Storm Chasers R/C Airplane
November 22nd, 2009 . by Jeff HoyTonight’s episode of the Discovery Channel show Storm Chasers featured a very large R/C airplane that was used to deploy weather sensors into an active tornado. The experiment was considered to be a success.
For those curious about the plane here’s some info about it. It’s a fully custom airplane called the BTE Super Hauler. It was built specifically for the TVN storm chasing team by Bruce Tharpe Engineering. It has a 12 foot wing span, is powered by a 100cc engine, and has a maximum payload of 30 pounds. You can see more about this large scale R/C airplane on BTE’s page about the Storm Chasers version of the Super Hauler. Other versions of the Super Hauler have been used by the University of North Dakota as a platform for experimental UAV systems and by NASA for UAV training.
If you want to buy one, your only option is to contact Bruce Tharpe Engineering directly and request a quote. BTE does have many other types and sizes of ready-to-build R/C airplane kits available for order.
