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Gliding Into the Stratosphere
iAlex writes "Apparently flying around the world in a balloon isn't enough for Steve Fossett. Currently he is attempting to exceed the sailplane altitude record of 49,000 feet. The intention is to fly a two seat glider into the stratosphere on a mountain wave while wearing a pressure suit. Later on the intention is to exceed 100,000 feet in a pressurized glider. There is also a Wired article." Here's a nutshell description of the plan and a primer on mountain waves.
That last line should read:
Here's a description of the nutcase's plan
"Mountain Waves" had something to do with mountains attending sporting events. That would be sweet.
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tcd004
I know its not doable due to basic physics. Still, a geek can dream.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
I love the speculation in the last paragraphs of the Wired article "The Omarama attempt may also yield new scientific information. . . " Reminds me a great deal of the stories about John Glenn's "mission" on the space shuttle, and all the "science" they would gather from sending an older man into space.
I think it'd be a blast to ride the glider, and if I had the money and the skill I'd try it too, but to sell one man's stratospheric ego trip as an important mission of science is just silly.
Someone should tell Steve Fosset about an invention called the "aeroplane". For a fraction of the cost he is incurring now, he can fly around the world as many times as he wants. And what's more, he will get complimentary peanuts too!!!
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That's because each one of these round-the-world balloon trips, according to press reports, is estimated to have cost at least $300,000 a pop. Fossett representative Stuart Radnofsky told ABCNEWS, "We don't discuss costs."
Charities like the Red Cross, World Vision and UNICEF declined to comment on what they thought about Fossett's spending habits -- but $300,000 could certainly do plenty to help them.
For $300,000, UNICEF said it could immunize nearly 20,000 children for life against the top six childhood killer diseases, or provide 120,000 children with basic school supplies.
The World Vision Web site says $30 can send a child in Uganda to school for a year, or help a family in the Dominican Republic plant 10 fruit trees. So that's 10,000 Ugandan children or Dominican families who are going without for a balloon flight.
The Red Cross says $350 can cover the costs of providing food and shelter for 50 disaster victims for one day. So $300,000 could cover the cost of providing food and shelter for that same group for more than two years.
"You can find people who criticize people about anything," said Radnofsky -- but some Australians think they have a case for their vitriol toward Fossett, especially after the 1998 trip that nearly killed him.
That's because after Fossett went down, he was saved by Australian search-and-rescue teams at an estimated cost of nearly $300,000, according to AusSAR official Ben Mitchell (no relation to Jim Mitchell). And despite his considerable fortune, Fossett has never paid them back, Mitchell said.
Indeed.
Just think... if you worked hard to make millions of dollars, how would you like it if those who didn't kept telling you how to spend your money? Really, isn't the point of becoming wealthy; to do what you want with your wealth? If we made it such that anyone who becomes wealthy must give their wealth to others, would anyone choose to become wealthy? Isn't that the root of capitalism and freedom?
"Would it kill you to put down the toilet seat?" -- Maya Angelou
Second, this is as good a reason as any to develop new light weight space suits for space travel.
Third, there is still a hell of a lot of meterology that remains unknown at those altitudes. Sailplanes have made it up to roughly Flight level 450, but they had to stop climbing because the pilots weren't equipped to go much higher. Nobody really knows how high mountain waves can take us.
This is a better exploration for Steve Fossett than his balloon stunts. If he's successful not only will he have made new discoveries, but he may also have found a way to get humans in to orbit very inexpensively.
When you think about all the stupid things people waste their money on, I think one can excuse Steve Fossett for actually planning and executing an aviation Nerd's fantasy trip.
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I fly RC aircraft, mainly small sailplanes, etc. This talk of mountain waves reminds me of dynamic soaring, which is a technique birds (and sailplaners) use to increase speed -- without flapping wings.
:)
In fact, sailplanes can often reach 150 MPH using this technique. And thats with no propellor. Needless to say, it's fast and exciting. Also, for those of us who like it when things go "boom", a critical failure at 150 MPH is always fun
big 'ol realplayer dynamic soaring video
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I received my license flying at Minden, Nevada... which is, I think, the home of the current altitude record. The 49,000 foot record was flown without a pressure suit but with oxygen; anything above about 13,000 feet MSL is done on oxygen.
/. posters have any idea of the concentration required just to keep a glider aloft for longer than it would normally take to glide back to earth. It's not at all unusual to get a sailplane above 13,000 feet (which is why virtually all sailplanes come equipped with an oxygen system... unlike most powered planes).
Flying a sailplane (glider) is one of the most intense things I've ever done. Few
Glider pilots fly for the personal satisfaction of pitting their skills against gravity and nature. It's non-polluting except for the ten minutes or so it takes to get the glider to 3,000 feet above ground level, it's relatively inexpensive (my sailplane - with a 39:1 glide ratio cost me $12,000 including trailer and instrumentation).
But an altitude record which now requires pressure suits and/or pressurized aircraft takes more money than most of us have available. This guy is truly risking his life for a project that, in my mind, is valuable if only for the fact that its challenging. The collection of data on using the atmosphere to perhaps save fuel on future airliners is even more incentive.
So hell, I say "bravo" to anyone willing to go try it.
PS: My other hobby is white water kayaking... and I'll be 60 years old next March.
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