Image to right: TAMDAR installed on a Mesaba Airlines jet.

Unlike large commercial aircraft, small regional aircraft are unable to fly "above the weather," often leaving pilots at the mercy of unexpected changes in weather conditions. NASA researchers turned their efforts to technology that would empower small aircraft pilots to make better inflight decisions by using better weather information.

The Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Report (TAMDAR) instrument allows aircraft flying below 25,000 feet to detect and report atmospheric conditions. Satellites then send the aircraft’s observations to a ground data center that processes and distributes up-to-date weather information to forecasters, pilots, and other aviation personnel. The 1.5-pound TAMDAR sensor measures humidity, winds, pressure, temperature, icing conditions, and turbulence.

In January 2005, NASA selected Mesaba Airlines in Minneapolis as its industry partner for a critical in-flight testing period. During the 12-month Great Lakes Fleet Experiment, the commuter airline's 63 regional SAAB 340 aircraft jets were fitted with TAMDAR. With 400 flights per day, the fleet continues to provide an average 25,000 observations per day.

TAMDAR also resulted in the creation of a team to share and analyze the data received at ground centers, including private industry, meteorologists, researchers, and scientists at weather forecast offices here and abroad.

TAMDAR Team
NASA Langley Research Center; AirDat; Georgia Tech Research Institute; FAA; NOAA; National Center for Atmospheric Research; Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory; Meteorological Service of Canada, Montreal; UK MET Office, London; Meteorological Network of Europe, Toulouse, France