Thursday, April 7, 2011

NGS' GRAV-D Airborne Survey to Resume in Alaska Aboard a NOAA Hurricane Hunter

The National Geodetic Survey's (NGS) Gravity for the Redefinition of the American Vertical Datum (GRAV-D) airborne survey resumed this week aboard one of the two NOAA Hurricane Hunter WP-3D Orion aircraft. The aircraft is optimized for long-distance, long-endurance flying at altitudes near 30,000 ft., characteristics that make it ideal for surveying remote areas such as northern Alaska. Hosted by the Alaska Fire Service, the P-3 will operate from Ft. Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska. This will be the first venture of the GRAV-D project on an aircraft as large and with the endurance of the P-3. For more information, contact Vicki Childers.