Was watching multiple videos of the Hurricane Hunter Aircraft flying into the eye of Melissa and I noticed on several videos it showed the engines. They were prop engines (maybe turbo-prop - I know nothing about aircraft or engines) and wondered why not aircraft with jet engines vs. prop engines.

Can one of the forums experts educate me on this topic please. Thanks Mark

My first guess would be something to do with wanting slower flight speeds than a jet aircraft can provide?
Also guessing they're turboprop not piston engines.

Jet engines don't work very well when they start sucking in a swimming pool's worth of water.

NOAA Hurricane Hunters are built on the P-3 Orion platform, which was the Navy's submarine hunter for years, and which itself was based on the Lockheed Electra airliner from the 1950s which was a turboprop.

The navy is moving to the P-8 Poseidon which is built on the 737 platform and is a twin engine, high bypass turbofan.

I do no know if NOAA sticks with the legacy P-3 because it is best for the job, with a 4 engine layout and proven performance, or if it is simply a matter of budget and procurement, and an inability to get congress to authorize a more modern platform, such as a modified C-130, or 737.

I suspect it is the latter. Custom, small production aircraft runs are extremely expensive to develop, test and manufacture, and the old Electra's are getting the job done.

ETA: Apparently NOAA has signed contracts to upgrade the heavy aircraft to C-130Js and to replace their light fleet with Gulfstream 550s. So much for the budget argument, although those aircraft are clearly due for replacement and I imagine that maintenance on such old airframes is a nightmare.

No propeller-driven, in-service military aircraft (or airliners) are using piston engines any more.

They do fly some C-130's out of Keesler AFB in Biloxi.

RMD

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
No propeller-driven, in-service military aircraft (or airliners) are using piston engines any more.

Guessing the Navy has done away with C-2s and E-2s in the last few months?

^^^ You mean the Grumman C-2 Greyhound and E-2 Hawkeye? They're turboprops.

My guess would be the ability to loiter and a jet cannot do that.

Jet's are designed to go high and fast, piston propellers are low and relatively slow, turbo props fit the sweet spot for medium high and medium speed, right where the hurricane is.
Using a jet a those low altitudes and speeds negates the benefits of using a jet.

Jets aren't better than propellers. Yes, I said that out loud. They are a newer design and are better at many things like flying high and fast, but they aren't efficient until they get to high altitude. One nice thing about them, is that a lot of the time they can fly over the weather.

If you want to slow down and fly thru the weather then I imagine a turbo-prop would work fine. I'm quite sure no one designs a hurricane hunter airplane from scratch, there's maybe 10 of them in the world, so NOAA is adapting an aircraft to the job. Not an aviation expert by any means, just worked at airports for 15 years, read about and thought about airplanes a lot. I like watching the hurricane hunters work, it takes people with grit to do that job!

quote:

Originally posted by airsoft guy:
Jet engines don't work very well when they start sucking in a swimming pool's worth of water.

This. Plus airframe icing issues, airspeeds, and fuel economy. Turboprop aircraft are designed to fly at low to medium altitudes in all the shit weather, whereas jets are designed to go high and fast in clear air.

Water drops and other objects in the air don't change direction as quickly as the air does. That's why bugs hit your windshield, they keep going straight. The air inlet for a jet engine is straight in, so all the heavy rain will go into the engine, potentially drowning the combustion. The inlet for a turboprop has a significant bend upward, and a straight rearward bypass (that then discharges down). Water drops don't make the upward bend with the air. They go straight back past the bend then get discharged down.

Though counter-intuitive, icing on the leading edge of wings and tails is less with fatter blunt leading edges than skinny sharp wing leading edges. Turboprops fly at lower airspeeds with fatter wings, so they handle icing better. Lower airspeeds also result in tighter turning radiuses, which means easier maneuvering around severe turbulence and also within the eye of the hurricane.

The aircraft aerodynamics and turboprop fuel efficiencies are outstanding at low to medium altitudes, from sea level up through 20,000 feet. Since the hurricane flights want to be right in the weather to measure it, the turboprop is the perfect solution.

^^^ thanks for the added insight on fat versus skinny leading edge wings with regards to icing. I don’t know what to do with that info but it’s still interesting. Something to mull over and it might click with another fact someday.

