Perlan Project - Progress

Progress

Phase one of the project was to climb well past the tropopause, into an increasingly strong wave in the stratosphere, not to exceed 62,000 feet (18,900 meters). The record flight of 29 August 2006, which extended 17,000 feet into the stratosphere, accomplished this goal. It was not clear that that wave was increasing in strength, but it was certainly not decreasing. The climb was terminated due to several small but, cumulatively, significant practical difficulties encountered in operating the sailplane in inflated pressure suits. Modeling of the wave showed good agreement with the flight-measured atmospheric motions, and showed the wave increasing strongly at progressively higher altitudes.

Because the record flight of 29 August 2006 proved Enevoldson's thesis, Steve Fossett agreed to fund, progressively, the next phase of the project: to build a pressurized cabin for a special sailplane to fly to 90,000 feet. At the time of Steve's death on 3 September 2007, the structural and aerodynamic design of the fuselage had been completed, along with the aerodynamic design of the entire sailplane. Funding for the remainder of the Perlan Project was lost with Steve's death, and a search for new funding was begun.

Einar Enevoldson reported in September 2008 that Morgan Sandercock, an experienced sailplane pilot from Australia, has provided funds to re-start the project. It is funding enough to complete the fuselage with pressure cabin and do the structural tests on it. Additional funds will be needed to get back to Patagonia in the Southern Hemisphere winter of 2011.

In June of 2010 Dennis Tito joined the perlan Project as a pilot and major funder.