Zorana Jelenak (left) and Paul Chang (right) posing with their 300+ and 500+ patches inside the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center hangar at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, FL. (Photo credit: NOAA)
STAR Ocean Science Vector Winds (OSVW) Science Team Reach Personal Flight Milestones: Dr. Paul Chang, Dr. Zorana Jelenak, and Dr. Joe Sapp posted big flight milestones last week finishing work on Hurricane Fiona. After many years of hurricane flights and improved wind speed measurements from space, Paul passed 500 hurricane penetrations (top 10 among men), and Zorana passed 300. This milestone makes Zorana the ranking female in the NOAA hurricane hunter business! Joe Sapp has surpassed 250 flights. Thanks to the flight crews, maintenance team, and support staff that gave them safe platforms from which to accomplish these important milestones.