Public invited to open house July 14

SAN LUIS VALLEY — According to a press release from the International Society for Atmospheric Research using Remotely Piloted Aircraft (ISARRA), two dozen small research drones will zip, hover, and soar over parts of the San Luis Valley in mid-July, collecting data on how and where clouds form, storms start, and rain falls.
Improving weather forecasts requires better observations from parts of the atmosphere where it can be difficult to make measurements. So to get instruments to the right place at the right time, researchers are experimenting with small, remotely-piloted drones carrying state-of-the-art weather instruments.
Valley residents are invited to observe the operations at the beginning of Flight Week to find out more about what atmospheric scientists from around the world hope to learn about the atmosphere and regional weather through research right here in the San Luis Valley.
The exhibition will take place on Saturday, July 14, 8 a.m. to noon at Leach Airport, in Center, located at County Road 53 and County Road C. The open house will be held form 8 a.m. to Noon. A panel discussion is set for 9-10 a.m., with: Gijs de Boer, CIRES/University of Colorado Boulder and NOAA; Suzanne Smith, University of Kentucky; Brian Argrow, CU Boulder Aerospace Engineering Sciences and Capt. Phil Hall, NOAA/UAS program
Participants from ISARRA will be present to:
• Explain their research
•Showcase Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)
• Demonstrate technology and run test flights • Answer community questions
Registration is requested but not required: http://bit.ly/flightweek2018  For more information, contact Constantin Diehl, [email protected], or Katy Human, [email protected].
Thank you to Flight Week supporters: ISARRA, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, UAS Colorado, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (including the UAS Program), National Center for Atmospheric Research, Saguache and Alamosa counties, San Luis Valley UAS Program, Oklahoma State University, University of Oklahoma, University of Kentucky, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Kansas State University, Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, Black Swift Technologies, Alamosa County Economic Development.