European Facility For Airborne Research

WP5: Instrumentation Development

For the COPAL aircraft to be a research facility, with its basic measurement and acquisition systems, a broad community of research laboratories and experts in airborne instrumentation shall be mobilized. A network of SMEs shall be constituted to support the instruments development and prepare their airborne certification, with the collaboration of the aircraft operator.

Workpackage Leader: FMI

Objectives:

Elaborate plans for the creation of a network of laboratories and SMEs expert in airborne instruments development and their long-term sustainability.

Description of work:

1. Inventory of existing airborne instruments
   A questionnaire will be distributed to the operators of instruments registered on the EUFAR website for them to provide information about their instruments, the procedures to access to the instruments, and the costs to operate the instruments on board, process the collected data and quality control. A report on existing instruments will be completed for the SC and GB.
    
2. Inventory of laboratories and SMEs for airborne instrument development
   A call will be broadly distributed, via the EUFAR website, to the national research funding institutions, European organizations (such as the European Geosciences Union, the European Meteorological Society, the European Aerosol Assembly...), to collect information about research laboratories and SMEs expert in physical instrumentation. A report on potential contributors to airborne instrument development in each country will be completed for each annual SC and GB.
    
3. National policies for the support to instrument development
   The national organizations members of COPAL will be contacted, via the GB, to provide information on national policies for the support to instrument development. A report on national policies in each member state will be completed for the annual SC and GB.