NOAA Hurricane Hunters with Commander Joshua Rannenberg – Research Aviation, Mission & Public Service

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00:00:27: The views shared in this podcast are personal and for informational purposes only.

00:00:31: They do not reflect any employer or aviation authority and nothing discussed here should be considered.

00:00:35: flight training.

00:00:53: Nice to have you on board with us today.

00:00:56: My name is Stefan, I'm one of your hosts but as always i am not on my own here in the virtual cockpit.

00:01:04: Jürgen how are you?

00:01:10: All the listeners know who we are, but for those here new at our channel.

00:01:18: So Stefan is an active A-Street-Twenty pilot and I'm Jürgen Reis.

00:01:23: I coach pilots in metal performance both one to one and within international aviation environment.

00:01:30: And yeah today's episode Speaking of special very special aviation environment so to say uh i think it's very special.

00:01:42: Yeah, absolutely.

00:01:44: We're going to talk a little bit more about this later but if you've ever heard or seen pictures of these planes that fly into hurricanes and ever wondered what kind people would do this job?

00:02:00: Well wonder no longer because we have actually not just anyone but one of the leading guys in this organization with us.

00:02:12: today, Jürgen had a pleasure doing an interview.

00:02:15: I just listened to it afterwards.

00:02:17: unfortunately i wasn't available on that day.

00:02:19: And yeah, it's super interesting.

00:02:22: By the way you get an amazing interview.

00:02:24: I really enjoyed listening to it and i learned so much about their operation.

00:02:30: what they do You know?

00:02:31: I thought that would just fly into a hurricane.

00:02:34: That is all.

00:02:34: there are measurements in terms of dropping stuff flying drones.

00:02:45: Yeah, I think this is a very special interview from my point of view.

00:02:49: Something very unique!

00:02:51: Today we welcome Commander Joshua Runnenberg From the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center A hurricane aircraft commander and instructor pilot.

00:03:02: And first things first.

00:03:04: First of all big shout out to NOAA or to the NOA team.

00:03:08: It took some tenacity To get these interviews happen.

00:03:15: I forwarded you certainly also some of the emails.

00:03:19: There were quite a few people involved, i think they checked us out quite conscientiously and yeah thank-you know our team for making this happen.

00:03:28: it was really big honor to speak with Commander Annenberg.

00:03:33: Yeah, I agree.

00:03:35: And when the interview finally happened you can hear how he's really passionate about his job?

00:03:50: I think we often forget these people are not doing this for fun.

00:03:58: They're saving lives, they are helping predicting the paths of hurricanes that can narrow down where it falls on land and help with decision making in terms of evacuation zones.

00:04:14: To me, these are some of the unsung heroes that we all have.

00:04:19: That they're in their backgrounds and never really spoken about but doing it with pride or a lot professionalism to save lives whenever you go up into the air.

00:04:33: So for my amazing team NOAA, an amazing organization I'm super grateful our invitation and that the Joshua took out some time from his busy schedule to talk with us.

00:04:52: I mean as i already mentioned in my very first words, no hurricane hunters represent a special part of aviation research flying in direct support for forecast science and public safety.

00:05:07: so this is really a multiple variable mission, an invariable mission.

00:05:14: Yeah, exactly.

00:05:15: Very different from the flying I do huh?

00:05:18: Whenever we see a big cloud... We make a big turn around it and stay away as far as possible.

00:05:26: This guy is just...

00:05:27: So in meteorology you know there's a glider ballad As you said but i mean i'm an austrian hurricane But even a thunderstorm.

00:05:39: You're right Yeah, from our flying to your flying.

00:05:45: We are not only an aviation quest broadcast on audio but I mean we are audio and also YouTube.

00:05:54: thanks to your work Stefan you run even more!

00:05:59: This is getting complicated now.

00:06:00: No, let's start with the first video.

00:06:02: so we have in every podcast a Video on our YouTube channel and this is the background video.

00:06:08: This is flight simming by Stefan And there is usually real world flights sometimes also some yeah almost real-world flights by as I said at the beginning flown By an Real World A-Street-Twenty palette.

00:06:23: and What's that today?

00:06:25: On our aviation quest youtube Channel.

00:06:29: By the way, the name is aviation-quest podcast but it's quite straightforward to find at Google.

00:06:40: Yes exactly!

00:06:41: So today we are flying with British Airways and we're flying from London Heathrow to Amsterdam.

