thetical engineer, test pilot, and pilot who was in exactly these circum- The Perlan 2 Glider stances and had exactly this epiphany Dr. Daniel Johnson more than 25 years ago. But being a retired NASA test pilot, he did not have multiple millions of dollars to bring this vision into reality. On September 2, 2018, the Perlan 2 glider achieved a pressure altitude of 76,100 ft (that’s the altitude that mat- ters aerodynamically, though the lower GPS altitudes are used for records nowadays). Why can’t you fly a Schweizer 1-26 or a Ventus 3 to that altitude? Why build a bespoke glider for the task? The best answer is that if you want to succeed at any flying challenge, you’re best off flying an that is optimized for the task. Why? 1. The air is really wispy up there. The “Reynolds number” varies with the density (and viscosity) of the air be- Perlan 2 on the ramp in , ready to tow out, worshipper genuflecting. ing flown through. At 100,000 ft, the (Photo by Daniel Johnson.) Reynolds numbers are bird-like rather than airplane-like. As you climb, the The design goal of Perlan 2 is to soar at What do you do? Of course, you true airspeed begins to approach the 90,000 ft above sea level. This is probably walk into the office belonging to the speed of sound, and the air wafting as high as any manned aircraft has ever bulletin board and have a detailed over the wings might exceed it – what flown, the actual record not documented. conversation with the physicist inside are you going to do about that? An SR-71 pilot named Darrell Green- about these findings. 2. It’s severely cold up there. How amyer is quoted as once having achieved will the materials of the glider, the level flight at 90,000 ft. control mechanisms, the avionics, the tire, the sealants, and the windows et’s just hypothetically suppose change their properties at -50° to -85 that you are an engineer and test °C? How can you find out? Very few Lpilot with extensive experience in fly- materials or completed equipment ing stratospheric aircraft, and under- are tested at such temperatures and stand the aerodynamics there. pressures. Let’s just hypothetically suppose 3. It’s really high. How are you going that you are a very experienced moun- to get there? What is the most com- tain wave glider pilot. Figure 1: The Bulletin Board image that showed mon form of lift at each of the alti- And let’s hypothetically suppose stratospheric wave over Sweden and captured tudes that you must transition? The that nearly everyone believes that ’s imagination. stratospheric mountain wave must be mountain wave, like thunderstorms, connected to the tropospheric moun- is blocked by the tropopause from Your knowledge of aerodynamics tain wave that we’re used to in order to affecting the . and soaring lets you instantly real- climb in a glider into the stratosphere. And then, one day, on a job as the ize it should be feasible to design a Do such connections exist? How are test pilot of yet another stratospheric sailplane capable of climbing in that they found? aircraft, you walk past a bulletin board stratospheric wave. If it is there, and 4. What’s the meteorology? When on which is a lidar image showing at- it is possible to reach it, it must be ex- does stratospheric mountain wave de- mospheric wave over the mountains plored. This is a presupposition of the velop? Where in the world do you find of Sweden extending above 80,000 ft human condition. it? How can you predict it, so as not to altitude. Einar Enevoldson is a non-hypo- waste effort and money? 24 Soaring • May 2019 • www.ssa.org 5. How do you keep the pilot safe? he refined the design, he evolved to a In about 1999, he pitched the con- The Armstrong limit is about 63,000 shorter wing with a lower aspect ratio struct to a fellow glider pilot who had ft, above which water turns to warm than the NASA-Perlan sizing study. a bankroll, . Steve pre- steam at body temperature, so a pres- Einar judged that it should be a two- ferred that they first obtain and modify sure suit or pressurized cockpit is seat aircraft due to the expected high a commercial glider (a DG) and fly in essential. workload, the safety of the redundant pressure suits to assess the feasibility pilot, and the need for support sys- of stratospheric flights before building tems. Having spent much of his pro- a bespoke glider. fessional flying life in pressure suits, he The next step was to determine understood their expense, complexity, where in the world they might most and limitations, so judged that hav- likely find stratospheric wave. This ing a pressurized cockpit would be requires finding a location where the necessary. polar night jet crosses mountains at a He had only recently retired from favorable angle. NASA, and was able to persuade The first three seasons, they flew someone to write a simulation, which from New Zealand and mainly found The performance design goal of Perlan 2. refined the aerodynamics. NASA en- that the conditions did not quite meet (Reproduced