Perlan Project
Arctic stratospheric cloud (Mother of Pearl cloud)
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| Non-operating private foundation IRS 501(c)(3) |
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| Founded | 1992 |
| Founder | Einar Enevoldson |
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Number of locations
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Beaverton, Oregon, USA |
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Area served
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Global |
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Key people
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Einar Enevoldson, Founder & Chairman Elizabeth Austin, Chief Meteorologist Ed Warnock, CEO Jim Payne,Chief Pilot Morgan Sandercock, Donor and Project Manager Dennis Tito, Major Donor Stéphane Fymat, Head of Build and Fundraising |
| Website | www.perlanproject.org |
Perlan Project Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit aeronautical exploration and atmospheric science research organization that utilizes sailplanes (gliders) designed to fly at extremely high altitudes.
On August 30, 2006 Steve Fossett and Einar Enevoldson, the pilots of Perlan Mission I, broke the existing altitude record for gliders by soaring up to 50,671 feet (15,460m) in a standard glider using stratospheric waves of air. Perlan Project is currently working on Airbus Perlan Mission II, where Airbus Group is the title sponsor.
Sometime in 2016/17 the Airbus Perlan Mission II intends to work on setting a new altitude records by flying the custom designed and built pressurized high-altitude Windward Performance Perlan II glider higher than any other manned wing-borne aircraft has ever flown in sustained flight using stratospheric mountain waves and the polar vortex and in so doing harvest invaluable data about earth’s atmosphere and its ozone layer.
Standing Mountain waves are a source of rising air used in the sport of soaring. Riding these waves, similar in some ways to surfing on an ocean wave, has been widely used to reach great altitudes in sailplanes since they were discovered by German glider pilots, including Wolf Hirth, in 1933 in the Riesengebirge. This method uses the powerfully rising and sinking air in mountain waves. Gliders regularly climb in these waves to high altitudes.
Currently, the glider absolute world altitude record stands at 15,460 meters (50,727 feet), which is the altitude reached by Steve Fossett and Einar Enevoldson during Perlan Mission I. The previous record was 14,938 meters (49,009 feet). It was set in 1986 by Robert R. Harris, flying from California City and reaching his record height over Mount Whitney, California. This is thought to be near the limit for standing mountain waves in temperate latitudes, although in unusual meteorological conditions much higher altitudes may be achievable.
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Wikipedia