00:06:47: now I always do all flights in real world weather and that day the weather wasn't all that great.

00:06:54: so kind of fitting to the interview because you're gonna see a lot of clouds during that flight.

00:07:01: It was very cloudy in the UK, it was very clouded in Amsterdam.

00:07:05: but the nice thing is this was one of the first flights I think the first flight after i had installed a new add-on to my FlightSim which simulates effects when they can really happen when there's a lot of moisture in the air, like condensation effects and vapor trail effect.

00:07:27: And so this was perfect because the weather was perfect for it.

00:07:31: So When you watch your video You may see some really cool Vapor Effects across the wings or inside the engines and stuff.

00:07:39: A Lot Of Clouds but a lot Cool Effect.

00:07:44: You are building a beautiful bridge to the next video.

00:07:48: This is why I said it was a little bit complicated because we have more than one video, i know what kind of add-on you were talking about and introduced on your FS Clips channel but this isn't the video that I am referring today Because you also made a NOAA video.

00:08:11: What was it?

00:08:12: A teaser video for the show and we will certainly link this if possible at the end of our podcast teaser.

00:08:20: And in a linked-in article which will be online two days after this interview, so these interviews are online on July twenty six.

00:08:30: So afternoon twenty eights Tuesday twenty eighths July is.

00:08:36: certainly there would be a LinkedIn article with Stefan's video because I've seen it yesterday as one of the first person and It's awesome.

00:08:48: I'm looking forward to it.

00:08:50: Yeah, just for clarity Noah was kind enough to send us a whole big file full of videos that were taken while they are flying through the hurricanes and into the eye.

00:09:04: It's

00:09:05: amazing!

00:09:05: The footage is just mind-blowing, especially when you see video footage inside the aircraft how everyone is thrown around...the turbulence is just unbelievable.

00:09:17: so I thought since they sent this to us and told as we can use it would be a huge waste not to put it out there.

00:09:25: So I'll put together a short video, its only think about two minutes thirty seconds where we showcase Noah's flying skills and what their job entails.

00:09:37: so if you're interested maybe after the interview if you want really see whats going on inside of aircraft when they battle the hurricane then yeah click in the link.

00:09:47: have look

00:09:49: They provided us not ONLY video material, there are also photos and some of them are on LinkedIn.

00:09:56: And speaking of LinkedIn I mean originally it wasn't intended this way but my personal LinkedIn account.

00:10:04: so the Zürgen Reis which is by the way in the show notes direct link.

00:10:09: not really hard to find.

00:10:11: It's evolved, so to say.

00:10:15: To become our communication headquarters of the podcast.

00:10:18: So also this morning I have come later on but it seems there are already two... I think both of them were pilots as far as i know wrote in for being maybe a guest.

00:10:35: It seems to be the most comfortable way, communicate with us.

00:10:40: And I just say do so in their moment.

00:10:42: normally never did it this very last years but due to podcast and what's going on i check my link linked in message usually twice a day As I said, and on Tuesday afternoon there's a LinkedIn version of the teaser.

00:11:00: And every Thursday There is a condensed version on mental performance in more so little bit.

00:11:07: Yeah It's from our mental coaching syllabus some writing on Every day.

00:11:12: at the moment it's really yeah.

00:11:14: this keeps me on my toes.

00:11:16: It's incredible and Yeah, its really highly interesting work.

00:11:22: One, an excerpt of this or a freebie is on LinkedIn every Thursday afternoon to cover these.

00:11:30: But yeah I think enough of the both of us.

00:11:34: Stefan what do you think?

00:11:35: Should we jump right into the Commander Ranenberg interview?

00:11:40: absolutely so uh will let you now listen through the interview.

00:11:44: Jürgen and i will be back after the interview again.

00:11:46: just a few more words.

00:11:50: We'll see you on the other side.

00:11:53: Let's put it this way, okay?

00:11:55: Without further ado let's get into the interview.

00:12:02: Commander Reneberg welcome to AviationQuest to Sea!

00:12:05: It is my utmost honor to have you with us sir and yeah thank you

00:12:12: Yeah Thank You thanks for having me.

00:12:14: Could you start by giving a brief overview of the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center and its role Sir?

00:12:24: Yeah, sure.

00:12:25: The NOAA Aircraft Operations Center is where all of our aircraft are permanently stationed and we fly a variety of scientific environmental science research missions that range from coastal mapping water volume assessment We do some air chemistry work And we also have specialized aircraft for the unique hurricane research mission set.

