A high-tech scientific research glider intended to soar at altitudes of 90,000 feet gained a prestigious backer when Airbus yesterday announced its participation in the Perlan Project.
The not-for-profit aeronautical research organization designs high-altitude gliders to test the difficulties of flight at the edge of space and to study weather patterns below.
The project start in the 1990s to test flight in gliders on stratospheric mountain waves. The Airbus Perlan Project II will seek to set new glider altitude records in 2015 and 2016, using a highly efficient sailplane design to fly in air that is far less dense than at sea level.
Airbus and Perlan Project team members unveiled the project at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Fly-In convention on Monday.
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