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Aircraft electric field measurements: Calibration and ambient field retrievalAn aircraft locally distorts the ambient thundercloud electric field. In order to determine the field in the absence of the aircraft, an aircraft calibration is required. In this work a matrix inversion method is introduced for calibrating an aircraft equipped with four or more electric field sensors and a high-voltage corona point that is capable of charging the aircraft. An analytic, closed form solution for the estimate of a (3 x 3) aircraft calibration matrix is derived, and an absolute calibration experiment is used to improve the relative magnitudes of the elements of this matrix. To demonstrate the calibration procedure, we analyze actual calibration date derived from a Lear jet 28/29 that was equipped with five shutter-type field mill sensors (each with sensitivities of better than 1 V/m) located on the top, bottom, port, starboard, and aft positions. As a test of the calibration method, we analyze computer-simulated calibration data (derived from known aircraft and ambient fields) and explicitly determine the errors involved in deriving the variety of calibration matrices. We extend our formalism to arrive at an analytic solution for the ambient field, and again carry all errors explicitly.
Document ID
19950036181
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Koshak, William J.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Bailey, Jeff
(University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL United States)
Christian, Hugh J.
(University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL United States)
Mach, Douglas M.
(University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
November 20, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume: 99
Issue: D11
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Accession Number
95A67780
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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