00:12:52: We have two WP-IIIDs that are special made by Lockheed Martin to fly inside of the hurricanes and collect some critical data, they can improve forecast accuracy.

00:13:02: we also have as over right now a high altitude research jet at G four but also does synoptic surveillance around above the storm while the WP three D's will fly inside it.

00:13:14: uh...we do you have couple g fives there on the way to replace single G for.

00:13:18: so We're looking to expand and continue that sort of severe weather in hurricane research.

00:13:24: So it seems your crews play a crucial role within the broader system of weather forecasting, and public safety?

00:13:34: Yeah!

00:13:34: That's correct.

00:13:37: Okay let's talk aviation if you allow Mr.

00:13:42: Runnenberg, the Whiskey Papa III Delta is often associated with hurricane missions.

00:13:48: from a pilot's perspective.

00:13:50: what defines this aircrafts role within NOAA's fleet?

00:13:55: Sure so the WP-IIIDs are like I said there're only two of them The Only Two in the World that were special made by Lockheed for this mission set.

00:14:03: they're fitted With some unique equipment on board.

00:14:08: one Of the most critical pieces that we fly with is a TDR.

00:14:13: It's a tailed Doppler radar and That gets vertical radar imagery of the hurricane while we're inside it.

00:14:19: We also have another Doppler Radar, but can get some horizontal pictures an imagery as we need As well.

00:14:25: so we can kind of get almost three-dimensional scan Of this storm wall or inside of it?

00:14:31: It's essentially The aircraft itself.

00:14:33: is kind of like a mobile weather station.

00:14:35: We've got a variety of sensors on the aircraft that can get real-time data about atmospheric conditions inside the hurricane as we're flying, and will also deploy various devices from the aircraft.

00:14:54: We also have a bathymetric trace buoys that will drop, and these buoys will drop all the way to the water.

00:15:05: And then deploy into the water and get water column data.

00:15:09: That water column is critical in helping understand storm intensity.

00:15:13: The storms absorb the ocean—the water temperature —and composition of the oceanic conditions can really drive certain factors how severe it gets, and how quickly it intensifies.

00:15:35: We'll also drop various types of unmanned aerial vehicles.

00:15:39: so we have some UAS systems that will deploy inside the storm as well.

00:15:43: The WP-IIID when we fly into the storm has a hard deck around six to eight thousand feet.

00:15:53: We don't want to go below that for certain reasons.

00:15:55: The weather can get a little bit more severe as we get lower.

00:16:00: There's also concern of a lot of salt water ingestion, salt accretion on the aircraft.

00:16:06: We have documented instances of Salt Accretion actually flaming engines out.

00:16:11: So we try and stay above this salt accretion layer, and will set hard decks inside the storm.

00:16:15: And that's why we deploy these UAS because they're disposable so these smaller aerial vehicles can fly in parts of the storm.

00:16:23: I won't allow my aircraft to go.

00:16:27: Yeah like i said were flying through the storms eight-to ten thousand feet is kind of a magic layer.

00:16:33: We tried to stick too Above ten thousands feet.

00:16:37: the icing conditions get alot more severe.

00:16:40: So severe icing can destroy lift across an aircraft's wing, and it can make a very difficult to maintain level flight.

00:16:46: We'll stay below the icing layer—it also keeps us below a lot of lightning... ...and most of the hail!

00:16:53: So we try and stay below that ten thousand foot if we can —we're trying to stay above….

00:16:59: …the six-thousand-foot hard deck which is usually what we have set.

00:17:04: That's kind of the magic layer that we've found to keep the aircraft most safe while flying inside of the storm.

00:17:11: So it's just incredible demanding.

00:17:13: When overheating in such a multidisciplinary environment, how is coordination between pilots and onboard scientists structured?

00:17:23: Mr.

00:17:23: Ronenberg

00:17:25: Yeah we have a larger crew complement so will fly with fifteen eighteen sometimes twenty people on board the aircraft counting the pilots of the essential flight crew.

00:17:38: I'll need a Coke pilot and flight engineer, so we will be in the cockpit up on the flight station.

00:17:43: We are operating an aircraft.

00:17:45: Flight engineers is in charge of maintaining all of our air craft systems.

00:17:48: Pressurization balancing fuel manually making sure engine oil temperatures are good.

