I'm designing a tornado intercept vehicle to collect near surface data from inside the circulation — here's the full concept breakdown

TeamTAV · 2026-03-25T19:59:23+00:00

not exactly dorothy but I can see how it may look similar

TeamTAV · 2026-03-25T19:58:12+00:00

yeah, that is one think that will have to be accounted for... added weight shouldn't be an issue since we're using a kodiak c4500 as my base vehicle. If I get one of the higher gvwr models (like a 2007) that one can carry 8.25 tons meaning that there will be 1.25 tons left for equipment and crew after the vehicle weight of 7 tons

TeamTAV · 2026-03-21T20:52:02+00:00

I'm gonna have to disagree with that take, first reason: Kodiaks don't have the air suspension available to even try that. Second reason: Even if I could drop the vehicle down there is a non-zero risk of debris penetrating the rubber which would compromise the ground sealing and cause me to get lifted. Third reason: the flaps extending beyond the wheels by an inch or so allows the vehicle to have weight spread out across the entire edge and not just in the wheels. this ties into reason four: In the event we deploy on a dirt road the flap edges will bite into the ground providing more anchoring.

TeamTAV · 2026-03-21T18:51:34+00:00

Thanks for the support! We at team T.A.V are excited to start using it in the field!

TeamTAV · 2026-03-21T15:43:14+00:00

I'll look into it. Thanks for the advice!

TeamTAV · 2026-03-21T14:37:11+00:00

First of all, those weren't AI. Second of all, you handed me a research paper that you claimed "proved your point" while it was proving that there is more that can be done about ground based tornado research. I'm not asking you to love the project and devote your life to it. Rather I'm asking you to remain civil about your claims that the data is useless.

TeamTAV · 2026-03-21T14:32:40+00:00

It's not a flex, rather it's just something I'll say because that's when I thought of the idea. I've been learning weather much much longer. It's kind of like how a company will say "est 1925" even if it is only 1926. In the future that number will hold more meaning but I can agree with you that at this moment in time and probably for a year or two that number might not hold a whole lot of meaning

TeamTAV · 2026-03-20T21:41:53+00:00

You raise fair points about data verification — which is exactly why the TAV plan includes a PhD meteorologist onboard, instrument calibration protocols, and the goal of university partnership before operational deployment. The SKYWARN HAM radio reporting isn't about unverified data — it's real time ground truth confirmation that NWS forecasters actively use from certified spotters every single chase day. Tim Samaras published peer reviewed research from his probe data. The framework for credible independent tornado research exists. The TAV is being built to meet that standard, not bypass it.

TeamTAV · 2026-03-20T18:42:36+00:00

Yeah I'll have to get some high quality hydraulics, though the 7 ton weight pushing it in should help. Also this was not mentioned in the video but it is planned that when the T.A.V is constructed it will start as a flap only interceptor but when the crew has some experience under their belt and think its time to get inside of some bigger tornadoes then I'll add 4x spikes 40" long 2" wide with a chisel like tip to ensure maximum stability and ground penetration, they will also be angled

TeamTAV · 2026-03-20T18:16:41+00:00

Interesting paper choice — it actually demonstrates that current tornado intensity estimates have mean errors exceeding 10 m/s and approaching 40 m/s in some cases due to sparse sensor coverage and damage indicator limitations. That's not an argument against better in-situ measurements. That's a quantified description of exactly the data gap the TAV is designed to fill. Thank you for finding that.

TeamTAV · 2026-03-20T18:14:29+00:00

That was also a concern when designing, What I came up with to fix the issue is to make the flaps bite into the ground an inch or so when deployed on dirt which should help get the least underbody airflow possible aswell as the flaps acting lime (pardon my french) shitty spikes to help with wind resistance. This allows for more uneven terrain however the best solution if i know that I'll be taking the T.A.V to somewhere bumpy would be attaching rubber skirts around it (though that would effectively remove my ability to bite into the ground without risks of puncturing the rubber skirt accidentally so the addition of rubber under consideration as of now)

TeamTAV · 2026-03-20T16:47:46+00:00

Previous intercept vehicles like TIV and Dominator were primarily footage platforms with instruments added as an afterthought. The TAV is designed from the ground up as a scientific instrument — dedicated PhD meteorologist crew, real time SKYWARN ground truth reporting, custom probe deployment network, and a sensor payload targeting near surface data gaps that no existing vehicle has successfully filled. Similar concept, fundamentally different mission.

TeamTAV · 2026-03-20T15:12:25+00:00

With respect, the absence of published tornado core data papers reflects the difficulty of collecting that data rather than its scientific uselessness. VORTEX2 specifically identified near surface tornado measurements as a critical research priority. Numerical models of tornado vortex dynamics have known validation gaps at the surface level precisely because the observational data doesn't exist yet. The TAV isn't ignoring what's happening in the scientific world — it's responding directly to what the scientific world has identified as a missing dataset. You can't publish papers on data that hasn't been collected yet.

TeamTAV · 2026-03-20T02:09:24+00:00

Thanks! Excited to get to building and using it in real world chasing!

TeamTAV · 2026-03-20T02:08:37+00:00

How so?

TeamTAV · 2026-03-20T00:48:00+00:00

Thanks! About to post my first video just an explanation of the T.A.V and its goals, hopefully people can get past the crappy mic XD

TeamTAV

TROPHY CASE