of the University of Colorado Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles, announced that he wanted to apply for the entire area stretching from central Nebraska to the Texas panhandle—an area that sees a concentration of twisters—FAA members responded with an audible gasp. Currently the FAA has a freeze on further applications to fly.

12 Comments

1. 1. voiceofreason 03:55 PM 6/8/10

   It is truly remarkable that the FAA must give permission for a small model plane to fly in a scientific research project. It is also noteworthy - and a sign of the appocalypse - that 3 years of study were required to allow that little toy to fly around a few vacant plots of land. Note to FAA: tornados hurl things like trucks. Adding a small bit of radio controlled debris to the debris field is probably not important. And to all you lefties - this is an example of the downside of government power.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

2. 2. tballou 08:43 PM 6/8/10

   Unfortunately, UAVs are also being used by our government to kill people, including innocent men, women, and children. The Obama administration also claims it has the right to use them to kill US citizens who have not been charged or convicted of any crime.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

3. 3. galaxy_man 10:10 AM 6/9/10

   Wow, tballou. Did you want to throw in some religious dogma with all that political hyperbole you just injected? Maybe a random comment about gays killing Christ?

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

4. 4. polyGeek 10:24 AM 6/9/10

   My philosophy: fly first. Ask for permission later.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

5. 5. SpoonmanWoS in reply to voiceofreason 02:24 PM 6/9/10

   @voiceof"reason": there's lots of downsides of government power. They're far outweighed by not having one....that is assuming you're against child labor, for example. BTW, if it wasn't for the righties putting in every possible regulation they can think of to ensure no one "scams" the system, things would be a lot more efficient. We might have more freeloaders, but would still come out ahead.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

6. 6. jh443 06:17 PM 6/9/10

   I read just a few minutes ago that the FAA (in cooperation with Insitu Inc) is investigating the impact of UAV's on the nation's air traffic control system.
   
   http://www.wkyc.com/news/watercooler/watercooler_article.aspx?storyid=137632&catid=91
   
   Personally, I wouldn't have thought this to be necessary... but you know how the government loves studies and red tape.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

7. 7. ennui 12:04 AM 6/10/10

   Well, tornado chasers,
   Let me know when someone is interested in controlling a tornado.
   I have tried many times to contact places that were hit by tornados but never got an answer back.
   Someone there must be making money on these disasters.
   m

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

8. 8. AtlantaTerry 02:11 AM 6/10/10

   Oh, screw the FAA. Just fly the damn things.
   
   It's not like they are going to bring down a 747! Besides, airlines don't permit pilots to fly into bad storms likely to spawn a tornado - they learned that lesson in Texas about 30 years ago.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

9. 9. mikehattan 06:36 AM 6/10/10

   In that case, all geese and large flying birds need permission from the FAA to fly also.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

10. 10. mikehattan 06:37 AM 6/10/10

    In that case, geese and large birds should also receive permission from the FAA to fly.....

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

11. 11. mikehattan 08:11 AM 6/10/10

    Oh, and get this....."Planes carrying photographers have been prevented from flying over the oil slick in the Gulf, and those allowed to go up must get permission from the FAA each time".
    
    Now the FAA is helping BP in their cover up? Good going FAA.

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

12. 12. mikehattan 08:17 AM 6/10/10

    The FAA is also fighting to deny the building of off shore wind turbines on the East coast because they claim they will interfere with low altitude radar!

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this