00:17:54: So he's monitoring all those aircraft system while pilots fly into the aircraft.

00:17:59: We usually have the pilot in left seat who acts as flying pilot And he will manually fly that aircraft inside of hurricane.

00:18:06: The pilot in the right seat will kind of be an overall monitor and backup, the pilot flying.

00:18:11: And he'll also kinda act as a back-up to flight engineer if anything arises.

00:18:19: Behind the pilots we have navigator who are going help us coordinate quite literally some navigation inside hurricane and communicate positive comms with some sort of air traffic control authority, whether we're using HF radios or satellite comms.

00:18:35: That way we always have positive radio communications with somebody back home.

00:18:40: so they know that were safe.

00:18:42: and then next to our navigator We Have a Flight Director And this person is trained meteorologist who specializes in tropical cyclones.

00:18:51: They understand all the micrometeorology everything thats happening inside the storm.

00:18:55: So their there help analyze the storm real time and they'll help us navigate inside of the hurricane, and avoid some more severe threats as we punch through the eyewall.

00:19:05: If we can you know at the end of day that goal is to punch thru the eye wall.

00:19:08: fly trough most sever parts of storm gather some critical data.

00:19:12: but if we do it though a path of least resistance then we will and flight directors really helps find this path in the storm.

00:19:20: Flight director also the person thats kind stands as the gatekeeper between the flight station and the science crew.

00:19:28: So behind the Flight Director, we can have a variety of scientists And they'll have different types of objectives that they want met.

00:19:35: They will have different type profiles that might ask us to fly.

00:19:39: We try brief all their requests on ground before getting inside the hurricane.

00:19:43: but sometimes things change and there may be new request in this moment.

00:19:47: so they are going First point of contact for them and he'll give it a quick sanity check And you can tell him yes or no, and if he thinks that I might be feasible He can relay that request to me as the aircraft commander?

00:20:02: And i'll discuss with him on A private intercom net.

00:20:06: And we'll talk about If We think It's something That we Can accomplish if We have The fuel To do it if The conditions are safe enough to Do it.

00:20:13: and i'll Give the ultimate Yes Or No.

00:20:15: is this Safe?

00:20:15: Can We accomplish their objectives?

00:20:18: So the scientists are in the back, they're gathering all of data.

00:20:21: They're looking at a storm and trying to make sure that we get what's needed for their hurricane forecast or research.

00:20:29: And working with our flight director to try and accomplish those objectives... The flight director will work on me so I can maintain safety while inside the hurricane.

00:20:41: So high-end team works?

00:20:44: Yeah!

00:20:46: A lot talking about moving pieces But as things progress, everybody kind of has a role.

00:20:53: And after the first flight or two we learn to work together pretty well and during a storm series will do anywhere from.

00:21:01: you know three to five Or seven missions as the storm forms and then makes landfall and We learned to work Together really Well during those missions.

00:21:11: Let's reach From storms and teams To yourself.

00:21:16: You gain your career as a naval aviator.

00:21:21: What aspects of your Navy training proved most valuable for you current role at NOAA commander?

00:21:29: Yeah, so I'm what we call an inter-service transfer.

00:21:34: the NOAA Corps is active duty branch service within U.S government and I commissioned it to the navy originally.

00:21:44: Nine to ten years flying as a naval aviator.

00:21:48: I deployed it couple times and one of the things that makes me uniquely qualified for this job is The platform, but i flew in the navy and the Navy.

00:21:56: i flew p-three charlie's.

00:21:59: So the anti submarine warfare aircraft?

00:22:01: That variant Of the P three that the navy widely used For quite awhile.

00:22:07: We used it for intelligence surveillance reconnaissance, we use it for armed patrol.

00:22:11: We do search and rescue with it.

00:22:13: but It was designed by Lockheed as an anti-submarine warfare aircraft originally.

00:22:18: So because I have time in that aircraft type i've specialized training on the air craft type.

00:22:22: I was a good fit For the WP three D. so when I applied for this position As an inner service transfer When the Aircraft Operations Center met they convene a board, I went through an interview.

00:22:35: I went though selection process and they tend to select people that qualify on similar aircraft if not same type of aircraft.

00:22:45: so i kind of fit that wicket which is what really made me special for this job.

00:22:51: What would you say in general?

00:22:53: General what does the transition from military aviation into no operations typically require both professionally

00:23:05: Can you repeat the question?

