New Cloud Type: Asperatus (June 2009)

The cloud with no name: Meteorologists campaign to classify unique 'Asperatus' clouds seen across the world. Whipped into fantastical shapes, these clouds hang over the darkening landscape like the harbingers of a mighty storm. But despite their stunning and frequent appearances, the formations have yet to be officially recognized with a name. They have been seen all over Britain in different forms - from Snowdonia to the Scottish Highlands - and in other parts of the world such as New Zealand, but usually break up without producing a storm.

Stunning but undefined: The clouds loom over the skies of New Zealand - but unfortunately words can't describe this dramatic vision from the heavens, and some experts believe the stormy weather phenomenon deserves its very own classification.

Experts at the Royal Meteorological Society are now attempting to make it official by naming it 'Asperatus' after the Latin word for 'rough'. If they are successful, it would be the first variety of cloud formation to be given a new label in over half a century. 'It is a bit like looking at the surface of a choppy sea from below,' said Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, who identified the cloud from photographs sent in by members.

Dramatic: The ribbons across the sky look like a 'choppy sea viewed from below. 'We try to identify and classify all of the images of clouds we get in, but there were some that just didn't seem to fit in any of the other categories, so I began to think it might be a unique type of cloud.' He added: 'The undersides of the clouds are quite rough and choppy. It looks very stormy, but some of the reports we have been getting suggest that they tend to break up without actually turning into a storm.'

The Royal Meteorological Society is now gathering detailed information for the days and locations where the Asperatus clouds have been seen in an attempt to understand exactly what is causing them. Officials will then apply to the UN's World Meteorological Organization in Geneva to have the new cloud type considered for addition into the International Cloud Atlas, the system used by meteorologists across the globe.

Professor Paul Hardaker, Chief Executive of the RMS, said: 'There would probably need to be quite a lot of heat around to produce the energy needed to generate such dramatic cloud formations. 'They are quite dark structures so there must be a lot of water vapor condensing in the cloud.' Cloudy skies: If 'Asperatus' sticks, it could be the first such classification in half a century.

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Chapter member Jeff Kaloostian in the local news

Students Reaching For A Higher Plane

By JOSH POLTILOVE The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jan 18, 2007

TAMPA - Robinson High senior William Paleveda eyes Runway 17 at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport and gently pilots the plane off the ground.

"Adequate power. Rotating 80," he tells his flight instructor, Robinson teacher Jeff Kaloostian. "I feel the crosswind."

Kaloostian sits a foot behind Paleveda, just outside the cockpit of the school's new flight simulator. He calmly directs Paleveda through the elements and across the sky. The twin-engine Seneca glides through clouds, touching down minutes later at the same airport. The mission is a success.

Paleveda is among about 35 students in the school's MacDill Aeronautics Academy, formed during the 2002-03 school year. In a classroom on the South Tampa campus, academy members get an in-depth look at aerospace and airplane technology. They also get a chance to build a plane.

Three years ago, the academy, MacDill Air Force Base and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration paid about $18,000 for a Van RV-9A two-seater plane kit. Kaloostian's students hope to build the experimental plane and have it certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.

They have worked on the plane for more than two years, but Kaloostian said the project has at least five years to go. He hopes that when the plane takes its maiden flight, it will have Robinson's colors: black, white, silver and gray.

"Getting to know how to build something like this, something that can defy gravity and fly through the air like a bird, it's always been man's dream. It's just wonderful," senior Chelci Hone said. "I would definitely love to fly this plane, even though students are working on it. A lot of people are not so sure about that, but I definitely am."

Senior Sanchez Boyette, 18, spends two class periods a day building the plane and said he loves the mechanical aspect of the class.

The academy, 6311 S. Lois Ave., unveiled the $18,000 flight simulator just before the winter break.

Kaloostian, a former Air Force pilot who flew fuel tankers over Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001, said flying in the simulator is close to the real thing. He can adjust it to create poor weather conditions or plane malfunctions.

For Paleveda, 18, the simulator couldn't have come at a better time. Outside school, he is studying to become a pilot and is 10 hours of flight time from being certified. After his simulated flight last week, he said he appreciated Kaloostian making the weather conditions rougher than he usually sees in the skies.

"It's not a typical day I'd be flying, but it's really good training, really good practice," he said.

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 835-2105 or jpoltilove@tampatrib.com. Keyword: Plane, for audio and video of Robinson High's MacDill Aeronautics Academy.