Reconnaissance aircraft provide a wealth of information to the weather community when they fly into the center of the world’s costliest natural disaster. Data collected not only goes into weather models but also gives us a real-time assessment of a storm. Flying into the center of a hurricane obviously isn’t for the faint-hearted. It takes a lot of courage, skill & a strong stomach to attempt such a feat. Who decided this was a good idea anyways?
The first plane to fly into the eye of a hurricane took off from a town about 100 miles east of Austin called Bryan, TX. Turning the clock back to July 1943, a poorly forecasted hurricane was heading straight towards Galveston. Back in Bryan, British pilots were being taught instrument flying by US Col Duckworth. Col Duckworth mentioned to these pilots that planes may need to be flown out for safety in advance of the approaching hurricane. The pilots, let’s just say, had a lot of self-pride and scoffed at the sense of urgency from this feeble AT-6 “Texan” trainer. After hearing enough of the joking, Col Duckworth bet them a drink that he could fly the AT-6 into the storm and back, proving that not only the plane, but instrument flying was dependable. Col Duckworth brought Lt. Ralph O’Hair along for the ride. Without official permission due to risk, they took off into the storm. After flying through lots of rain and turbulence, they reached the eye of the storm and took in the view before turning around. Col Duckworth got his drink that night, and from that point forward the joking stopped and Bryan Field became the top location to learn instrument flying. Source: The 1943 “Surprise” Hurricane by Lew Fincher & Bill Read
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