Blog posts | Perlan Project

Sholto Hamilton “Dick” Georgeson May 7, 1922 – March 27, 2014

Sholto Hamilton “Dick” GEORGESON

May 7, 1922 – March 27, 2014

It is with a heavy heart that I write this blog posting. On Thursday March 27, 2014, the world lost a lovely man, Dick Georgeson. His full name was Sholto Hamilton Georgeson but everyone called him “Dick”.

Dick grew up in New Zealand and was a pioneer New Zealand glider pilot. He discovered the potential of the Makenzie Country (near the center of the south island of New Zealand) mountain wave system and even diagrammed it out on paper.

Oshkosh 2013

The Perlan Project has been invited to display our cockpit mockup at EAA AirVenture 2013. If you don’t know, this is the largest airshow in the world.

Look for us in the Innovation Pavilion (on the right as you walk down the central avenue.)

This is kind of last-minute, as we only heard about this opportunity two days ago and we have had to scramble to get things ready. Hopefully we will put on a good enough show to be invited back next year. Then we will have more time to plan and let our fans know.

Presentación en Español

El 6 de diciembre, el Proyecto Perlan hizo una presentación en Bariloche a la Fuerza Aérea Argentina, ANAC (Administración Nacional de Aviación Civil) y los pilotos de planeadores locales.

On the 6th of December, the Perlan Project made a presentation in Bariloche Argentina, to the Air Force, ANAC (civil aviation authority) and local glider pilots.

Merry Christmas from the Perlan Project

It isn’t a proper Christmas if you don’t get to put on a funny hat… Merry Christmas from the Perlan Project!

Oh No, Not Again

Yes, there really are snow-capped mountains behind the hill. You can almost guess at where they are in the photo.

After last year’s disastrous season at Bariloche being completely ruined by the Chilean volcano, we were told that this season was perfectly clear. Imagine our surprise at seeing this view on our way into Bariloche. A year of planning and hoping was washed out in an instant.

A Calm Day in El Calafate

The pre-Perlan 2012 expedition has begun. We left a glider in El Calafate at the end of last season, so we need to go there to pick it up. This is getting to the middle of summer and everyone is wearing winter jackets. It’s cold and windy all the time.

“It was really windy this morning before you arrived. Now the wind has calmed down.” We also found some of the Perlan 1 equipment that was left here in 2006. There was a system of tripods used to get the shipping container off the truck without a crane.

Plans for Argentina 2012

Some members of the Perlan team will be visiting Argentina again this year. The team will be the same as last year.

We expect to be flying from Bariloche and Chos Malal during November and December.

Left to Right in the photo: Jackie Payne, Dennis Tito, Morgan Sandercock, Marcelo Yanguez (Esquel Air Traffic Controller), Tago dePietro, Jim Payne

Perlan Pilots in the News

On October 8th, the Online Competition (OLC) season finished for 2011-12 with Jim Payne declared the winner for the year. This is a worldwide competition with more than a hundred thousand flights by thousands of glider pilots. At the top level, it gets very competitive.

View the OLC Champion 2012 Results here.