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The Ultimate Chase Vehicle

"When I drive it right into the eye of a tornado, drop it to the ground, and just sit there like it's nothin', the world will see that." Then Green smiles. "They'll have to," he says. "It'll be on Good Morning America."

What a moron.
 
It's an interesting piece which explores the sociology of chasing as much as Green's dream. I can understand why the chasing establishment isn't into this guy, but you've got to admit that the equipment is pretty damn trick.

That said, I feel more inclined to back the TIV, just because it's a bit more about science rather than a mere stunt, although the TIV is that as well to an extent. The fact that it's crewed with several people and has more instrumentation (including an IMAX camera) offsets the somewhat crude construction when compared to the TA-1.
 
I think I remember seeing this guy on tv or in an article some time in the last couple years. I also noticed that the article said 2005 at the top of the page. If this is the same guy that I saw interviewed before and he has been at it for a couple years he either sucks or he isn't trying very hard because I have never seen that car out in the field, but you see the TIV a dozen times each season.
I didn't even read more than the first part of that article so I have no idea how well built that guys car is, but I do know from first hand experience that the TIV is a hunk of crap. I lost all respect for it's ability to hold up to a tornado when I saw them at a gas station in Nebraska two years ago trying to reatach their hood with some cheap tie downs. The hood was all bent up and dented. I just kept thinking that they were crazy if they thought the wind wasn't going to rip that right off. I have no idea if they got it fixed before their intercept on the Kent county storm.
BTW the TIV either got hit by a tornado on the Protection, KS storm or they got damn good up close video of it. I watched them park just short of it when it crossed the road. Then on the Nickerson storm the next day we saw them get hit by a very weak tornado, so maybe the long awaited IMAX movie will be done soon. I remember him saying that he was waiting for a wow shot and I would imagine that Protection tornado crossing right in front of them was about as "wow" as you can ask for. IMO an IMAX movie on tornadoes is going to be sweet.
 
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Michael Gribble said:
...an IMAX movie on tornadoes is going to be sweet.
Click to expand...

There already is one.

http://www.bigmoviezone.com/txshows/theaters/results_film.html?search_box=Forces of Nature

I think "Forces of Nature" was released last year (?)

That article about the TAV was written as poorly as "Twister". If it weighs about 16,000 lbs maybe it won't blow away by anything more than EF-1. Funny, I never saw the thing on 6-12-04. I was kinda thinking the whole story was a hoax, especially the pic that I could swear is a pic of Steve and the truck PS'd over Eric Nguyen's Mulvane pic that graced the cover of the 2005 Weather Calendar.

Oh, and that stuff about how it has the whole chaser community outraged, or whatever? Well, ummm, WE pretty much ARE the chaser community. Someone got a link to that thread where we're all outraged? I missed that somehow.
 
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The article mentions that Scott Currens is/was forecasting for Green.
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LOL, I've never seent the TA-1 but last week, I saw the TIV a few times on Tuesday and Wednesday.
 
I'm personally not a fan of either the TIV or the TAV. In my opinion, the fact that they are decked out with TV cameras for an IMAX film or a reality series proves that it's nothing more than a publicity stunt. I need to see some data collection to give it scientific credibility.

What concerns me about this is if they actually succeed. How long will it be before we see another similar vehicles going down the highway trying to do something like this? In the race for fame and fortune, someone is going to drive into something they shouldn't and get killed....that's what I worry about.

What's to gain by doing this? Okay, so you drive the vehicle into the tornado and survive. You got some cool footage for this, but didn't collect any kind of measurements. How is this going to help us understand tornadoes and issue better warnings?


EDIT: I noticed some data form the TIV in a recent BAMS issue. So, I'll retract some statements. I see they are concerned with collecting useful scientific data, not just doing a stunt like the TAV.
 
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The fact that Dr Wurman has teamed up with the TIV makes them fairly respectable in my book. It seems the TIV has come from an armored tripod on wheels to an armored tripod on wheels that takes some fairly important measurements from inside and around the tornado base. As for Steve Green, I'll be amazed if I ever see him anywhere near a tornado. To me, it seems like he doesn't want anything but attention. And he's crazy for spending the reported $550,000 to do it.
 
http://www.policeone.com/officer-down/1243493/

Cause of Death: Natural disaster
Incident Details: Officer Buckman succumbed to injuries sustained five days earlier when his vehicle caught in a massive tornado as he responded to Greensburg, Kansas, to assist other victims. Officer Buckman was taken to a hospital in Wichita, where he remained in critical condition until succumbing to his injuries.

Date of Incident: May 4, 2007

A vehicle that weighs 2, 3, 4, etc..... times more than a squad car will still fly far enough to kill someone inside of it.
Laura
 
Laura Hedien said:
A vehicle that weighs 2, 3, 4, etc..... times more than a squad car will still fly far enough to kill someone inside of it.
Laura
Click to expand...

I mostly agree, Laura, but if it weighs a lot AND sits flush to the ground, it will be capable of sustaining MUCH stronger winds before being blown to Oz. I have been a racing fan really all my life, and so I've picked up a few basics about aerodynamics. If you keep air out from under a vehicle it is very stable. The TAV's problem, IMO, is that it is so slab-sided. The forces of wind hitting it from almost any direction will exert great lateral force to the vehicle, eventually rolling it over. The greater the vehicle's weight, the stronger the wind it would take to roll it.

Don't forget that a NASCAR racer can drive at 200+ mph, but only because of many millions of $'s in research spent to make that possible. They are designed to go those speeds only with 200mph wind pressures from the front, of course, though, not from the sides or rear. For safety reasons (for when a racer gets sideways), they also design the cars to withstand lateral wind pressures, but with less emphasis than for when the cars are going in their desired vector.

A bit of trivia that I love: An Indy Car or Champ Car, in it's short track oval or road course configuration, has enough downforce that, at about 100mph, could run on an upside-down track, like running on a giant ceiling. This would, obviously, only apply if the car is going forward.
 
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Grant Gutierrez said:
The fact that Dr Wurman has teamed up with the TIV makes them fairly respectable in my book. It seems the TIV has come from an armored tripod on wheels to an armored tripod on wheels that takes some fairly important measurements from inside and around the tornado base. As for Steve Green, I'll be amazed if I ever see him anywhere near a tornado. To me, it seems like he doesn't want anything but attention. And he's crazy for spending the reported $550,000 to do it.
Click to expand...

I'm sure the TIV is designed to collect more data rather than just drive in and videotape like the TAV. But usually the IMAX crews are fairly responsible and don't go off half-cocked with something.

Probably the same things I'm saying now are the same things other said when crews first started going out with mobile Doppler radars. Only time will tell.

But I agree, Green seems to be doing it mostly for attention. The article mentioned that he needed an "attention-grabbing gimmick" to get him back in the driver's seat.

If something were to happen to any of these people attempting this, I'm not worried about something happening to the hobby of storm chasing. That's something that's out of my hands, and I can't control that. I am worried about someone doing something reckless and injuring (or worse) themselves or others...as well as potential copycats coming along making the attempts with lesser pieces of equipment.
 
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