As 2018 comes to a close, it's time to look back on an awesome, amazing, ultra successful year for Perlan Project. The Airbus Perlan Mission II achieved many first-ever milestones with our core Perlan team plus our around the globe supporters. Included in this blog...
As we celebrate the 2018 holidays Perlan Project has much to be greatful for. Thanks Laurent for getting the delightful card created. We appreciate all our friends, fans and supporters for joining our journey toward the edge of space in 2018. As our card says "may you...
On December 7, 8, and 9 the Perlan Team met in Minden to plan for 2019. We had a mix of informal and formal gatherings. The first event was a celebratory Holiday Party at Jim and Jackie's house for team and spouses. It was lovely to toast our accomplishments of 2018...
On November 26 the Royal Aeronautical Society awarded a bronze medal to the Perlan team. The awards and medals are recognized as “The most prestigious and long-standing awards in global aerospace honoring achievement, innovation and excellence.” The citation read,...
Perlan Project has had so many opportunities to share our story in presentations around the world. 3 in Germany, London, Alaska, California, Nevada. Plus there are already dates scheduled in 2019 at NASA Armstrong, in Maryland, and the Founder's Innovation at Oshkosh...
When you claim a world altitude record, you must be able to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you truly achieved your claimed altitude. Part of the rules require a pre- AND a post-flight calibration of your instruments. The Soaring Society of America contributed...
On November 2 after 12,700 miles over 45 days of travel the Perlan 2 arrived back home in Minden, Nevada. Each journey is unique in its logistical challenges. Sometimes the obstacles are paperwork, or insurance, or connections, or a blizzard closing Andes mountain...
The Society of Flight Test Engineers SFTE just celebrated its 50th birthday. At their October annual symposium in Savannah, Georgia the Perlan Team was highly honored with the Flight Test Team of the Year Award. Miguel wrote: Al Lawless and Miguel Iturmendi received...
The Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) has honored one of its own as Test Pilot of the Year with the Iven Kincheloe Award since 1958. This year Airbus Perlan Mission II Chief Pilot Jim Payne was selected for his flight testing of Perlan 2. "The achievement...
The Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) annual conference in Anaheim (Disneyland) was well attended this year. There was an after hours buffet dinner inside the park for SETP guests on Thursday evening, yet at 8 am Friday morning there was standing room only...
Weather is what ultimately powers a soaring flight and that's exactly the case for Perlan 2. In 2019 Airbus Perlan Mission II started soaring over Patagonia on August 20. Barely over a week later a rare major atmospheric event for the South Pole called Sudden...
Flight 65 to 65,000 feet In 2019 Airbus Perlan Mission II has been ready to fly, but the stratospheric wave lift has been practically unusable above 60,000 feet. (see future Stratospheric Warming blog) The team kept a positive attitude and we launched every chance...
Einar Enevoldson, named the Perlan Project after the rare polar stratospheric clouds that glow pink and blue in the early evening and morning. They are jewels in the stratosphere. These polar stratospheric clouds (PSC) are known in Scandinavia as “Perlan clouds”...
The Airbus Perlan Mission II team operates with around 25 volunteers. But not everyone can take 6-8 weeks away from work and families. So we repeatedly say "Hail and Farewell" to inbound and outbound team members. The night of 5 September we welcomed Kristina Messner...
Aviation measurements can be confusing when different numbers are used to describe similar terms. In the following blog we will compare the useage of the term altitude - pressure and GPS, as well as the usage of the term airspeed - indicated and true. ALTITUDE When...
In the non-wave season Airbus Perlan Mission II took the opportunity to prioritize desirable upgrades to our systems. 2019 was extremely productive for improvements and completely new add-ons. After the first wave flight of the year, Jim summed it up: “Flight 0060 was...