Perlan’s blog collects the thoughts and experiences of team members from the multiple disciplines needed to build and prepare the aircraft, plan the flight, and carry out the mission. Here, you’ll find insights from the designers, craftspeople, pilots, meteorologists, and support personnel who will make Perlan’s record ascents a reality. Perlan’s blog will be an opportunity to delve into the challenges and triumphs that travel with the giant sailplane.
On January 15, 2016, Mark Harvie, president of Omni Medical Systems visited the Perlan hangar. He was there to sponsor the Perlan flight crew with range extender relief systems. These high tech pump assisted urinary systems will allow Perlan pilots to be comfortable for the entire 8 hour mission. Mark and Rick Arnold briefed the team on system operation.
Saturday, January 16, 2016
An open house was held from 10:00 AM to Noon for individuals who missed the official ribbon cutting of the Dennis Tito Perlan Hangar: About 30 visitors came including 10 students that are part of the Minden Build-A-Plane project.
January 15, 2016
The Perlan 2 completed two perfect test flights today from Minden, NV. The weather was clear and calm and above freezing-just what you want for early test flights!
December 9, 2015 - The sponsors and volunteers behind Airbus Perlan Mission II, an initiative to soar an engineless glider to the edge of space, celebrated today the opening of the new Dennis Tito Perlan 2 Hangar at Minden/Tahoe Municipal Airport. The ceremony marked the start of a critical flight test program to prepare for a record-breaking flight in 2016 when project pilots will ride air currents to 90,000 feet, opening up new discoveries in high-altitude flight, climate change and space exploration.
On Monday, December 7, 2015, Grafics Unlimited installers arrived to put the graphics on the Perlan 2 and the trailer that holds the Perlan 2 for travel.
Installation went to well thanks to the help of the Minden-Tahoe Airport staff who arranged for the Perlan 2 and the trailer to be in a heated hanger near the new Dennis Tito's Perlan Hangar.
Here are pictures of the sponsor logos that were installed:
November 13, 2015
ATA has terabytes of data! The final day of testing went well, and the Perlan 2 headed for Minden, NV.
The Perlan team also dropped by Gentex for measurement of Oxygen masks for the BioMarine re-breather system.
Ground Vibration Tests at ATA in San Diego.
November 9, 2015
The Airbus Perlan Mission II has reached another major milestone, the Ground Vibration Test (GVT) of the Perlan 2 Glider. The testing is taking place this week at ATA Engineering, in San Diego, CA.
Ground vibration testing is often performed on experimental aircraft. It applies controlled vibration to the structure and then measures how the aricraft responds. Excessive vibration can cause a variety of problems in a aircraft.