DLR's research aircraft 'Falcon 20E' completes measurement flight successfully

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) completed a successful measurement flight of the volcanic ash cloud over Germany on 19 April 2010. After a flight time lasting more than three hours, the Falcon 20E returned to its home base at 20:45 CEST. A DLR's report for the German Federal Ministry of Transport regarding the measurement flight is available for download (12 pages, see Downloads at the right). Image from LIDAR shows horizontal and vertical distribution of vulcanic ash during the flight with the DLR's 'Dassault Falcon 20E' flew from Oberpfaffenhofen to Leipzig, then via Hamburg to Bilthoven (Netherlands) and back to Oberpfaffenhofen via Stuttgart.

The flight left Oberpfaffenhofen in a northerly direction, heading for Leipzig. There, the Falcon descended to an altitude of about two kilometres and then climbed back to its cruising height. During the flight, further measurements were made at heights between two and twelve kilometres. All measurement systems on board functioned perfectly.

The lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) instrument showed ash cloud structures in vertical layers. These layers were at very different heights along the air route. The aerosol measurements suggest that the volcanic ash clouds that blew in had already aged. At times during the flight a brown-coloured cloud could be seen. These measurements allow for comparison with ground-based measurements performed in Germany by several bodies.