A Beechcraft King Air and a Lockheed WP‐3D (P‐3) Orion aircraft were flown side by side on January 8, 1986 near Boston, Massachusetts, to compare the scientific measurements being made using the two platforms. The King Air was also flown in formation with a Beechcraft Queen Air and Douglas DC‐3 on March 1, 1986 near Raleigh, North Carolina, for the same purpose. This paper summarizes the results of these comparison flights and discusses the scientific measurements made by the aircraft. The accuracies and response times of the aircraft instrumentation are estimated.