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Enthusiasts plan to overcome the glider bar height of 30 km
Bashny.Net
Jim Payne and Perlan 2 i>
Любители and aviation enthusiasts gathered last week in Oshkosh US state of Wisconsin, which held an air show pilot of aircraft Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture. The highlight of the program was Perlan glider 2 that next year prepare for a new world altitude record. This glider authors of the project plan to overcome the bar to 30 km.
The optimism of the authors is not based on an empty place. The founder of the project and the investor Einar Enevoldson Steve Fossett in 2006 glider Perlan as pilots have already established mirovoy record , rising unattainable until gliders to a height of 15,460 meters.
The dream of humanity about the flight realized beginning in earnest only at the beginning of the 20th century (if you do not bump into the theory of the spaceship in the desert of Nazca, or Colombian gold airplanes ). Funny "stack", rising hundreds of meters, the Second World War turned into a screw planes, a little does not reach up to 20 km. Height of 30 km and more obedient to have jets, and, of course, space ракетам.
glider enthusiasts enjoy many hours of flight and can fly for hundreds and thousands of kilometers from the start, but the height of their flight is generally limited as the flight rules (the lower part of the cloud), and the possibility of physical non-motorized aircraft.
Glider to climb using rising air. This can be a heated air stream flow (where the vertical wind hits an obstacle), or волновые flows - the most powerful stand-air waves in the atmosphere. It is the latter allow pilots to set the altitude record.
Project Perlan organized not only to establish an impressive record, but for a detailed study of the properties of the Earth's atmosphere. The authors of the project want to prove that glider flights in the middle of the stratosphere - the company is not only possible, but also safe and reliable enough to carry it on an ongoing basis.
In defense of gliders authors say that these aircraft can be accurately and precisely maneuver at such heights, stay on them for a few hours (recording the evolution of the air waves) to accurately record its characteristics and collect air samples. Besides, they argue, glider pilot at this altitude - it's like to fly over the surface of Mars, so this experience can be useful in the future development of aircraft for the Red Planet.
A typical modern glider cabin i>
Einar Enevoldson conceived this project back in 1992, after learning of the existence and potential of standing air waves. He developed the project alone and sought funding for it, when in 1998 he learned about the Steve Fossett - American businessman, balloonist, yachtsman, co-owner of the company Scaled Composites, known for its numerous travel and record in ballooning and sailing. He immediately agreed to become the main investor and the pilot project.
Several years of training and numerous attempts have established a record in 2006. Then the pilots felt that the glider is able to rise further, but decided to stop the rise due to some technical problems faced by the pilots, who were in sealed suits. Fossett, inspired by the success, he decided to continue financing the enterprise.
Unfortunately, September 3, 2007, he died, breaking a single-engine airplane. Therefore Enevoldson set off again in search of funding for the project. And in 2010, I joined the project Dennis Tito - the first space tourist, American businessman and multimillionaire Italian origin.
The main driver would be the Perlan 2 Jim Payne. He's already full of enthusiasm: "At this altitude you can see the stars even in the daytime. This flight will be very interesting now, that's for sure ».
With base in Argentina, located near the Andes, the glider will be lifted into the air by means of aircraft. Disconnect from the tug, Payne will be with co-pilot alone for several hours. To rise to such a height will not be easy. The pilots will take advantage of natural phenomena such as the polar vortex and the atmospheric jet stream.
Each of the poles of the Earth there are permanent cyclones huge scale, the base of which is located in the middle and upper troposphere and reaches the top of the stratosphere. Around them formed jet streams , generally from west to east, the air velocity that can reach 160 km / h. In addition, in the area of the Andes formed a standing wave that occurs when the wind meets the mountains and the air rushes up. This energy and plan to use the daredevils.
Wingspan glider made of carbon fiber is 25 meters. It weighs 800 kg and can accelerate to 450 km / h. On board the glider set different scientific instruments to collect environmental data. At this great height, which plans to conquer the pilots, their speed indicator estimates will show a speed of about 36 knots (65 km / h) due to the highly rarefied air.
The glider is equipped with two parachutes - one will brake sharply in the event of danger, allowing the unit to fall a little lower, while the second can then gently put it on the ground.
Source: geektimes.ru/post/259628/
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