WMOD00437

• Title: HIPLEX - 1978-79 Operations Plan - Big Spring-Snyder, Texas
• Date: 4/1/1978
• Weather Modification - Doc Type: Report

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the line. Normally, the Lear Jet would be deployed first and complete
its seeding mission along the line before the Navajo cloud seeding air-
plane is deployed on a similar mission. The time intervals between the
two flights would be sufficiently long, as judged by the Project Director,
to permit the seeded turrets to react to the seeding. While the seeding
is being conducted from above, the Aztec and Navajo cloud physics aircraft
will be used to collect cloud physics data at the base of the clouds along
the line. The Aztec will be assigned to work along a portion of the
line nearest to Big Spring, while the Navajo cloud physics airplane will
work along a portion of the line farther away. The cloud physics airplanes
will fly perpendicular to the line with successive passes separated by
approximately 2 km. The Project Director will decide when to terminate the
collection of cloud physics data.
7.4.4 Coordination Between Aircraft and Personnel on the Grotmd
All aircraft will be in radio communication with personnel manning
the FPS-77 radar in Big Spring. Each aircraft will be equipped with a
C-Band Transponder, thus permitting the FPS-77 to locate and track the
aircraft, at least to a limited extent. Communication between the pilot
and the radar operator will be necessary so that the radar operator will
know which cloud is being seeded and/or sampled. A suitable radio frequency
will be determined prior to the field program. While it will not be the
responsibility of the radar operator to control the aircraft in any manner,
he could relay information to the pilots which may assist them in per-
formi~g their duties in a more efficient manner. All communications between
the radar operator and the pilots will be for the purpose of commtmicating
information and not for control of the aircraft.
7.5 Deployment of Aircraft
At the morning briefing, the pilots will be notified of the antici-
pated use of aircraft for that day. This will be possible because the sequence
of events will be determined in advance. The type of seeding, however, will
be known in advance only by the Project Director and Mr. Riggio except in
the case of lines of thunderstorm complexes.
The deployment of all aircraft will be the responsibility of the
Project Director. All aircraft crews will be present each morning for
the daily briefing, and even though it may not be planned to use a
particular aircraft in a seeding mission on that day, the crew will remain
on standby status in the event conditions change and it becomes desirable
for that airplane to perform a mission. The aircraft to be used, the

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