Lufthansa test-flies crucial atmospheric probe for climate-research A350

Lufthansa Group has flight-tested a measurement probe system which is crucial to the adaptation of one of the operator’s Airbus A350-900s to a climate-research aircraft. The German flag-carrier disclosed two years ago that it would modify the twinjet (D-AIXJ) to serve as a flight laboratory. It says it aims to commence research flights on the Lufthansa network from next year, gathering information for the European IAGOS-CARIBIC project which uses in-service aircraft to obtain atmospheric data. “Our aim is to make a valuable contribution to climate research,” says Lufthansa Airlines chief Jens Ritter. “The data that our aircraft will collect worldwide in the future will help to improve today’s atmospheric and climate models and thus their informative value for the future climate on Earth.” Lufthansa Group personnel have fitted the measurement probe to the A350’s lower fuselage and carried out test flights over southern Germany. It claims the system is “the most complex of its kind” with sensors for precise, high-frequency measurement of temperature and pressure. The project also involves development of a laboratory system, weighing some 2t and featuring around 20 instruments, for installation in a cargo container.<br/>