Profile image

Dominator 2

329 rampage2127  14 hours ago

Control: Group 1:airbag group 2:spike that all

In early 2011, Timmer and other members of TVN purchased a 2011 GMC Yukon XL, which would be the base vehicle for a second Dominator vehicle named Dominator 2. Changes from the first Dominator are said to include a flex fuel engine, improved aerodynamic streamlining thanks to the fully sealed outer shell, higher ride height, swiveling rear passenger seats, improved hydraulics, and upgraded armor protection as well as anchoring spikes that could allow it to engage tornadoes stronger than those the original Dominator could safely face. Timmer also stated that both vehicles would be used with one going into tornadoes to gather data from inside the funnel while the other would collect data from comparing the two sets of data.[8] The second generation Dominator features reinforced sheet metal and transparent Lexan has been strengthened with higher-quality steel and an additional LINE-X coating. This shell is firmly affixed to the frame and chassis of the GMC Yukon. The new model retains a roll cage and racing-car safety seats with full-torso belts for added crew protection.[9]

Dominator 2 first saw action during the tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011 in central Oklahoma, shown on the fifth season of Storm Chasers.[citation needed]

On May 31, 2013, Dominator 2 was damaged when it intercepted a record breaking multiple-vortex tornado near El Reno. According to KFOR-TV, posts by Reed on Facebook, and as shown in Season 2, episodes 11 and 12 of Tornado Chasers, the hood was ripped off of the vehicle when the Dominator 2 collided with a downed power line. The tornado would go on to be 2.6 miles (4.2 km) wide with winds measured by radar exceeding 290 mph (470 km/h) (at about 100 m (330 ft) above the surface), making this the largest and strongest tornado ever intercepted by any of the Dominator vehicles.[10] During the chase, Reed and his team found the wrecked SUV of Mike Bettes and his team from The Weather Channel's Great Tornado Hunt after it had been rolled into a field by a sub-vortex from the main tornado. Joined by members from Oklahoma City's KFOR-TV Channel 4 storm chasing team and first responders like the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Bettes and his crew were rescued and evacuated to receive medical attention. Reed later learned that TWISTEX founder Tim Samaras, his son Paul, and storm chasing partner Carl Young, were fatalities of the El Reno tornado.

Dominator 2 sustained engine damage during a storm chase and was parked in a storage lot in Norman, where it sat for several years. In 2022, Timmer made plans to get Dominator 2 back on the road. Dominator 2 needed to be towed to the new warehouse.[11] As of 2024, Dominator 2 remains inoperable.

Spotlights

General Characteristics

  • Created On Android
  • Wingspan 10.9ft (3.3m)
  • Length 21.7ft (6.6m)
  • Height 11.7ft (3.6m)
  • Empty Weight 11,905lbs (5,400kg)
  • Loaded Weight 12,171lbs (5,520kg)

Performance

  • Wing Loading 7,236.7lbs/ft2 (35,332.7kg/m2)
  • Wing Area 1.7ft2 (0.2m2)
  • Drag Points 7016

Parts

  • Number of Parts 250
  • Control Surfaces 0
  • Performance Cost 903