Diamond Aircraft's DA42 Multi Purpose Platform completed two sorties in May of the active Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland to collect and analyse the concentration and density of the volcanic ash at altitudes of between 1,640ft (500m) and 19,670ft.
"A considerable part of the volcano expansion area in Germany, England, Scotland, Scandinavian countries and Iceland was scanned," says Diamond. "Those flights confirmed the theoretical simulation that caused the closure of many European airports. Nevertheless the measured ash concentration was only a fraction of the expectation [result: 90-150 µg/m³]," it adds.
An MLU Airpointer air sampling system was fitted in the nose of the Austro AE300 piston-engined DA42MPP - also known as the Guardian - to help accurately map the cloud that caused chaos to air travel across Europe.
Diamond says: "While the volcano is reportedly lying dormant now the data from the Guardian will help us to study and to monitor them in the future."
Source: Flight International