00:23:08: What does it require for... What is a transition

00:23:09: from military aviation into NOAA operations typically required both personally and professionally.

00:23:20: Yes,

00:23:20: just general answer

00:23:21: right yeah there's Yeah couple things like.

00:23:26: I was at the end of my military service commitment Right.

00:23:29: so because i was at The End Of My Commitment Like You Could Look At commissioning again, you know promoting within the Navy staying and turning that of that navy time into a full twenty year career.

00:23:41: A lot of folks get out of the Navy after their commitment is done You Know?

00:23:44: After there are ten years or so.

00:23:46: And uh The third option like what I did was the inner service transfer.

00:23:51: So the timing has to line up.

00:23:53: There has to be availability with an AOC.

00:23:56: as far as personally goes um...you definitely need To have interest in the weather research aspect, you have to enjoy that dynamic environment and kind of hostile environment flying.

00:24:10: So I've known some people who tried it out.

00:24:14: they found out wasn't for them and didn't end up pursuing this career as a Hurricane Hunter pilot after their first year or two.

00:24:23: so its certainly not everybody.

00:24:24: i think You need the stomach for it to really want to help understand the weather.

00:24:35: Okay, Mr Reneberg you're not only so-to say a very experienced pilot your also an instructor pilot.

00:24:43: how do you approach preparing pilots for this highly specialized form of flying?

00:24:53: We have a training curriculum that we've set up, so when pilots check in you go to ground school.

00:24:59: You go flight simulators for the WP-DD.

00:25:02: those flight simulators are on Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

00:25:06: So we'll do some training and simulator will get current and proficient on the aircraft Will do a check ride in the air craft get qualified as a co pilot And once your qualify is a copilot you can start flying inside storms with qualified hurricane aircraft commanders.

00:25:21: And there's certain requirements that we've set within our aircraft operations center.

00:25:25: You need to have at least fifty storm penetrations before you're allowed to qualify as an Aircraft Commander, and then a minimum of two years experience flying inside Hurricanes as a co-pilot before your allowed to qualified.

00:25:37: There is a syllabus I think five or seven training events.

00:25:41: so you can fly with instructor pilot past these training events and pass the check ride in order to qualify.

00:25:47: And the last thing that we also set as a requirement is an aircraft commander board, so you'll have an oral board where other instructors will sit and they can quiz you on effectively anything it has to do with mission or the aircraft for making sure your knowledge and proficiency are there.

00:26:08: You're certainly qualified as an aircraft Commander AND Hurricane Aircraft Commander!

00:26:14: How would you describe, again a really general question the level of responsibility associated in that role?

00:26:23: So to say on a nutshell certainly it could be huge questions.

00:26:27: Yeah

00:26:27: for sure I think.

00:26:28: at a nutshell safety flight The aircraft commander is You know flying inside the storm are quite literally in charge of Safety flight decisions the people who are onboard your aircraft their lives or in your hands.

00:26:42: so you're the one that's making the final decisions.

00:26:45: Go or no, go.

00:26:46: is this safe?

00:26:47: Is it not safe?

00:26:48: do we need to go home?

00:26:50: are we having a malfunction?

00:26:51: how are going deal with where were gonna land?

00:26:54: all the emergency contingencies will fall.

00:26:56: ultimate decision authority will follow that aircraft commander so effectively in charge of everybody on the aircraft and in-charge of keeping that aircraft safe.

00:27:06: beside safety what other key professional qualities you accept from pilots operating in this environment?

00:27:16: I've always said that as an aircraft commander, A quality mission, you want to make sure that You're doing your best to provide Mission objectives like getting the data Meaning those mission objectives.

00:27:53: Getting the data for The scientists is kind of another critical piece That makes this mission worth it.

00:27:59: So really balancing safety a flight with mission effectiveness

00:28:04: From our leadership perspective serve.

00:28:07: how do you maintain consistency and discipline?

00:28:10: across such demanding missions as you fly?

00:28:16: We definitely divide and conquer.

00:28:18: You know, we have a chain of command on board the aircraft.

00:28:20: everybody has their role so that...we have no personnel aircraft operations center- we call them flight crew.

00:28:29: they will always be on the aircraft.

00:28:30: They're the people I need & trust to operate this aircraft as whole.

00:28:36: Like i said my Flight Engineer He's maintaining aircraft systems.

00:28:40: he is monitoring everything He's, or she is helping me deal with any emergencies that have to do with the aircraft as they arise.

