NOTES ON CLEX-9 DAILY OPERATIONS
Purpose: To serve as a source of key information and procedures for daily CLEX-9 operations. For detailed science and mission information, please link to A SCIENCE AND MISSION OVERVIEW FOR CLEX-9.
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1. STAND-BY VS. STAND-DOWN DECISION
• Stand-by vs. stand-down decision for a next day University of Wyoming King Air (UWKA) flight mission will be made by 1500 L (Local- Mountain) each day, after the Afternoon Forecast is complete.
• The lead forecaster is responsible for making the final stand-by vs. stand-down decision. The lead forecaster can be identified on the CLEX-9 schedule as the first person listed on the afternoon forecast (AF).
• The lead forecaster will publish the stand-by vs. stand-down decision each day by
1. Updating the CLEX-9 home page to reflect current operational status and next day forecast summary. If you are a lead forecaster, please contact Adam Kankiewicz for the login and password to the CLEX CIRA account.
2. Sending an e-mail to the CLEX-9 Operational Mail List with the a) stand-by decision, b) next day forecast summary, b) approximate time of expected next day WYKA take off time, c) approximate location (target area) of expected next day WYKA mission (including whether over North Platte) and d) 3-5 day weather outlook.
3. Updating the voice greeting at 970-491-8233 for CLEX-9 stand-by status . Lead Forecasters should contact Adam Kankiewicz for procedures and password.
4. Contacting the UWYKA Project Scientist (Glenn Gordon) and the North Platte Ground Scientist (John Davis) by phone. See Contacts.
• In determining stand-by status and the approximate WYKA mission time, the CLEX forecast team should consider the following crew-duty guidelines for the WYKA during CLEX-9:
Activity |
Hours |
| Flight in any 24 hour period | 7 |
| Flight in any 7 day period | 35 |
| Flight in any 30 day period | 110 |
| Crew duty period | 14 |
| Crew rest period | 12 |
| Consecutive work days | 6 days |
• Sectional Aeronautical Charts (for Cheyenne, Omaha, Wichita, Billings, Twin Cities, Denver, Kansas City, and Dallas-Ft. Worth regions), a US High Altitude Enroute Chart, a Low Altitude Flight Planning Chart, and a national Road Atlas are available for determination of cloud target location and timing relative to geography, airports, enroute air traffic, and restricted flight space. When you are done with the maps, be sure to pass them to the next on-duty forecaster listed on the CLEX-9 schedule.
2. GO VS. NO-GO DECISION
• If the lead CLEX forecaster puts the WYKA and other CLEX staff on "stand-by" for the next mission day, then it will be necessary to make a "GO" vs. "NO-GO" decision on that next operational day. The CLEX forecast team will strive to avoid putting everyone on "stand-by" and then calling "NO-GO" on the mission day. Because of the difficulty in forecasting mid-level clouds over 12 hours in advance, CLEX may occasionally have to make the "NO GO" decision.
• The CIRA flight scientist for the WYKA and the CLEX forecaster on stand-by for the GO/NO-GO call on the given mission day are responsible for making this decision. See the CLEX-9 schedule (GO). They are also responsible for making the initial determination of expected cloud target location and timing.
• A "GO" vs. "NO-GO" decision will be made NLT (no later than) two (2) hours prior to the requested WYKA take off time.
• Contact the WYKA Project Scientist (Glenn Gordon) by phone with the GO vs NO-GO decision on stand-by mission days. If the mission was called over the North Platte/LBF ground site, also contact the North Platte Ground Scientist (John Davis). See CLEX-9 Contact Page for contact information. If a "GO" decision has been made, updated cloud target location and timing should be passed onto both WYKA Project Scientist and North Platte Ground Scientist.
• The GO decision will typically be coordinated over the phone between the on duty CLEX forecaster and the WYKA Mission Scientist. Personnel should be sure to arrange for Internet access and coordinate contact numbers from where ever they will make the GO decision (e.g., from home).
• Sectional Aeronautical Charts (for Cheyenne, Omaha, Wichita, Billings, Twin Cities, Denver, Kansas City, and Dallas-Ft. Worth regions), a US High Altitude Enroute Chart, a Low Altitude Flight Planning Chart, and a national Road Atlas are available for determination of cloud target location and timing relative to geography, airports, enroute air traffic, and restricted flight space. When you are done with the maps, be sure to pass them to the next on-duty forecaster listed on the CLEX-9 schedule.
3. MISSION UPDATE
• When a "GO" decision has been made to proceed with a WYKA mission, the on-call CLEX forecaster (see [MU] on the CLEX-9 Schedule) should provide a mission update (e.g., current cloud conditions and Nowcast) to the CIRA WYKA flight scientist by phone (either by cell/satellite phone or the Wyoming Flight Facility and Hangar phone, see CLEX-9 Contacts).
• The purpose of the mission update is to coordinate the final, fine-tuned target and timing information. Keep in mind that sufficient time must be given to the pilot of the King Air to file an updated flight plan if this information changes significantly.
• The CLEX forecaster will typically operate out of CIRA after a GO decision is made in order to coordinate the Mission Update.
• Sectional Aeronautical Charts (for Cheyenne, Omaha, Wichita, Billings, Twin Cities, Denver, Kansas City, and Dallas-Ft. Worth regions), a US High Altitude Enroute Chart, a Low Altitude Flight Planning Chart, and a national Road Atlas are available for determination of cloud target location and timing relative to geography, airports, enroute air traffic, and restricted flight space. When you are done with the maps, be sure to pass them to the next on-duty forecaster listed on the CLEX-9 schedule.
4. DAILY CLEX-9 AFTERNOON FORECAST
• The on-duty CLEX-9 Forecast Team (see schedule) will coordinate the next day mission forecast. The Afternoon Forecast will be disseminated to participating CLEX-9 scientists.
• Typically, the Forecast Team will meet in CIRA Solar House III to discuss and determine the current and forecasted cloud conditions (both next day forecast and the 3-5 day outlook).
• The forecasts team should keep in mind the scientific objectives, priorities, specific flight plans, and cloud target location and timing for any planned mission for the next day. A detailed discussion of CLEX-9 scientific objectives, mission priorities, flight and mission scenarios, and example flight plans can be found in the CLEX-9 Overview document. The mission priorities are repeated here for convenience.
CLEX-9 MISSION PRIORITIES |
I. Aircraft + Satellite + Cloud over North Platte, NE (LBF) Instrumented Ground Site |
II. Aircraft + Cloud over LBF Ground Site |
III. Aircraft + Satellite + Cloud |
IV. Aircraft + Cloud |
V. Cloud over LBF Ground Site |