Projects
The Citation research aircraft has participated in multiple field projects over the past 30 years.
Department of Defense
Recent federally-funded research includes Department of Defense support for 20 hours of research flights near Titusville, Florida in July and August of 2015, and 25 hours of research flights in July and August 2019.
Navy CapeEx19
Location: Titusville, FL
Dates: July 16 - August 7, 2019
Navy CAPE2015
Location: Titusville, FL
Dates: July 28 - August 11, 2015
NASA
Olympic Mountain Experiment
Location: Everett, WA
Dates: November 8 - December 22, 2015
Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment
Location: Asheville, NC
Dates: May 1 - June 15, 2014
Global Cold-season Precipitation Experiment
Location: Gravenhurst, ON
Dates: January 18 - February 29, 2012
Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment
Location: Ponaca City, OK
Dates: April 22 - June 3, 2011
Local
Fall 2015 Flight Testing
United Technologies Corporation (UTC) Aerospace Systems continued flight testing on the Citation research aircraft in 2015. Two prototype Optical Ice Detector (OID) instruments were tested during 10 hours of flights in a variety of cloud conditions. Clouds with only water drops, only ice particles, and mixed water/ice clouds were targeted. The Citation research aircraft carries advanced microphysical instruments for sampling from the surface to an altitude of 40,000 ft. The OIDs performance was evaluated by comparisons with the advanced research instruments on-board the Citation. The overall goal of UTC's testing program is to have reliable instruments for deployment on commercial airline aircraft.
Fall 2014 Flight Testing
United Technologies Corporation (UTC) Aerospace Systems funded a Citation research aircraft project to test several instruments under development for commercial aircraft. Instrument prototypes were tested in clouds and precipitation from the surface up to 38,000 ft. The project's objective was to evaluate the prototype instruments' performance by comparing measurements to the Citation's set of research instruments.
2013 Optical Air Data System Testing
Ophir Corporation is developing an instrument that uses laser returns from aerosols and gases in the atmosphere to characterize the air flow around an aircraft. The Citation research aircraft test flew the instrument over a range of conditions during dedicated flights.
2010-2012 Optical Icing Detector Instrument Testing
United Technologies (previously Goodrich Aerospace Corporations) is developing the Optical Icing Conditions Detector (OICD). The OICD is a lidar-based system for the characterization of the flight environment in terms of airframe icing conditions. A prototype OICD was mounted on the Citation to test the OICD over a targeted range of conditions in a series of dedicated flights.
2010 Student Nowcasting and Observation with DOW at UND: Educations through Research (SNOwD UNDER)
SNOwD UNDER made observations from two polarimetric radars and the Citation research aircraft during November 2010 snow events near Grand Forks, North Dakota. An objective of the project was to identify hydrometeor classification equation sets that work for specific radar wavelengths and to verify those solutions using in situ measurements of snow particles during a regional snow event.
Summer 2010 Polarimetric Cloud Analysis and Seeding Test 3
POLCAST3 is a cooperative effort involving the University of North Dakota, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Weather Modification Incorporated (WMI), and Ice Crystal Engineering(ICE) which is sponsored by the North Dakota Atmospheric Resource Board. The overall research objective is to better understand the effects of hygroscopic cloud seeding at cloud base on convective clouds in North Dakota. Field measurements using the UND Polarimetric Radar, an instrument WMI Cessna 340 Aircraft, the UND Citation research aircraft, and surface measurements on top of Clifford Hall were conducted between June 21 and July 23, 2010.