Campaign logbook
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Campaign logbook¶
Wednesday 8th October¶
Today, it was time for the first ATR42 flight to Spain and the first coordinated flight of the campaign with Gerfaut Dynamic WT9. Their target: Bilbao. According to HYSPLIT simulations and weather forecast, an inland plume was expected with winds blowing from the ocean. Accordingly, ATR42 flight plan consisted of legs perpendicular to the winds. The position of each leg was chosen to maximize the chances to detect emissions from identified sources. Those include:
ATR42 flight plan (orange legs) over the plume simulation from the HYSPLIT model, chosen to detect emissions from known sources (red points)
Unfortunately for the team, the LNG terminal at Bilbao harbour seemed to not be operating. All instruments performed nominally. LiVe signal was been far better over Spain than during the previous flights over France, and lower again after crossing the border on the way back to Toulouse, stemming from different aerosol loads over the two countries.
LNG terminal at Bilbao harbour
ATR42 flew at FL170 from 13:00 to 15:00 local time while Dynamic WT9 performed 3 profiles up to 3,500 ft to help with the interpretation of the gas columns given by CHARM-F. The coordination went perfectly, with the help of Madrid and Bilbao ATC.
Coordinated flight between SAFIRE ATR42 and Gerfaut Dynamic WT9 as seen on Flightradar24
A kudo to the Gerfaut team who had to dispatch a special team from Madrid to Bilbao to allow for refuelling and powering the Dynamic WT9 after its flight in the morning from Madrid.
The Gerfaut team around its Dynamic WT9 ©Gerfaut, 2025
And to end even better, the green light was given today by ENAIRE for flight over Madrid and Barcelona, in addition to Bilbao. The 4 targets of AB2CD can now be targeted, when weather allows