High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft

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D-ADLR “HALO” research aircraft landing, still without a belly pod.
Source: DLR

The research aircraft " High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft " (abbr .: HALO) of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is used for the scientific investigation of the earth's atmosphere. It is a Gulfstream G550 business jet that has been converted for great heights and long flight distances . A major renovation step was completed on December 3, 2007; HALO has been stationed in Oberpfaffenhofen since January 24, 2009.

Flight performance

With a maximum cruising altitude of 15,545 meters, a top speed of Mach 0.885, a flight duration of 10 hours, a payload of three tons and a range of up to 12,501 kilometers, HALO surpasses all existing aircraft of this type.

Objective

Assembly of measuring devices in the belly pod.
Source: DLR

HALO is to carry out measurements in the troposphere and the lower stratosphere and be used for earth observations. HALO is intended to make a significant contribution to the understanding of the ozone problem and the exchange of air pollutants by reaching significant levels of the atmosphere. On August 20, 2012, the Halo took off on the first research flight, replacing the previous DLR research aircraft, a converted Dassault Falcon 20E . The aircraft is stationed at the DLR airfield in Oberpfaffenhofen .

Conversions

Modifications to the bottom and top.
Source: DLR

The conversions have been carried out by RUAG Aerospace Services in Oberpfaffenhofen since 2006, and the final approval by the manufacturer Gulfstream. For this purpose, more than 20 additional openings for optical and chemical measuring systems were cut into the fuselage. Space for up to 15 racks for measuring systems has been created in the cabin. In addition to a three-man crew, there is space for four to eight operators, depending on the cabin installation. A belly pod for measuring instruments was attached under the fuselage; the (removable) measuring device pods for under-wing assembly were only implemented to a limited extent.

The development costs of 74 million euros are largely borne by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with 48 million euros , the rest by the Free State of Bavaria , the Helmholtz Association , the Max Planck Society , the Research Center Jülich (FZJ ), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the DLR.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ News page on the HALO homepage
  2. ↑ a b New research aircraft: With "Halo" into the tropopause . Spiegel Online . August 20, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  3. ↑ Michael Gubisch: G550-based research jet enters service with DLR. Flightglobal.com, August 22, 2012, accessed August 24, 2012 .
  4. ↑ FliegerRevue March 2009, pp. 20–21, HALO in Oberpfaffenhofen
  5. ↑ Flugrevue.de, article “ HALO is brought into oscillation ” from May 6, 2016: image under wing measuring devices , accessed on January 3, 2018