Glider World Altitude Record

So,  the other day, Steve Hinton got a modified P-51 up to 554mph. Wow.  In other aviation news, the Airbus Perlan II glider mission set a new sailplane altitude record, an astonish 52,172 feet. Which, that's way the hell up there.    What's more, Perlan Mission II thinks they can achieve an ultimate altitude of…

So,  the other day, Steve Hinton got a modified P-51 up to 554mph. Wow. 

In other aviation news, the Airbus Perlan II glider mission set a new sailplane altitude record, an astonish 52,172 feet. Which, that's way the hell up there. 

 

What's more, Perlan Mission II thinks they can achieve an ultimate altitude of over 90 thousand feet. 

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Responses to “Glider World Altitude Record”

  1. SFC Dunlap 173d RVN

    Nice

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  2. Captain Ned

    Hmm. My internal auditor brain (day job) asks: What is the maximum tow altitude for such an attempt for record purposes? Could a U-2 tow a glider to its max operational height? Why do I ask these questions?
    52Kft is pretty damn impressive, though tow-cut altitude is not mentioned. Getting to 90Kft with wings that can support you at that altitude and are also capable of powering you through the turbulent ridge lift? Glad I’m not running the Finite Element Analysis on that airframe.

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