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Alpha Team

Team members

  • Kristján
  • Sverrir
  • Páll
  • Þórður

Keflavík Airport Weather Service

1st visit

On 31.1.2012 3 members of Alpha team went to Keflavik airport (KEF) to meet up with Torfi Karl Antonsson the head of the National Weather Service (NWS) station at Keflavík airport. Torfi was sceptical at first but at the end of the visit he was quite excited about the idea and was eager to help.

The ballooning activity at KEF as conducted by the NWS is twofold.

1. The first part is a high altitude weather test conducted twice daily with a small (350 gr.) balloon. There is a balloon release at 10:20 and 22:20. The balloon is filed with hydrogen gas in an automated process in a container out in the airfield. A radiosonde is attached to the balloon. The radiosonde records:

  • Barometric pressure
  • Wind speed
  • Wind direction
  • Temperature
  • Humidity
  • GPS coordinates

The information is relayed via FM transmitter to a reciever at NWS. Before launch the rRadiosonde has to be primed. I.e. the reciever has to know about that radiosonde and know to recieve information. The radiosonde stops transmitting once it begins falling, it is single use and not retrieved.

2. The second part is high altitude ozone measuring. This test is conducted upon request from an unknown institution in Germany. The balloon is filled with helium gas and is filled and released manually. The payload is anozone measuring device and a radiosonde contained in a styrofoam box measuring ca 250x250x400mm. If this equipment is retrieved it is possible to reuse it.

Torfi sounded very willing to help. He sounded willing to provide us with radiosondes for a test flight (outdated models with lead acis batteries). He was willing to let us witness an ozone launch and possibly launch for us an extra balloon with a radiosonde and ballast.

Pictures and videos from the visit are in the SkywardSword gallery Visit to KEF airport

2nd visit

On thursday the 16th of february Alpha Team went on a second visit to KEF WS. The reason for this visit was that the WS was launching a 1200gr. balloon for oson measurements. We witnessed the filling of the balloon and the actual launch. We had a good discussion with Jens the weatherman about what we wanted to do and he highly recommended that we perform the filling of the balloon inside.

On departing he gave us 2 350gr. balloons for testing, a filling mechanism for filling the balloon and weights for weighing it down during filling and setting the lift capacity of the balloon.

Pictures and videos from the visit are in the SkywardSword gallery Visit to KEF airport no.2

Balloon Tracking

12.02.2012
We got the information from KEF airport (GPS coordinates) from 12.00Z flight to day and I also runed the balloon track model. It's in alpha_theam / Data_from_KEF_launch folder in subverion. source:/Alpha_team/Data_from_KEF_launch/2012.02.10_1200Z_windlevels.txt

Launch sites

We have decided on launching from the balloon from Reykjavík or Snæfellsnes. The places that we are applying authorization for in Reykjavík are the grassfield southeast of the RU building. The place on Snæfellsnes that we are applying authorization for is called Kálfárvellir.

Alpha Flight Primary Site - source:/Alpha_team/Primary_Alpha_Launch_Site.kmz

Alpha Flight Secondary Site - source:/Alpha_team/Secondary_Alpha_Launch_Site.kmz

Gas selection

Gas used for test flight will be Helium as decided by Joe and Ragnar at a meeting on 7.2.2012

Balloon Filling

Balloon will be filled with Helium using the filling mechanism obtained from KEF WS. Weights will be used for adjusting the lift. Hose hand gas cylinder adapter has been purchased and is in the workshop.

Electronics

The test flight will have the following electronics

A change on 8.2.2012 indicated that the test flight should be a dummy payload flight, with only a spot device for tracking and some ballast for simulation of the load.

Possible cheap camera - http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Camera-MD80-microSD-card/dp/B002AN2JXQ for test flight. Allthough it does not record HD video it would suffice for the test flight. If this camera survives the test flight, the GoPro defineatly would.

MD 80 Specifications
MD 80 with SD card and weatherproof case on ebay

The phone we got from siminn can stream video to 157.157.222.12:8080. Halldor has the phone in the locker. Joe create a DNS name for it:

Balloon

A 3000 gr. balloon will be used for the test flight as decided by Joe and Ragnar at a meeting on 7.2.2012

Retrieval

I contact Landhelgisgæslan (Coast Guard) and asked them for help to retrive the sword after launch. They were willing to do that, but ongly if the other helicopter companys in Iceland were not intrested to do it, or do not have the equipment to do it, since the sword will maybe land on sea.
The helicopter companys that i know are:

-Vesturflug ehf(Blue West Helicopters) [Sigtryggur Kristófersson. Phone:8955656. e-mail: ]
-Norðurflug [Páll Jónsson. Phone:5622500. e-mail: ]
-Þyrluþjónustan [Eggert Akerlie. Phone:5616100. e-mail: ]

*If you know some other, please add it here above.
-It is confirmed that these are the only helicopter companies in Iceland, CAA confirmed that to me through phonecall.

LHG contact:
Ásgrímur L. Ásgrímsson
545-214 & 860-2922
___________________

We have made a format source:/Alpha_team\helicopter_contract.txt that we sent to the helicopter companies and asked if they could do the retival. Now we are waiting for the answer. If all of the heli- companys refuse to do the job, we can contact the LHG and discuss how we are going to solve this mission.

2 of the heli-company's, Norðurflug and Blue West Helicopter have already contact me and re-send me the format that i sent them. Thera they say that they can't do the job. The 3rd heli-company(Blue West Helicopter) have not contact me bacause the contact at BWH is of office until 16 february. When the Blue West answer me, i am going to contact the LHG and talk about the project and how we are going to solve it.

**UPDATE

Now the 3rd helicopter company have contacted me and they cant do the job(Helicopter service). Now all of the 3 companies have contacted me and told that they cant do the job so now i can contact the LHG and start to dicuss how we are going to do the job.
source:/Alpha_team\heli_answer.txt

  • Last friday Ásgrímur L Ásgrímsson at the LHG contacted me(Þórður) and he set up a meeting next thuesday(28.02.2012) 11.00 a clock.

Updated by Þórður Sigurbjartsson almost 13 years ago · 4 revisions