The Perlan Glider Soars to New Record

      Residents of Tahoma often find themselves in Truckee for a variety of reasons(work, play, shopping).  Often they cruise by the Truckee Airport with its new tower and administration building.  Nearby is the glider port that hums with activity every summer season as advocates of soaring descend on the airport to take advantage of the Sierra Wave, that local phenomenon that provides uplift for these soaring 'eagles'.
     Towed to a higher altitude, the aircraft are detached and they glide/soar for awhile until they descend back to the airport.  A quiet, thrilling method of flying, usually alone with your thoughts as your only companion.  Haven't tried it as a pilot, but as a passenger only here in California and once in Hawaii on the island of Oahu(north shore) much of the flight over the ocean.
     So now Airbus, the aircraft mega builder, has entered the glider field with the help of Steve Forbes, the wealthy aviation enthusiast who has established a few records with his balloon ascents.  Now he wants the glider altitude record, again.
     Airbus has developed a carbon fiber model that has achieved new status in the world of soaring.  The Perlan 2 has reached 52,172 feet.  The old record was 50,727feet set in 2006 by Fossett and project founder Einar Enevoldson.
     The record was set in El Calafate, Argentina where the glider was towed aloft from an elevation of 669 from Tola International airport.  El Calafate is one of only a few places on the globe where mountain waves combine with a high-altitude polar vortex- a phenomenon critical to providing enough lift to take a glider into the stratosphere. The nearby Andes Mountains provide the wall that is needed for uplifted winds.  Truckee, California is also one of the locations that one finds the right combinations.  Another limitation is the weather patterns. The required atmospheric conditions only exist a few days a year.  Weather scientists are required members of the team.   Next goal: a record climb to 90,000' altitude.  The project team is working toward that goal.