Weather Sensors

FLYHT-WVSS-II

Water Vapor Sensing System (WVSS)

Reliable. Precise. Rapid.

FLYHT-WVSS-II™ meets the demanding needs of upper air meteorological data collection from commercial aircraft, providing accurate atmospheric water vapor data with extremely low cost of operations leading to sustainable support to weather forecast and aviation operations.

FLYHT-WVSS-II™ Offers Operational Value

FLYHT-WVSS-II™ uses Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) technology and internationally accepted standards to enable meteorological data collection for commercial aircraft, in support of the global WMO AMDAR program, enhancing meteorological operations and aviation weather support.

Key output data includes:

  • Water Vapor Concentration
  • System Status Data
  • Internal Pressure
  • Internal Temperature
  • Engineering Data

FLYHT-WSVV-II operates fully automated with high accuracy of measurement and reliability for long term performance. The product produces no drag through its aerodynamic design, and does not require external heating with zero icing risk. Its compact in size and weight yet highly durable, and requires low power usage and low maintenance, all of which contributes to it low cost operation. The cost of AMDAR with FLYHT-WVSS-II is less than 10% the cost of a radiosonde sounding over a 5-year period.

FLYHT-WVSS-II completely meets international standards and is certified for multiple aircraft types. Its effectiveness is independently validated and is proven for wide use in meteorological operations. The product also provides simplified installation and data acquisition interfaces.

Beat Delays. Save Costs.

In 2008, the US Congressional Joint Economic Committee found that air-traffic delays increased airlines’ operating costs by US$19 billion.

Another report from the Weather-ATM Integration Working group of the United States Research, Engineering and development Advisory Committee found that in the same period, “Weather accounted for 70% of all air traffic delays within the U.S. National Airspace System,”, and that “as much as two-thirds of the weather related delay are potentially avoidable.”

This means that with more accurate weather forecasting, airlines could have reduced costs by up to US$8.8 billion in 2007 alone. 

AMDAR with WVSS-II, the largest provider of aircraft-based water-vapor measurements over the United States have 136 sensors, providing nearly 1,000 soundings a day with a much higher spatial and temporal resolution compared to radiosondes. At less than 10% of the cost of radiosondes and up to 15%-20% more accurate forecasts, WVSS-II is a powerful tool for cost savings.

Real-Time Data. Live Updates.

With AFIRS™, airlines and scientists will be able to get more data, better data, in real-time. 

Weather reports updated in real-time with specific location and altitude enables live in-flight contrail alerting and live graphical weather. Weather is a key safety factor for aircraft operations — having live graphical weather with better data greatly improves contrail avoidance, turbulence avoidance, and weather-based flight planning (CO2 reduction).Better warning for extreme weather, which are occurring more and more frequently, are also important to protect lives and property.

Weather Sensors