Flight #74 – Weak Wave On August 30, 2023 the forecast wave conditions had improved marginally from dismal to merely difficult. But the support teams had worked hard on various squawks from the previous flight. Perlan 2’s wings were removed to check the full travel...
For Airbus Perlan Mission II, the Egrett team makes it possible to soar to record heights. The Perlan Project was organized to investigate stratospheric waves above 35,000 feet. Below that altitude, the tropospheric wave has been much more explored and understood....
Flight #73 – Perlan Soars to 60,300 Feet On August 23, 2023 Airbus Perlan Mission II had the potential for a high flight. Conditions were nowhere near ideal, but had some forecasted hot spots that might connect for extended climbs. Part of our mission is to validate...
On 11 August 2023 Perlan 2 took to the skies over Patagonia. We were prepared to soar high - if the forecasts were wrong about no soarable lift until 60,000 feet. Well, we proved the forecasts were correct. Best achieved lift was only 3 knots for only a few minutes....
This morning with 2 inches of fresh snow overnight I would not have given a chance to get a flight off. I would have been wrong. Jim asked for best efforts from the entire team and we delivered. A shakedown flight with the world's most complex glider is far...
Perlan 2 Flies at Minden Airbus Perlan Mission II is preparing to soar high over Patagonia once again in 2023. Perlan Project was on hiatus during the Covid era 2020-2022. To be ready to soar again in the stratospheric wave above 40,000 feet we needed Return to...
Perlan soars at AirVenture22. Perlan Project had a rare opportunity to fly at Oshkosh. There were 650,000 people in attendance for the week-long aviation event.
Loading Day and Last Team Dinner With Monday morning’s sunrise the Perlan was in the trailer, the container was ready for inspection, the Egrett was ready to start the long ferry home, the Tribal truck was at the airport and the crane was booked for the afternoon. For...
Farewell Argentina Multiple weather studies for the next week did not show stratospheric waves of sufficient strength to soar to high altitude. So we made the tough, bittersweet decision to pack up and return to Minden. In El Calafate in 2023 Airbus Perlan Mission II:...
For the third and final blog on Support Teams for Airbus Perlan Mission II we look at several team members who wear many hats. Of special note are the words from our 3 Perlan Interns and their observations about their past two months in El Calafate. Argentine Liason –...
Perlan Support Teams – Part Two As I said in Part One we are so fortunate to have such diverse talent on our team to support Airbus Perlan Mission II. This blog is to highlight each team member’s supporting role in their own words. Most have been on multiple Argentina...
Perlan Project Support Teams - Part One Airbus Perlan Mission II is incredibly fortunate to have a team of dedicated volunteer specialists. It takes a huge amount of work to put Perlan 2 into the air to safely hunt for stratospheric wave. These support teams are the...
Flight #74 – Weak Wave On August 30, 2023 the forecast wave conditions had improved marginally from dismal to merely difficult. But the support teams had worked hard on various squawks from the previous flight. Perlan 2’s wings were removed to check the full travel...