I would imagine having 4 engines would be a positive also in this application, imagine being in the eye wall of a hurricane when an engine goes out, 3/4 thrust is way better than 1/2 thrust!

Back before satellites and fancy planes when pilots actually had to go hunt for the hurricanes:

Sandblasted to Death – 1935 Labor Day Hurricane

Excerpt:
“In the first recorded instance of a plane used to track a hurricane, Captain Leonard Povey, a Captain in the Aviation Corps of the Cuban Army and former circus performer, jumped into an open-cockpit Curtiss Hawk II biplane and soared into the sky to confirm it was heading toward Havana.

To Povey’s surprise, the hurricane wasn’t anywhere near the coordinates the Weather Bureau projected.

Then he spied it far off in the distance, on a northwest collision course with the Florida Keys.

Povey told the St. Louis Dispatch, “I was able to fly close to the disturbance. It appeared to be a cone-shaped body of clouds, inverted, rising to an altitude of 12,000 feet. The waves in the sea below broke against each other as if they were striking a seawall.””

quote:

They do fly some C-130's out of Keesler AFB in Biloxi

^^^^
It is now the Air Force Reserve. They are based at keesler in Biloxi and every year take some of the local newscasters who are often sick to their stomach and scared. In 2005 they flew into Katrina knowing full well that it was gonna hit their home. For Melissa they flew out of Curaco. The Gulfstreams fly the storms as well collecting valuable data. They save a lot of lives and also money because the last thing a resort community wants is an ordered evacuation.

What Is a Hurricane Hunter?

Inside the daring missions of NOAA and U.S. Air Force crews who fly through hurricanes to gather lifesaving data and advance storm prediction science.

by Andrew Chen
Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Hurricanes—also known as cyclones or typhoons—are one of nature’s most frightening weather phenomena. With strong winds, heavy rain, and storm surges, they can make entire communities unrecognizable by destroying homes, businesses, and infrastructure.

There is a group of brave aviators who fly specialized aircraft into these dangerous storms.

Known as hurricane hunters, these aircrew embark on these missions to collect valuable weather data. While pilots typically avoid flying into bad weather, these professionals do the exact opposite, all in the name of improving our scientific knowledge...

Complete article with photos:

https://www.flyingmag.com/what-is-a-hurricane-hunter/

NOAA still uses Lockheed WP-3D turbo prop planes from 1976 ...
Turboprop aircraft are used for hurricane hunting because they are more durable in harsh conditions, more efficient at the low speeds and altitudes needed for data collection, and have better performance in turbulent weather compared to jets. Their engines are more resistant to hail and ice, and they can operate more effectively in the rough environment of a hurricane's eyewall.

In 1979, I had the pleasure of flying on a 53rd WRS C-130 for a student reward at Keesler. Was a very interesting experience. Was allowed in the right seat for a bit. Definitely cool. I have pics somewhere buried in the 50 year pic box.

Regardless of propulsion, anyone who climbs into a flying machine and says: "I am going to take this puppy into the eye of a Category 5 hurricane" needs a aircraft that will carry large brass ones.

However, AI tells me this:

Hurricane hunters fly turboprops because these aircraft are better suited for the specific requirements of flying into severe weather at lower altitudes than jets.
Key reasons include:
Slower Speeds: Flying at slower speeds is a major advantage because it allows the aircraft to spend more time inside the storm gathering crucial data, rather than zipping through it too quickly.
Operational Efficiency and Endurance at Low Altitude: Turboprop engines are more fuel-efficient than jet engines at the lower altitudes (typically between 1,000 and 10,000 feet) where data collection is needed. This allows them to loiter for long periods (8 to 15 hours).
Durability and Damage Tolerance: Turboprop engines and the rugged military airframes they are on (like the WC-130J Hercules and WP-3D Orion) are more tolerant of harsh conditions such as heavy rain, hail, and ice encountered within a hurricane's eyewall and rainbands. The propeller blades can also help protect the engine's internal components from larger foreign objects.
Responsive Power: Turboprops offer quicker power response than jets because the engine turbine runs at a constant RPM, and power is adjusted by changing the propeller blade angle. This provides "torque on demand," which is crucial for managing the intense turbulence and sudden updrafts/downdrafts inside a hurricane.
Structural Strength: The aircraft used, derived from designs like the Lockheed Electra, are built with heavy structural reinforcement to withstand the extreme turbulence and stress on the airframe.