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Perlan II Project Aims To Fly a Glider To the Edge of Space

Posted by Soulskill on from the bring-a-jacket,-it'll-be-chilly dept.

Zothecula writes: In an ambitious attempt to break every wing-borne sustained flight height record for a manned aircraft, the Perlan ll project intends to construct and fly a glider higher than any sailplane has gone before. Riding on the colossal stratospheric air waves generated over mountains, the team plans to fly their craft to more than 90,000 ft (27,000 m), which will shatter their own existing glider altitude record of 50,671 ft (15,400 m) set by Perlan l in 2008.

2 of 44 comments (clear)

  1. 100km by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    At 27km up, you're closer to ground than to the edge of space. Stop sensationalizing.

    1. Re:100km by dreamchaser · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That was my first thought as well. Don't get me wrong, it will be an impressive feat, but it's nowhere near 'the edge of space'. I haven't done the math or looked it up but one would probably see the curvature of the Earth more noticeably than at sea level, but still, the title of this entry is complete sensationalism.