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<br />research aircraft contemplated; fuel and hangar availability; and existence of nearby office and <br />personnel accommodations. <br /> <br />f. A suitable upwind (generally southwest) site for taking upper air soundings had to exist within <br />approximately 40 km ofthe highest elevation portion of the study area. This site had to have <br />commercial power, telephone service, and nearby crew accommodations. <br /> <br />g. Small, sheltered forest clearings had to be available within the study area for location of <br />precipitation gauges. These needed to be close to all-weather roads for convenient winter access and <br />be easily obtainable for short-term use through lease or other arrangements. <br /> <br />After reviewing topographic map information, three areas of the Mogollon Rim (see fig. 2-1) were identified <br />as potential candidates for conduct of the program: (a) an area from Flagstaff extending south-southeast <br />approximately 80 lan, (b) the Mogollon Rim area from northwest through northeast above Payson, and (c) <br />the White Mountains area in eastern Arizona. The latter was eliminated from consideration for the initial <br />field work when preliminary discussions with the FAA disclosed severe airspace utilization conflicts. Much of <br />the area of interest was occupied by restricted military operational areas, which often precluded civilian <br />aircraft use. Although the potential exists to negotiate alternate military operational area boundaries for a <br />future long-term program, it was clearly not possible to implement any changes within the time available. <br /> <br />In late July 1986, an initial area familiarization visit was made by Reclamation personnel to intensively review <br />the two remaining carididate sites. Following this visit, additional data and clarifications were obtained from <br />several sources. Consideration of all factors led to the preliminary selection of the area south-southeast of <br />Flagstaff as the most suitable for intensive studies involving combined ground instrumentation and aircraft <br />operations. The principal reasons for this decision were as follows: <br /> <br />a. Airspace utilization limitations were the least restrictive. A formal request was submitted to <br />the FAA Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center to establish a Letter of Agreement that <br />would defme research airspace utilization areas and coordination procedures. The three specific <br />operation areas requested are shown as areas 1, 2, and 3 in figure 2-2. The initial FAA response <br />indicated that, while the request could be accommodated in general terms, restrictions could often be <br />expected in area 3 as it had a major arrival/departure corridor for many Phoenix area commercial <br />flights. It was suggested that area 2 would offer the most operational flexibility. Area 1 was <br />considered too small to be a primary site. <br /> <br />b. A suitable site existed for installation of the primary collection of ground instrumentation. This <br />was near the USFS (U.S. Forest Service) Long Valley District Ranger Station at Happy Jack, <br />Arizona (see fig. 2-2). The land was under the jurisdiction of the Coconino National Forest, and <br />preliminary discussions with USFS personnel indicated a likelihood that both land use arrangements <br />and provision of other services could be negotiated. Commercial power and telephone service were <br />both available as were unused concrete pads from some former buildings, which were ideal for siting <br />some of the equipment. The Happy Jack site appeared to best meet the selection criteria. <br /> <br />6 <br />