Friday April 27 the PALS instrument was packed up by Barron and Seth and shipped by truck to Grand Junction, Colorado to be installed on the Twin Otter aircraft assigned to the SMAPVEX12 campaign. This is the first leg of the PALS journey to Winnipeg, the site of the field campaign.
Moving van arrived at the Twin Otter facility
Monday April 30 Seth and William Chun arrived in Grand Junction to meet the moving van and direct unloading. The Twin Otter aircraft N821AR was waiting with tundra tires and larger brakes installed. The PALS racks were placed in the aircraft and cabling and verification began. Seth met our pilot, Richard Webb.
Twitter Otter Aircraft
May 16-18 Instrument checkout and flight readiness reviews complete. Test flights underway with PALS on board. Aircraft take-offs, landings, practice maneuvers. Flight to Lake Powell.
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Tags: freeze/thaw, Grand Junction, SMAP, SMAPVEX12, soil moisture, Winnipeg