To reach the highest areas of Earth’s atmosphere, Perlan 2 pilots catch a ride on stratospheric mountain waves The area around El Calafate is one of those rare locations where these rising air currents can reach to 100,000 feet or more. The phenomenon occurs only for a brief period each year in just a few places on Earth. To reach the highest areas of Earth’s atmosphere, Perlan 2 pilots catch a ride on stratospheric mountain waves, a weather phenomenon created when rising air currents behind mountain ranges are significantly strengthened by the polar vortex. The Egrett released Perlan 2 at around 42,000 feet, the approximate service ceiling of an Airbus A380.

“Perlan Project is achieving the seemingly impossible, and our support for this endeavour sends a message to our employees, suppliers and competitors that we will not settle for being anything less than extraordinary.”ĭuring the flight, Perlan 2 was towed to the base of the stratosphere by a Grob Egrett G520 turboprop, a high-altitude reconnaissance plane that was modified for the task earlier this summer. “Innovation is a buzzword in aerospace today, but Perlan truly embodies the kind of bold thinking and creativity that are core Airbus values,” Tom Enders, Airbus CEO, said. “Our victory today, and whatever other milestones we achieve this year, are a testament to a pioneering spirit of exploration that runs through everyone on the project and through the organizations that support us.” “This is a tremendous moment for all the volunteers and sponsors of Airbus Perlan Mission II who have been so dedicated to making our non-profit aerospace initiative a reality,” Ed Warnock, CEO of the Perlan Project, said. The Perlan 2 being towed up in Argentina. The 2017 record broke a previous record that was set in 2006, in the unpressurized Perlan 1, by Perlan Project founder Einar Enevoldson and Steve Fossett. This marks a second glider altitude world record for Jim Payne and Morgan Sandercock, the same two Perlan Project pilots who soared the Perlan 2 to 52,221 feet GPS altitude in September last year in the same remote region of Argentine Patagonia. The pressurized Perlan 2 glider, which is designed to soar up to 90,000 feet, passed the Armstrong Line, the point in the atmosphere above which an unprotected human’s blood will boil if an aircraft loses pressurization. This sets a new gliding altitude world record, pending official validation. Since gliders don't have engines, they're ideal testbeds for studies on climate change, radiation exposure and other fields where you want relatively pristine conditions.Airbus’ Perlan Mission II, the world’s first initiative to pilot an engineless aircraft to the edge of space, has risen in the stratosphere to a pressure altitude of over 62,000 feet (60,669 feet GPS altitude) above El Calafate, Argentina. And this isn't just for bragging rights, either. It's hoping to modify the glider to fly even higher, and its ultimate goal is to fly a winged aircraft at 90,000 feet whether or not there's an engine involved.

These only happen in a couple of places on Earth and only a few times a year, so this isn't something you can expect on a regular basis.Īs you might guess, the Perlan Project isn't going to call it a day. Soar over that area when a polar vortex takes place and you'll encounter stratospheric mountain waves, or air currents that rise so high they reach the stratosphere. The team took advantage of the area in El Calafate, located in Argentina's portion of the Andes Mountains. The trick was to fly in the right place at the right time. The Perlan Project and Airbus have set a new record for engineless flight with Perlan 2, which flew to a lofty 52,172 feet - well above the 50,727 feet the previous record holder (appropriately, Perlan 1) reached in 2006. Gliders may be inherently limited by their nature (they're dependent on rising air currents), but that isn't stopping them from achieving feats normally reserved for their powered counterparts.

Perian 2 glider