NASA 747 w/ SF Radio

[AlaskaMike]

Just caught "NASA 747" working SF radio on 5574u just now (about 0540z). They had some trouble receiving Lat/Long waypoints from the ARINC controller. Sounds like they're flying an interesting route, eventually terminating at KPMD (Palmdale, AF Plant 42). Lat/Long waypoints mentioned:

38 15N 134 18W
38 32N 144 30W
30 16N 143 45W
31 33N 135 05W
34 0N 125 41W
36 28N 117 59W

Then to PMD and final destination KPMD.

I haven't plotted those coordinates, but FlightAware shows their flight plan as launching from Palmdale, doing a turn 360+ deg. turn near Edwards, and then heading offshore to fly a five point start pattern off the California coastline.

Pretty cool--first time I've caught a NASA callsign.

Mike

 

[AlaskaMike]

NASA747 just checked in again and reported that they were back on course. I must've missed them reporting earlier that they were deviating somehow.

 

[AlaskaMike]

It looks like this is a B747SP that has been flying patterns similar to this over the past week or so, at least according to Flightaware.com. According to Flightaware.com these flights are all about 9+ hours long, both originating and terminating at KPMD (Palmdale).

Seems like an interesting origin/destination for NASA test aircraft--they've got a large test facility at Edwards.

 

[BM82557]

That plane carries an airborne telescope, see this page - SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) | NASA



It might be mothballed at the end of 2014 due to budget issues according to this article - NASA's SOFIA Flying Telescope May Be Mothballed This Year | Space.com

 

[majoco]

Did they mention their altitude? That aircraft came to NZ a few years ago and they were going up pretty high for a 747 over the pole - 55,000feet springs to mind. They used the Christchurch US Deep Freeze Antarctic Support hangar as a base.

 

[zl2taw]

what a great catch Mike

 

[AlaskaMike]

Majoco--they were at 38,000 feet. I think the fact that it's an SP model allows it to go pretty high, but I'm not sure of the ceiling. With the same wings as a standard 747-100 but shorter fuselage, it should have a significantly higher ceiling I would think.

 

[BM82557]

In flight when I checked this morning, see attachment -

 

[commodore]

nope, 45,000 ft.

 

[AlaskaMike]

nope, 45,000 ft.

Might be more of an engine or some other limitation then maybe.

 

[majoco]

The most common limitation on aircraft max ceiling is cabin pressure differential. That 747 SP has a big unpressurised hole in the side so I would guess that structual modifications would have been essential to preserve the integrity of the fuselage. The SP has a bigger tail area too as the reduced length means less leverage so it was stronger in the first place.