The Pilatus unmanned aircraft system for lower atmospheric research

de Boer, Gijs; Palo, Scott; Argrow, Brian; LoDolce, Gabriel; Mack, James; Gao, Ru-Shan; Telg, Hagen; Trussel, Cameron; Fromm, Joshua; Long, Charles N.; Bland, Geoff; Maslanik, James; Schmid, Beat; Hock, Terry

doi:10.5194/amt-9-1845-2016

Articles | Volume 9, issue 4

https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1845-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1845-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 9, issue 4

Research article

|

28 Apr 2016

Research article |

| 28 Apr 2016

The Pilatus unmanned aircraft system for lower atmospheric research

Gijs de Boer, Scott Palo, Brian Argrow, Gabriel LoDolce, James Mack, Ru-Shan Gao, Hagen Telg, Cameron Trussel, Joshua Fromm, Charles N. Long, Geoff Bland, James Maslanik, Beat Schmid, and Terry Hock

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Jan 2016	33	15	0	48
Feb 2016	42	9	0	51
Mar 2016	24	13	1	38
Apr 2016	91	41	1	133
May 2016	88	40	3	131
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Jul 2016	28	13	2	43
Aug 2016	13	12	0	25
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Oct 2016	18	23	0	41
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Jan 2017	19	14	0	33
Feb 2017	18	19	1	38
Mar 2017	32	32	2	66
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Feb 2024	34	10	2	46
Mar 2024	44	16	2	62
Apr 2024	48	12	2	62
May 2024	21	13	3	37
Jun 2024	47	13	2	62
Jul 2024	34	14	4	52
Aug 2024	37	7	2	46
Sep 2024	14	10	0	24
Oct 2024	32	7	2	41
Nov 2024	12	7	1	20
Dec 2024	14	11	1	26
Jan 2025	18	19	0	37
Feb 2025	34	7	1	42
Mar 2025	30	15	5	50
Apr 2025	31	13	0	44
May 2025	17	13	1	31
Jun 2025	44	21	0	65
Jul 2025	20	16	5	41
Aug 2025	35	15	1	51
Sep 2025	50	14	3	67
Oct 2025	23	38	1	62
Nov 2025	7	4	1	12

Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 18 Nov 2015)

Month	HTML	PDF	XML	Total
Nov 2015	45	41	1	87
Dec 2015	21	30	0	51
Jan 2016	33	15	0	48
Feb 2016	42	9	0	51
Mar 2016	24	13	1	38
Apr 2016	91	41	1	133
May 2016	88	40	3	131
Jun 2016	29	13	2	44
Jul 2016	28	13	2	43
Aug 2016	13	12	0	25
Sep 2016	20	8	0	28
Oct 2016	18	23	0	41
Nov 2016	16	12	1	29
Dec 2016	15	13	2	30
Jan 2017	19	14	0	33
Feb 2017	18	19	1	38
Mar 2017	32	32	2	66
Apr 2017	39	24	1	64
May 2017	31	21	0	52
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Jul 2017	35	17	0	52
Aug 2017	17	20	1	38
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Nov 2017	22	29	1	52
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Jan 2023	18	18	1	37
Feb 2023	24	13	1	38
Mar 2023	19	15	3	37
Apr 2023	15	23	1	39
May 2023	50	16	1	67
Jun 2023	64	8	0	72
Jul 2023	46	5	1	52
Aug 2023	45	11	3	59
Sep 2023	43	12	1	56
Oct 2023	49	16	5	70
Nov 2023	24	1	0	25
Dec 2023	41	5	0	46
Jan 2024	42	8	1	51
Feb 2024	34	10	2	46
Mar 2024	44	16	2	62
Apr 2024	48	12	2	62
May 2024	21	13	3	37
Jun 2024	47	13	2	62
Jul 2024	34	14	4	52
Aug 2024	37	7	2	46
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Oct 2024	32	7	2	41
Nov 2024	12	7	1	20
Dec 2024	14	11	1	26
Jan 2025	18	19	0	37
Feb 2025	34	7	1	42
Mar 2025	30	15	5	50
Apr 2025	31	13	0	44
May 2025	17	13	1	31
Jun 2025	44	21	0	65
Jul 2025	20	16	5	41
Aug 2025	35	15	1	51
Sep 2025	50	14	3	67
Oct 2025	23	38	1	62
Nov 2025	7	4	1	12

Latest update: 08 Nov 2025

Short summary

This paper provides an overview of a recently developed unmanned aerial system (UAS) for study of the lower atmosphere. This platform, the University of Colorado Pilatus UAS, is capable of providing measurements of atmospheric thermodynamics (temperature, pressure, humidity), atmospheric aerosol size distributions, and broadband radiation. These quantities are critical for understanding a variety of atmospheric processes relevant for characterization of the surface energy budget.