NSF C-130 Mission Summary Report (EPIC)

Flight 12
ITCZ Flight 7
143200	Take Off
151040	1st Dropsonde
151320	Starting maneuvers
153800	Passing through the tops of stratus clouds
160300	Entering cloud at 4000 m
160720	Entering broad area of cloud tops
161930	S turn maneuvers for Ophir corrections
163800	Cloud Photo 1 looking north getting ready to penetrate cloud top at 6000 m
164018	Cloud Pass
164445	Turning west in left 135 degree  turn
165045	Cloud photo 2, same cloud but now heading east at 6000 m
165210	Cloud pass
165500	Turning left 135 degrees and descending to 4000 m
170120	Cloud Photo 3, heading south at 4000 m
170300  Cloud penetration
170430	Cloud photo 4, same heading
170510	Cloud penetrations
171250	Cloud Photo 4, New tower growing on south side of old cloud
171350	Cloud penetrations
171430	Turning south
171730	Descending to 2500 m
172430	Cloud Photo 5, looking NW at 2500 m
172500	Cloud penetration, Very good. light drizzle, high LWC
173400	Cloud photo 6, heading east at 2500 m
173530	Cloud penetration
174000	Descending to 1000 m, turning left
174500	Turning right 270 degrees
174830	At 1000 m entering region of precipitation
174930	Nice cloud pass with high droplet concentration and little drizzle
175330	90/270, descending to 300 m, heading NE along wind vector
	We are generally below cloud bases here but not by much
180400	Descending to 30 m and turning 90/270 to pass back to the SW
184700	Ascending to 6000 m
185500	Cloud Photo 7, Approaching north line of clouds at 6000 m
185900	Cloud penetration
191200	Cloud photo 8, Approaching cloud from the north at 4000 m
191400	Cloud Pass
191840	Cloud Pass going west
192130	Turning and descending to 2500 m
192700	Cloud Photo 9, Approaching from S, 2500 m
192845	Cloud pass
183130	Another cloud pass but in different cloud
183800	Cloud pass
183845	Cloud pass near edge of cloud
194800	Heading west at 1000 m
194900	Cloud Photo 10, approaching clouds from the east
195500	Went past with no penetrations. They had dispersed
195630	Cloud Photo 11
195730	Cloud pass
200000	Cloud Photo 12
200040	Cloud pass
200330	90/270 Descending to 300 m
	We are about 100 m below cloud bases
201600	90/270 descending to 30 m
203200	Start Sounding

Summary
The objective of today's flight was to do cloud studies starting in the south and then working
towards the north. The approach into the southeast sector of the research area revealed many 
clouds at all levels with no sense of organization into well defined lines as in previous
ITCZ studies. We picked the most promising line and did the figure 4 patterns N-S then E-W along
what we could see. The value of this line for microphysical studies is questionable.

We then flew NW to work a cloud line north of the Ron Brown. We tried to work what we thought
was a new line of clouds to the east of a line of clouds reported by the Ron Brown but only
worked several cells successfully. The 260X failed during the north cloud studies.