With the funding from Airbus kicking the project back into high gear, we have started moving parts and getting organised for the final assembly. We have a new workspace and the first ‘fun’ task is checking if the entire glider fits in the space. As seen in the photo...
We are very excited to announce that Airbus Group is sponsoring the Perlan Project. This deal will allow the Perlan 2 glider to be finished, flight tested and fly to record altitudes. The official announcement of the sponsorship will be made at EAA Oshkosh...
The Perlan Project is going to make an important announcement about a new sponsor on the 28th of July at the EAA Airventure “Oshkosh” airshow. If you are going to be at the show, make sure you are in the main ramp area at 2pm on Monday.
Perlan pilots, Jim Payne and Dennis Tito had a fabulous wave flight on April 25, 2014. The photo shows a triple lenticular cloud over the Owens Valley. They took off and landed at Rosamond, CA, and flew almost 1,000 miles (1,614 km) traversing up and down the Owens...
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”....
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...
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...
It isn’t a proper Christmas if you don’t get to put on a funny hat… Merry Christmas from the Perlan Project!
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....
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...
From January through April 2017 the Perlan team kept a low profile while working on upgrades for the Perlan 2. Here's a partial list of improvements that are ready for Campaign Two in Argentina. Probably most significant is the ability to seal the cabin for...
For 2017 the Perlan Project shipping to Argentina has been much smoother than last year. The trailer inside the container departed Minden on May 16. That was one day behind schedule. It loaded unto a Hamburg Sud vessel out of Long Beach with 5 hours to spare. It took...
Since Jim and Jackie would be in Washington DC on June 22, 2017 for a National Aeronautic Association award program, Airbus decided to leverage that trip for Perlan. At 8 am Kristina Messner from Focused Image took us to the ABC television station for an interview...
After a fabulous wave flight on May 12, we took the wings off Perlan 2 that afternoon. We added Roger Tanner to our pack up team. Greg Scates once again masterminded the loading of the container. We decided to use the winch on our old 4x4 pickup truck to get the...
The Airbus Perlan Mission II team has been keeping a low profile in Minden. We have quietly upgraded several systems in preparation for our return to high altitude wave attempts. On May 12 the team gathered for a final test flight of those systems. We waited for...
From May 2-5 Teachers in Space visited Perlan in Minden, sponsored by Perlan Project. Chris Murphy was team lead for 3 Ashford School science and robotics teachers. Kathryn Craven, Dorey Manfre, and Carly Imhoff have just completed training for Perlan 2 high altitude...