2/20/01 -     Test Flight #2 was successfully completed on 2/16 as scheduled  Takeoff time was 10:10am under clear bright skies toward LAX and the SW  The initial climb was to 39Kft for 36 minutes, followed by a downward spiral to 1Kft for 30 minutes, followed by a 15Kfpm climb to 10Kft for 30 minutes, followed by a 15Kfpm climb to 18Kft for 30 minutes, followed by a 15Kfpm climb to 28Kft, followed by a spiral down to landing at EAFB  Total time was 43 hours

Blake was absent from the flight  Early in the flight, all but three instruments and ICATS indicated they were ready to proceed  Sandholm was able to operate throughout the full 30 minute leg at 1Kft without being stopped by pit heating problems  However, chiller temperature continued to rise as the plane ascended to 10Kft and had to be cutoff before reaching 10Kft  Operation resumed just prior to reaching 18Kft and thereafter  It appears that the 1Kft level will need to be followed by a high altitude cooling leg as was used during P/T B  Fried again noticed that his flow was too low at altitudes above 30Kft  He is pursuing several hardware changes prior to the next flight  Anderson continues to have computer problems and one element of his new spectrometer continues inoperative Sachse continues to have difficulty with his lasers  A vibration sensitivity has appeared in addition to finding a loose optic element

The post mission summary indicated that about half the instrumentation are working well  Apel has some post mission work; Anderson needs computer and probe work; Fried needs to work on flow above 30Kft; Talbot has a few data acquisition bugs; Sachse needs to work DACOM vibration sensitivity and get lasers fully operational; Sandholm needs to make NO detection as good as possible and then optimize NO₂ with the remaining energy; Heikes needs some computer work; and ICATS needs to get analog parameter graphics plot operational  and clean up a few other items

ICATS has yet to demonstrate the APT system and post mission data delivery
It turns out that EAFB closed their runway at 1800 on 2/16 for the holiday weekend and would have precluded an originally-planned 2/17 flight, even if desirable due to instrument operational; status after TF #1  Clouds were generally absent at all flight levels

The TF #3 plan will have takeoff at about 1450 on 2/20 in order to provide for about 90 minutes of post-sunset data  The flight levels will be generally the same as TF #2 with longer durations at constant altitude
DIAL has completed all special laser calibrations  The remaining DIAL performance checks will come just before TF #3 and deployment readiness activities

Daily 1:15 PM all-hands meetings have continued under the leadership of Darrell Winfield  All days have been one-1/2 shift with work planned on 2/10 and 2/11 Lab work by PI teams continues beyond one shift as each team determines it is appropriate

Many of the PI teams elected to return home during the laser calibration activities which took place during most of the week   As a result of the 2/1 and 2/2 flight tests, the Apel inlet was determined to need structural reinforcing to eliminate vibrations  Early in the week a cracked plane belly panel was identified and the planned RVSM certification test was delayed from 2/5 until 2/9, which was of no consequence because the time was more fully used for laser calibration tests  Also, during this week it was discovered that there was some plane gas tank seepage which required repair  The RVSM certification flight was completed 2/9 and the repaired Apel inlet was certified as being acceptable  The analysis of the RVSM certification is underway and results are expected about 2/20 The plane fuel tank seepage was in repair during the weekend of 2/11  The ICATS track plot capability was demonstrated during the 2/9 flight test 

The Sachse and Sandholm instruments seem to need to most work to complete their readiness for deployment  A laser lens was broken and considerable work must be repeated  Sandholm has yet to see a NO₂ signal  Browell concluded planned laser calibrations and determined that one more calibration test was needed prior to deployment 

Due to the now-routine closure of EAFB on Sundays, it has been decided that all planes will return on Monday 4/9  This choice was chosen over return two days early on Friday 4/6 in order to maintain some flexibility for having coordinated flights with the ACE Asia C-130 operating out of Iwakuni, Japan

All PI Teams returned to DFRC for the two-hour Plane Safety Briefing on 2/12  At the daily meeting it was learned that the plane gas tank seepage problems had been repaired  

During the meeting, there was a briefing by Steve Davis about expected conditions at the Hong Kong Airport  The most difficult part involved conducting planned laboratory operations, since the available space in the terminal area could not accommodate hazardous materials  Selecting an alternate available space also does not seem apealing due to the difficulty of getting equipment and laboratory haz materials through rigid security checkpoints to move from the plane to the lab space  The possibility of using the C-130 for a haz materials lab appears appealing because these materials would never need to leave the plane or pass through security checkpoints  However, there are some operations which need uninterrupted power for extended periods which can not be accommodated in the plane  Final arrangements will undoubtedly need to await the arrival of T/P personnel on-site to conduct final arrangements In the meantime, haz mat cargo and equipment to be used with them is being separately packaged  so it can be most easily moved upon arrival

Also during the daily meeting, there was a discussion with the Science Team about the proposed Test Flight #1 profile  Several changes were discussed and given to the navigator to incorporate

A review of instrument status revealed: 1) Anderson's new spectrometer probe was returned from the vendor and required further testing prior to installation on the plane and would not be included on TF #1, 2)  Sachse has one dewar out and plans to fly with only one and 3) Sandholm is still working to get ready

The TF #1 takeoff time was 10:20  am under clear bright skies toward LAX and the SW  The initial climb was to 39kft for about 60 minutes, followed by a downward spiral to 1kft for 30 minutes, followed by a climb to 25kft for 50 minutes followed by a spiral down to landing at EAFB   Total time was 4 hours  The majority of instruments indicated all was working fine during the early part of the flight  Sandholm experienced heating problems, similar to that of  prior missions, due to time at 1kft  He requests such future low level legs be limited to 20 minutes  ICATS generally performed satisfactorily with a few minor items to fix  Fried noticed flow problems at 39kft, but performed satisfactorily at lower altitudes  Half of the instruments reported no problems  The others noted varying problems, some of which should be fixed for the next flight 

It was determined after the flight that the Apel inlet plumbing seemed to be losing the seal for cabin pressure due to heat cycling of the teflon insert and was removed for repairs  Sachse still working to fix the lasers  Fried working to deal with high altitude flow problems  Anderson working to get spectrometer probe operational again and deal with computer which won't boot reliably  Apel awaiting reinstallation of inlet and CCB decision re-seal validation  Sandholm working to achieve NO₂ signal Blake plans not to be aboard since he is in lab analyzing cans from TF #1 Brune determined that a radio antenna located in front of his inlet needed to be moved  There are many reasons to delay the flight and also many to continue with the planned flight

The Operational Readiness Review was successfully completed on 2/15 with no significant issues