Jason F Berry
As commercial drones increase in availability, worldwide-so can the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to collect in situ data of the atmosphere. Drones are readily accessible and can reach altitudes of 1,500 feet or more. Obstacles lie within Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stipulations, which prevent the use of recreational drones from exceeding 400 feet, or line of sight from their controller. Reasoning to use drones for meteorological research can be made, using a four-part method: The controller maintains visuals of the aircraft through an onboard video feed; aircraft location is maintained through a minimum 7 GPS satellites, drones can be easily transported in the field with Meteorologists, data can be obtained through the use of onboard sensing equipment.
