Posted on 09/14/2016 10:03:33 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
The expedition, known as Perlan Mission II, aims to take the glider up to an elevation of 90,000 feet (27,000 meters). The project is more than an attempt at aviation history; it's designed to study the layers of Earth's atmosphere. The researchers plan to fly the glider on a series of flights to measure electromagnetic fields, pressure, ozone and methane levels, and more.
If conditions are right and the flight is successful, Perlan would surpass the world altitude record for a fixed-wing aircraft. The current record of 85,068 feet (25,929 m) was set 50 years ago by the SR-71 Blackbird, a jet-powered spy plane, National Geographic reported. Unlike the Blackbird, the Perlan glider would achieve the feat without a drop of fuel.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Fun to read about, so enjoy!
Been there, done that.
Kelly (Skunkworks) built the U-2 already. It was basically F-104 fuselage with glider wings mounted around a camera in the nose.
The X15 made it over 350,000 feet, don’t know if it qualifies as a fixed wing aircraft or not.
Edge of space is commonly defined as 100,000 feet.
What are the requirements of this record? The F-15 and Foxbat (at least) have been to 100K.
edge of hype is only 90,000. thats 10,000 short of edge of space.
I want to know how a glider is going to get up that high without assistance from a ..... fix winged aircraft.
That's < 20 miles. You're not even 1/3 the way there to the edge of space, typically defined as ~62miles/100Km
Definitely fixed wing since it had wings but they didn’t rotate, but I guess you’d have to classify the X-15 as a “motor glider”.
Sort them out ...
It's not like the flapped or something?
X15 is not air-breathing, so nope. Coolest rocket plane ever though.
The requirements are to get you government grant approved and enjoy!
Thanks.
From your link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_altitude_record#Gliders
The highest altitude obtained in an unpowered aircraft is 15,460 m (50,720 ft) on 30 August 2006 by Steve Fossett (pilot) and Einar Enevoldson (co-pilot) in their high performance research glider, a modified DG-500
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Most of the records have been set using lee waves to give the altitude gain. At least in the beginning. There is a famous glide port near the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs (Black Forest). At one time the altitude record for a Schweizer 1-26 was held there.
In my youth I read that the beginning of space was around 300,000 feet.
Well a gliders is not “air breathing” either
I think we’re talking about if it’s a ballistic flight vs non ballistic flight
The x15 and space shuttle are ballistic to altitude and poweless glide return
There was some propulsion info for Blackbird on the net which incidentally included a graph with inter-related variables for velocity:altitude:weight:throttle:range which had various solid curves with one maxing at 4.2 Mach at about 74,000 altitude.
Other indications from historical based discussions of possible mission profiles seemed to suggest a ceiling of about 110,000 limited by the engine thrust roll-off. Someday, perhaps substantiated details may become available.
Another “motor glider”:
“The F-4 established 16 speed, altitude and time-to-climb records. In 1959, its prototype set the world altitude record at 98,556 feet (30,000 meters).”
http://www.boeing.com/history/products/f-4-phantom-ii.page
(Of course, the Phantom basically ‘firewalled’ the throttle, got to max speed, then pointed the nose at the moon and coasted to the record altitude.Then it ‘motor glided’ [like a brick] back down to a low enough altitude to restart the engines. Somewhere along the way, the flight control surfaces had enough airflow mass to become effective again..... “Wheeeeee!!!)
“The Glider Gang,” by Milton Dank is a great book about WWII Combat Glider pilots.
They just need to get a lift to the thermals of the Andes. That’s why they are doing the testing down there.
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