00:28:49: I'll have an in-flight technician of sorts as well and SSA As we call him And he will be at back of the aircraft when hes'e in charge making sure all scientific systems are operating and ill quite literally get out his seat if he needs too sometimes inside storm trying troubleshoot some equipment.

00:29:06: make sure everythings working.

00:29:08: so everybody has their very defined role.

00:29:12: Everybody has a chain of command that we answer to and We kind of fall back on our training.

00:29:18: And we fall back in that chain of Command To make sure though nobody's stepping on each other's toes, and everybody is doing what they need to get the mission done.

00:29:27: I guess there was also A deep breathing which is also against crucial for missions like this.

00:29:35: Absolutely Yeah, the brief.

00:29:38: we're gonna set mission objectives.

00:29:39: That's where we try.

00:29:40: We'll try and look at the storm.

00:29:42: if there was an aircraft inside this storm before us Well, we can kind of get some pass down from that crew to understand what they saw.

00:29:48: how is the storm doing?

00:29:49: What can we expect?

00:29:51: And so we'll try and understand what we're going to fly into before we get there.

00:29:54: We also want a firm understanding of the scientific objectives are, because once you're getting bumped around it's too late to start asking questions or trying to change everything.

00:30:05: It happens that we will do an audible and adjust as needed but like know what our expectations are.

00:30:14: So back to teamwork.

00:30:16: There's not only team work within the plane, but also certainly without with in all The other planes that are in there.

00:30:26: Yeah We fly will fly simultaneously sometimes multiple aircraft.

00:30:30: we've done some missions where we've had both p-threes inside the hurricane at the same time.

00:30:36: We're trying to get our tail Doppler radars to paint parts of this storm Simultaneously from different angles.

00:30:44: So we're working with other aircraft inside the hurricane simultaneously.

00:30:50: Our Air Force Reserves has a squadron that also does Hurricane Reconnaissance and they might have one of their C- one thirties, Inside the Storm at the same time.

00:31:02: so We Might be dealing in coordinating With them Simultaneously were just trying to make sure That we aren't At The Same Altitude.

00:31:10: We've been inside the eye with multiple aircraft at the same time, kind of orbiting around each other and orbiting inside the I. Will have our high altitude research jet that might be doing synoptic surveillance over the storm as we're flying inside it.

00:31:24: Um...we even have some sail drones And things like that.

00:31:28: Some ground units in some stations That will try to coordinate out flight With so has this storm is passing on.

00:31:35: these ground unit's will fly inside the storm.

00:31:38: So get a holistic data from surface all way up through the entire storm.

00:31:43: And all this data that we gather will get packaged on the aircraft, it'll be sent via SATCOM to these super computer forecast models and gets integrated into the forecast model in real time.

00:31:55: then reduce the margin of error between a forecast and what actually happens not just for the storm that we fly into but every storm in future.

00:32:02: We have some very real data shows forecast improvement over past thirty years.

00:32:08: It's just incredible.

00:32:10: sounds like a science of its own.

00:32:12: Yeah, what you are doing is really just incredible.

00:32:17: talking about it for pilots who might primarily consider airline careers What would they like them to understand?

00:32:25: About alternative pass such as no aviation?

00:32:30: yeah You know I'd liked the more have been an aviation.

00:32:33: my first flight i think was in two thousand four when I started flight training at Daniel Webster College.

00:32:39: And so, i've been flying for over twenty years and the more time spent in aviation... The more I realized it's really there is a lot of opportunity and things you can do as pilot an aviation but sometimes its kind hard to know whats out there.

00:32:58: like NOAA for instance our aircraft operations center compared military complex that like the Navy and Air Force has.

00:33:07: We are so small, it's really hard to get word out about our positions.

00:33:14: if we have openings in stuff a lot of folks I think might go through an entire career in aviation not even realize something like NOAA and aircraft operations center exists as possibility.

00:33:26: So i would say you know anybody who is trying explore opportunities.

00:33:32: You know, you can search the internet.

00:33:34: You can talk to recruiters and go aviation fairs.

00:33:38: Air shows are another big one.

00:33:40: We always have booths set up at like Sun & Fun air show The second biggest airshow in the United States.

00:33:47: So there's representation there At airshows And at Aviation Conventions we try get booths Some representations that they're as well.

00:33:56: If your looking for a job of aviation You just need really explore, network.

