Notam HIBAL

During preflight this morning I came across an interesting NOTAM:

SGH 11/011 SGH AIRSPACE HIBAL SGH202011 E BND REACHING FL600
WEF 0911141600-0911141800

So what does HIBAL stand for ?

HIBAL is the Notam contraction for high altitude balloon. Most likely, a National Weather Service balloon with radiosonde.   A radiosonde is a small device that is suspended about 80 feet below a 6 foot hydrogen or helium balloon.  The radiosonde consists of sensors and a small radio transmitter.  The sensors are able to read temperature, pressure and relative humidity.  The on board transmitter sends this data back to sensitive ground based equipment for recording.  By recording the GPS coordinates (if equipped) and the direction of the data using radio directional finding antennas, it is also possible to record wind speed and direction.

To learn more about Radiosondes and their uses, NOAA National Weather Service has put together this radiosonde fact sheet.

Back to the NOTAM:

SGH 11/011 SGH AIRSPACE HIBAL SGH202011 E BND REACHING FL600
WEF 0911141600-0911141800

This NOTAM says that between 1600 Zulu and 1800 Zulu on the 14th of November, a high altitude balloon (HIBAL) is being released on the SGH VOR radial 202 at 11 DME (202011).  The balloon is expected to go east bound and reach 60,000 feet (FL600).

Fly Safe.