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 the morning of first flight of the Perlan 2 glider, we had just a few people on the line for launch.
Einar Enevoldson, the visionary of The Perlan Project, shook the chief pilot, Jim Payne's,
hand symbolizing the passing of the baton from the Perlan 1 to the Perlan 2 glider.
On Sunday before first flight some practice tows with a masked DG had been done at Minden with Silvio and same SoaringNV Pawnee that would be used for actual First Flight. Jim was in front with Perlan-style masked canopy and Morgan was in back with clear canopy. Both pilots were happy with the visibility.
We are currently displaying the glider at the Reno Air Races. We have a lot of supporters in ths region and we promised to show them the glider. We will be here until Sunday afternoon, if you are in the area and can come and see it.
The Airbus Perlan 2 Glider First Flight Test is now scheduled for Wednesday, September 23, 2015 - weather permitting.
On the morning of September 9, 2015, everyone in Redmond was working to assemble all the components. Doug was arranging logistics. Morgan was working on final touches to software. Eric and RDD folks are working on interior of cockpits - wiring, instruments, panels, and seat pans.
Stewart cleaned the protective adhesive off the windows and placed yellow soft microfiber cloths for protection during final installations.
One of the most striking visual differences between a normal glider and the pressurized Perlan2 is the windows instead of a canopy. Dennis Tito's DG 1001 has a huge canopy with excellent viz, whereas the Perlan2 has 6 view ports and two transparent top hatches. So on Wednesday we masked the front cockpit of the DG to simulate Perlan's viz. The back cockpit for the co-pilot remained clear. Jim declared the viz totally acceptable. The Redmond Airport folks have given us awesome support. Leading Edge Jet Center has been super in providing a hangar to work in.
The Perlan 2 wing has passed one of its most dangerous tests: the 3G load test. First RDD had to build a beefy test stand to hold the wings aloft, but upside down. Sandbags equal to three times the weight of the whole glider were loaded onto the bottom surface of the wings to test if the wing can handle the load. It passed perfectly, with no concern to the heavy weight placed upon it. It was a tight fit to get the wing tips onto the wings. We had to use the upper corner of the ceiling.
The Airbus Perlan2 Team is celebrating over Labor Day Weekend! On Friday we received our FAA Airworthiness Certificate for the Perlan2. This is a huge milestone and mega kudos to RDD for their tireless efforts to get everything right. This was a critical step leading up to first flight. We now have the load test next week and the BRS parachute installation early the week after. After successful rehearsal flights with Dennis Tito's DG 1001 it will be time for the big event. We are hoping before the end of September for first flight...stay tuned!