Hurricane Hunters
53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron [USAFR]
403rd Wing, Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi
The officers and airmen, men and women of the 53rd WRS are once again flying out of Keesler AFB, having lost their facilities, and in some case their homes to hurricane Katrina. They fly WC-130J’s into the eyes of tropical cyclones from the center of the Atlantic to the Hawaiian Islands. They are part of the Air Force Reserve, not the regular Air Force, and frankly I would prefer flying into anti-aircraft zones than the eyes of hurricanes at 10,000 feet and below.
The accuracy of current hurricane forecasting is dependent on the readings these people take in the center of these storms.
4 comments
I admire those hurricane hunters. Almost as much as those pilots dumping retardant on humungous wildfires.
Flying conditions dangerous and ever changing, you betcha. Pay, probably lousy compared to a desk jockey job at a Hedge Fund manager’s. Needed, definately.
They draw standard military pay and allowances when on duty, which certainly doesn’t add up to what Tony Snow was making, and the highest ranking officer in a squadron is normally a lieutenant colonel.
dude! it’s a cool job! one you’d like so much, you’d do it for free.
i got a kick out of the quote about flying through turbulence: it’ll stay airborne as long as there’s air flying over the wings. being a helpless passenger strapped into your seat, able to do no more than mutter magical incantations as the plane jumps sideways or drops the odd thousand feet or so is scary indeed, but i think i prefer it to the possibility of being shot down out of the sky.
The odds are better that you can avoid the anti-aircraft. This job is like my Dad flying into the Polesti oil fields in the plexiglas nose of a B-24. No, thank you.
I really like the C-130, and it has gotten me out of some tense situations, but flying into the middle of maelstrom intentionally is not my idea of a good time.