Question regarding hurricane hunter missions

[Tyler Allison]

But it would be a beautiful cover for a seal team jump

 

[Wes Carter]

For Wesley and any others interested in knowing the details of the Air Force flights, they can look up the info on the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron.
Contrary to some beliefs of others, their flights and the recon paths taken are a major concern and are not considered a non-issue. They are highly regulated by all involved entities. Flying at a height of 10,000 feet or less in a criss cross pattern and grid patterns are much different than flying through their airspace with payoffs as MClarkson alleges.
The latest recon flights did not resume until the system moved off the coast of Cuba.
Further inquiries into exact details may be made through Major Chad Gibson of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron. He would be the one to contact and could be able to give much more info on this should you have the desire to know.

ADDED INFO:
For additional info, see George Kourounis' report from yesterday of flying with the 53rd that also states having to obtain the permission once it was found the eye was still over Cuba. This is under the Hurricane Ike thread.

Thanks for the info. I went to their website and learned quite a bit. I didn't know that their missions usually last 11 hours and that they were mainly comprised of reservists. http://www.hurricanehunters.com/questions.html

BTW, I was optimistic that once Castro was gone things would change between Cuba and the US but since Hugo Chavez and the Bolivian dictator have started rousing their feathers and supporting Cuba I don't think that will likely happen now.