On September 9, 2017 Perlan 2 soared to 35,000 feet but was unable to get higher. So Jim Payne and Tim Gardner made the decision to come back to El Calafate. In the video linked below you can see the spoilers extend upward on each wing. They are called air brakes or spoilers because they spoil the lift across the wing.
You can also see lines of clouds acros the lake. These mark the various harmonics of waves downwind of the Andes Mountains. One of my favorite photos is the nose of the glider backlighted with a halo of shimmering water.
When coming in for landing the Perlan 2 does not line up on centerline of the runway. Due to the limited forward visibility Jim likes to be off set so he can see the centerline stripes out one of the eyeball windows. Video edited by Tim Davis.
Perlan Soars High! Jackie
