Today we took off for the 7th and last time with Polar 5. With a newly mixed crew, all PhDs were able to fly again, one of them even made her debut as PI. Mika actively supported her and helped, for example, to write the flight log.
As a PI, of course, you also have other tasks. The day before, the flight route has to be planned and a flight plan has to be written and sent out. During the flight, you have to keep an eye on the flight altitude and the times when the planned points are reached. You also communicate with the pilots from time to time and make sure that all measurements are started and finished at the right time. But of course, everyone thinks along and knows what to do with their instruments, so they make it easier for you to complete the PI tasks.
The view during the flight was great again – we flew over Porsangerfjord on the north coast of Norway, where we could observe the cloud cover thickening towards the north. On the satellite track we launched 5 dropsondes this time and the satellite flew over us in such a way that Polar 5 can be seen again as a signal in the EarthCARE radar data!
Everyone was very happy with this last flight. But Mika was also a little sad because it was the last flight for COMPEX-EC and he had enjoyed flying so much. But the next campaign is sure to come and you can also look forward to a final blog entry in which we look back on the campaign and say goodbye to you!

After two days without a flight, today we could finally take off again. The conditions could have been a little better, but that didn’t stop us from flying to continue our research. The forecast was clear – higher clouds than on the first flights, which is why we needed to go up to over 5 km. But before we got on the plane, the group photo of the entire COMPEX-EC crew was on the agenda. A perfect photo on the first try, and we were ready to board the plane.
The EarthCARE track north of Kiruna over the Norwegian Sea was well suited for the day and the planning focused on flying on the track against and with the satellite flight direction. In addition, dropsondes on a regular grid were launched to provide more precise vertical profiles on the way there and back.
Said, done!
The flight went very well with 6 dropsondes and the EarthCARE underflight. We were also able to observe interesting clouds again, including the typical cellular convection pattern of a cold-air outbreak and some showers. As Polar 5 had to stand outside during the nights, frozen water persisted on the windows, but did not stop us from taking pictures of the cloud formations.
After the successful completion of also this research flight, the fifth successful one by the way, the team enjoyed an evening together in the bowling center. The pins were hit just as well as we matched EarthCARE satellite with our flights – Doublestrike! Mika also took part, but clearly had a hard time with the big bowling balls.
Stay tuned, because the campaign is not over yet!