00:34:02: There's a lot of facets of aviation that exist and they're not always well advertised, so you just got to kind look.

00:34:09: Yeah because for me it sounds like a super versatile and certainly extremely demanding and promising career?

00:34:18: I think i find very rewarding.

00:34:21: improving this forecast accuracy every time we fly in the storm helps save life on property before storms make landfall.

00:34:29: one thing is certain Hurricanes are going to keep happening.

00:34:32: They're gonna Keep making landfall.

00:34:34: severe weather is going To affect us and I think it just behooves Us to understand It, the more we Understand The More We know the better off we're Gonna Be.

00:34:43: i mean looking at your Looking At Your Own Journey Certainly ongoing journey.

00:34:48: what has been Most Meaningful About Contributing to this unique Mission?

00:34:56: you Know i Think uh?

00:34:56: its nice.

00:34:58: it's Nice to know that This mission Directly supports that forecast accuracy.

00:35:05: It's nice to know we can literally say our missions are helping save life and property, especially in America.

00:35:15: There is some data points that really send it home for me when I was giving a presentation last year.

00:35:20: one of the meteorologists mentioned this data point too.

00:35:27: That makes feel good.

00:35:28: In nineteen ninety, the average margin of error for a three-day forecast like where is a cat five hurricane going to make landfall?

00:35:40: The average margin was plus or minus two hundred and fifty miles.

00:35:44: For Where are they?

00:35:45: I have the storm as going to hit land so that I have this form could make land fall anywhere within five hundred miles coastline And that's an average forecast.

00:35:55: if you consider it costs about one million dollars per mile of coastline to evacuate.

00:36:00: You're looking at just the evacuation cost alone is around five hundred million dollars in nineteen ninety.

00:36:07: As of twenty-twenty two because this hurricane research, The average margin of error is plus or minus fifty miles.

00:36:14: so that's an over eighty percent improvement forecast accuracy and you can effectively say your saving four hundred million every evacuation Because you are not evacuating five hundred miles coastline having to evacuate maybe a hundred miles on average.

00:36:29: So you're saving taxpayers, your savings potentially people's lives with an accurate forecast.

00:36:35: You know?

00:36:35: People can start to trust that whereas before if the average margin of error is anywhere within five hundred miles... ...people might not trust a forecast and then ones who need get out-of-the way might choose not too until it' s too late.

00:36:49: so that forecast improvement right there I think kind solidifies.

00:36:53: why do what i do?

00:36:58: Yeah, I can easily imagine.

00:37:00: Those are concrete numbers.

00:37:02: they... They're motivating.

00:37:05: in one word Yes.

00:37:07: Yeah.

00:37:09: Yeah!

00:37:10: Commander Ranberg thank you for your time and before we wrap up is there any topic i haven't asked about?

00:37:18: And do want to share with our worldwide audience?

00:37:23: You know..I don't think so right now.

00:37:26: One thing that really hope for the future more resources and more opportunity to continue flying, expanding this mission set.

00:37:34: I think you know hurricanes as we call them.

00:37:37: they affect mainly the eastern seaboard of the United States but also use this aircraft for some severe winter storm research.

00:37:44: We've used it for tornado research even deployed then out into Pacific to do typhoon research.

00:37:50: so there is a demand I really hope to see this type of mission set continue and expand into the future.

00:38:02: Yeah, thank you for an incredible interview!

00:38:05: And... ...I think people are looking or for pilots is looking for alternative paths besides their airline careers?

00:38:15: As you said they should look through the home page through the fairs and get in contact with the people in your organization.

00:38:25: Yes absolutely

00:38:28: Thank you.

00:38:29: and yeah, maybe a follow-up interview in a few years or it would be great to get into the details of what you covered today.

00:38:40: but its really almost overwhelming for me whats going on here.

00:38:46: In your career.

00:38:47: thankyou.

00:38:48: Yeah I appreciate it!

00:38:49: And if you catch up with us in a couple

00:38:56: Okay, I keep this.

00:38:57: This

00:38:58: was great!

00:38:59: I wish you all the best and thank you for every minute.

00:39:03: Thank You

00:39:06: All right.

00:39:07: so that brings us to end of interview.

00:39:10: It was really nice listening to it again.

00:39:12: Again, a big thank you.

00:39:15: everyone from the NOAA team who were involved in making this happen for sending us all of our videos and pictures allowing us spend some time with them.

