In-flight measurements of lightning locations using an aircraft-mounted lightning mapper

Real-time measurements of lightning locations can improve flight safety by providing aircraft operators with valuable information about nearby weather conditions. Lightning warnings can be especially valuable when piloting aircraft that are more susceptible to a direct strike such as electric aircraft, hydrogen-powered aircraft, and even UAVs with composite skins. At best, weather updates are broadcast from weather services every 2.5 to 5 mins, but it's not uncommon for an intermittent connection to cause service stability issues. Therefore, an aircraft-mounted lightning mapper might be the most practical source of real-time lightning information for pilots. This work investigates the in-flight performance of the aircraft-mounted Stormscope Weather Mapping System (WX-500 Series 2) through comparisons to the Houston Lightning Mapping Array, National Lightning Detection Network, and the GOES - Geostationary Lightning Mapper. Measurements from two thunderstorms near Houston, TX, yielded WX-500 detection efficiencies of 33 % and 42 % for intracloud flashes, 75 % and 64 % for cloud to ground flashes, and 53 % and 79 % for total flashes. The WX-500 bearing measurement was accurate to within ±14° (σ), which improved to ±4° when integration time was increased from 2 to 30 s and clear outliers were ignored. The WX-500 range measurement was overestimated by an average of +74 km (±50 km) when the average true flash distance was 94 km. The WX-500 accurately depicted the boundary of lightning activity at an integration time of 1 min which is sufficient for the circumnavigation of thunderstorms.