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FAQ's
Question 1:
What Does Perlan Mean?
click here to see a photo of Polar Stratospheric Clouds.
The word Perlan is an Icelandic word meaning pearl. Perlan is the name given to this project and is inspired by mother-of-pearl or nacreous clouds occasionally seen at high altitudes and high latitudes. The Mother-of-pearl or Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSC's) are present in the northern hemisphere when wave outbreaks are ongoing.
Click here for a definition on Polar Stratospheric Clouds.
Question 2:
Where will the world-record attempts to soar to 62,000 feet (phase 1) take Place?
Answer:
July - August 2002 record attempts will take place in Omarama, New Zealand.
Question 3:
When are the flights taking place?
Answer:
"Shakedown" flights begin around July 11, 2002, and world-record attempts will begin approximately July 22- August 11, 2002.
Question 4:
Why did the Perlan Team choose New Zealand and Sweden to attempt to soar into the Stratosphere?
Answer:
Strong stratospheric mountain waves have been identified in data from Sweden and the south island of New Zealand. In Sweden the northern mountains easily perturbed the low low level flow over the mountains generating tropospheric waves with the smaller northern hemisphere Polar Vortex residing over this region a high altitudes. New Zealand is favorable, even though it is located at lower latitudes because of the great size of the southern hemisphere Polar Vortex which can extend into the lower latitudes. It has been determined that the first attempts to reach 100,000 feet in a sailplane will take place in New Zealand. Based on current aircraft limitations phase one is limited to 62,000 feet. An important key to understanding these waves is the Polar Vortex. It is known that these waves propagate into the middle and upper stratosphere when the outer region of the Polar Vortex lies above a strong tropospheric wind band, above mountainous terrain.
Question 5:
What are the chances that the pilots Steve Fossett and Einar Enevoldson will reach 62,000 feet sometime between July 22 - August 11, 2002?
Answer:
The atmospheric requirements necessary for the pilots penetrate the troposphere and get into the stratosphere are quite unique.
- Active Polar Vortex
- Prefrontal conditions best
- Wind direction within 30° of perpendicular to the mountain ridgeline
- Subtropical jet located to the north of New Zealand
- Strong low-level winds in a stable atmosphere
- A gradual increase in wind with altitude (energy)
- A weak tropopause that will allow the wave to traverse into the stratosphere
- Ridgetop winds at 20 knots minimumAs our field program is relatively short (only about 19 days long) and if we average about one frontal passage every 4 days, that gives us four or 5 chances for prefrontal wave conditions.
Question 6:
What is the Polar Vortex?
click here for a complete definition of the Polar Vortex..
The Polar Vortex is the strongest during the respective winter times at the north and south polar regions of the Earth. The polar vortex usually begins to form sometime in April-May in the southern hemisphere and peaks during June & July and can last into October and November sometime (but usually dies out sometime late September). In the northern Hemisphere the polar vortex usually begins to form sometime in late October/November and peaks in January & February and dies out sometime in the spring. This is a large-scale circulation of the stratosphere. Click here to see an image of the Polar Vortex over the southern hemisphere.
Question 7:
Why a sailplane?
Answer:
A sailplane is stable, has good controllability, and has relatively simple systems. The DG505M sailplane for phase one has an 8g rating.
click here to go directly to the High-Performance Sailplane manufacturers web site.
Question 8:
What are some of the characteristics of the sailplane (to be built) in order to reach 100,000 feet?
click here to see an artists rendition of what the Perlan might look like.
Preliminary Sizing:
- 2100 pounds T.O weight
- 101 foot wingspan
- 30 to 35 Aspect Ratio
- Sea Level L/D 55 (glide ratio)
- 100,000 foot L/D 30 (glide ratio)
- Mach 0.6 at 100,000 feet
- Batteries, Oxygen, Nitrogen for 12 hours
- 2 crew
- Pressurized Cabin
- Night and Weather Capable
Question 9:
Who makes up the Perlan Team?
Answer:
Please see "The Team" page.
Question 10:
What is the current altitude world record in a sailplane?
Answer:
The world record for altitude in a sailplane is 49,009 feet set by Bob Harris in 1986 over Mt. Whitney in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, USA The previous records were set by Paul Bikle in 1961 also over Mt. Whitney (46,267 feet) and prior to that the record was held by Larry Edgar set in 1952 over the Sierra (44,255 feet).
Question 11:
How can I learn more about the scientific research and general information?
Answer:
Click here to go to our suggested readings page
Question 12:
What is the maximum achievable altitude without a pressure suit?
Answer:
39,000 ft is the maximum limit for 100% oxygen, without leaks, and a perfect mask. One can then "pressure breath" where the lungs are inflated above ambient pressure, which keeps pressure in the lungs at 39,000 feet. You must force the air out to exhale--it gets to be a lot of work eventually. I have spent a couple hours at 43,000 feet in the old days in USAF fighters with poorly operating pressurization systems.
Such high altitudes without a pressure suit also invite the "bends". In extreme necessity one can go to about 46,000 feet for a few minutes, but hypoxia ensues, and 10 minutes is about the limit.
Exhaling is very hard and tiring. The oxygen mask is painfully tight, and must be precisely fitted. It is common to blow a lot of air back out through the tear ducts, which make your eyes water. Then if your masochistic nature takes over, you can put on a "pressure jerkin"-- a heavy shirt lined with a bladder that inflates. This will counter the internal pressure in the lungs and make breathing easier, but there is a catch--your blood is forced away by the pressure, into your lower abdomen and legs, feet, and hands. So you put on a g-suit (pants with bladders over your abdomen, thighs, and calves.) You will still faint in a few minutes because blood still finds the un-pressurized nooks and crannies, and also just squeezes out of your veins into surrounding tissue.
Low blood volume causes fainting. By balancing the oxygen pressure just right, you can pass out from hypoxia, and faint at the same time. This is the logic of the "pressure jerkin" system. You can de-pressurize at 85,000 feet, then descend to 40,000 feet in less than 4 minutes, and be conscious and functional the whole time. Bill Dana and I (Einar Enevoldson) tested it in an F104 from 60,000 feet. We took turns de-pressurizing with one guy in a full pressure suit and one in the Jerkin flying the airplane. It worked OK.