00:39:27: I think now that we've heard your interview You will agree This is very special occasion.

00:39:37: Yeah,

00:39:39: also from my side.

00:39:42: Thank you!

00:39:42: To everybody who was involved on the NOVA site and especially certainly to Commander Rheinberg thank you very much for joining us in giving our listeners such a clear professional insight into NOVA's hurricane mission.

00:39:55: I mean it was really privileged learn more about this unique field of aviation.

00:40:00: We are flying science and public service come together so-to say It is an incredible interview.

00:40:08: Yeah, like I said at the beginning sort of the Anzang heroes that we very often in life you know.

00:40:15: You have these people in the background That make things happen...that maybe We all take for granted and never really think about them.

00:40:22: So i do hope that In The future..we Have more People Like Joshua On There on The Podcasts People That Do Something Special Because Aviation is not just flying airliners from A to B. There's a lot more to it, It is an integral part of our infrastructure and there are some really cool people doing stuff out that.

00:40:45: So yeah I really enjoyed this.

00:40:48: This was not taking anything away from anybody else but this one my favorite interview so far.

00:40:58: But I'm just smiling because i was checking our calendar here.

00:41:02: Episode thirty nine, episode forty and then also going on.

00:41:09: there are a lot of very special people.

00:41:11: they're doing very special things often more than once.

00:41:15: one thing in aviation yeah it's so we are not good at social media but do subscribe to us.

00:41:26: Yeah, exactly.

00:41:26: Oh yeah here we go.

00:41:28: this is the thing that you and I are really not good at.

00:41:32: so apparently You have to smash some buttons.

00:41:36: No

00:41:36: don't smash.

00:41:36: We are aviators!

00:41:38: Please please press them carefully.

00:41:41: check them twice if they're pressed.

00:41:43: you know checklist but Don't Smash Buttons.

00:41:46: This Is We Are Aviators.

00:41:49: It's just a tool To keep it professional for you to obviously become a regular listener.

00:41:55: The podcast is still at this moment in time, fairly small but it is growing.

00:41:59: we have a growing community We also have a Discord server and even there the communities are growing.

00:42:06: It's very nice.

00:42:07: So if You want To Become part of This And If You Are Interested In Listening More Stories From Interesting People Then Do Yourself And Do Us A Favour And Just Subscribe

00:42:21: By the way, also on the Discord server.

00:42:23: On Tuesday and Thursday there is in the aviation quest section or podcast sections are articles I mentioned at the intro.

00:42:32: so they will be And I mean LinkedIn, it seems that everybody in aviation is on LinkedIn anyway.

00:42:40: So we will focus our so to say professional social media work quote unquote on LinkedIn and certainly if you want get in touch with us or wanna get interviewed or know somebody who would fit as a guest, please write us.

00:42:55: Yeah the homepage is certainly there.

00:42:57: There's an email address but also LinkedIn is quite straightforward.

00:43:01: The link to email address by the way is aviation at aviation-quest dot cc.

00:43:09: Perfect very well done Jürgen.

00:43:12: I think now we've ticked all the boxes right.

00:43:14: what We have to do?

00:43:15: it professional podcast these days?

00:43:20: Yeah, you have to stay in the line because there is a lot of work.

00:43:26: Some intros and autos are still I labeled them with red now calendar And I see a lot off right in front of me.

00:43:33: So we'll talk about some read afterwards.

00:43:37: but yeah Thank You for your time.

00:43:42: Thank you one more.

00:43:44: Yeah Commander Annenberg another Time and it's ya.

00:43:48: It was really.

00:43:50: It was an awesome interview.

00:43:51: An awesome opportunity and a great honor for our young podcast to speak with Noah.

00:43:58: Yeah, absolutely!

00:43:59: Also from my side once again big thank you everyone involved To make this happen.

00:44:05: And yeah...to all the people that are still here listening to us rambling Thank you so much for being here today.

00:44:13: Of course we look forward to having your back on our next podcast.

00:44:17: Until then All The Best.

00:44:19: Bye bye.

00:44:26: Thank you for listening to Aviation Quest

00:44:28: CC stories

00:44:30: from above!

00:44:31: For more information

00:44:32: about

00:44:33: this episode and everything we do, visit our homepage aviation-quest.cc.

00:44:40: We appreciate your time and support And if would love to have a back for the next episodes Until then stay safe Stay curious Keep passion for aviation flying high.