courtesy Greg Cole.) gineers seized the opportunity to ex- their need. “Looking back,” Einar plore this unusual design challenge. notes, “it seems likely that we missed This graph was given to Greg Cole A test pilot named Helvey hap- at least one chance in NZ, because we by Einar Enevoldson at the beginning pened to have flown a U-2 from didn’t understand the configuration of of the design-build process for Perlan Fresno, California, into Nevada and the stratospheric wave.” 2, as a depiction of the best expected back across the Sierra at 60,000 ft in They then changed to the Andes, atmospheric environment. The green mountain wave conditions. He got the and flew from El Calafate, the south- line shows expected best lift at alti- hell beat out of him but lots of data. ernmost reasonable airport. The first tudes. The dip at 35,000 to 50,000 A brilliant graduate student named season there, they failed to reach the shows the loss of lift through the tro- Daniel Landau created a model of stratosphere, but in the second season, popause. The blue line shows typical the turbulence field that had been en- in 2006, they reached 51,500 ft. wind speeds at altitudes that would be countered. Using the fastest computer This proved the concept, and dem- encountered in the jet stream or polar then available at UCLA, computation onstrated no loss of climb with increas- night jet. It was anticipated that Per- took about a month. ing altitude, an important requirement lan 2 would release from tow in moun- They took the most “interesting” to be able to go higher. Steve Fossett tain wave at mountaintop height, and 15 miles of this flight and ran this in then agreed to build Perlan 2, on would have to climb through the tro- the simulator that had been designed. which Einar had been working for at popause to the stratosphere. This was Einar flew it often, and, as he recalls, least a decade. the case until 2018, when the Grob he invited a fellow test pilot named Egrett was first used as a towplane so Jim Payne to fly it, too. Airfoil design that release could occur above 40,000 This data indicated that +/- 3 g Prof. Dr. Richard Eppler, of Univer- ft, in the lower part of the stratosphere. would likely be the maximum expe- sität Stuttgart, decades ago developed rienced, so an airframe designed for computer code that directly connects Airframe and airfoil design +/- 8 g seemed sufficient. the boundary-layer development and Obviously, the first step is to try to In the quarter-century since then, the pressure distribution. NASA ad- design a glider that can climb to and atmospheric modeling has advanced opted his philosophy that a reliable be flown in the stratospheric atmo- greatly. The Perlan meteorologist, Dr. theoretical airfoil design method is sphere. After Einar discovered strato- Elizabeth Austin, notes, “[Landau’s] preferable to catalogs of experimental spheric wave, he began a design study, is an older model and the newer ones sections. what aeronautical engineers call a have many more parameters and are Dan Somers, a student of Eppler “preliminary sizing exercise.” more realistic in terms of their equa- and founder of Airfoils, Inc., was en- This study concluded that the glider tions, etc. We also have much better gaged to begin airfoil design studies. needed to have a wingspan of about analysis input data and much bet- In about 2001, Einar discovered the 100 ft, aspect ratio of about 30:1, and ter computing power to get to much Sparrowhawk glider at the Tehachapi best glide about 30:1. When Greg higher resolutions. This is not to say annual soaring meeting and inspected Cole was chosen to build the airplane, that his model results don’t have merit it very carefully. He then knew he’d he was also given the design task. As and I do believe the +/-3 g for sure.” found the guy who could build this www.ssa.org • May 2019 • Soaring 25 dreamed-of glider – Greg Cole. But it case, cross-country performance was than 1 g – which means that straight was years before that could begin. not relevant. and level flight is best above 90,000 ft. The indicated airspeed is a pressure About 96,000 ft, the flow will be tran- Airfoil design challenges reading, with dial markings of speed. sonic at 1 g, which forms the “ coffin There are several special challenges This is very important because lift is corner” for Perlan 2. (It’s useful to to airfoil design for even slow flight in determined by pressure, and the most remember that these are theoretical the stratosphere. important speed instrument is there- and design considerations – the actual A special challenge is that it must fore indicated airspeed, which is kept aircraft and the actual conditions have climb well from the traditional maxi- constant. not been tested, and will be somewhat mum towplane altitude – 10,000 ft True airspeed increases with altitude different from theory.) or so – through the troposphere in related mainly to the drop in static mountain wave, then traverse the weak pressure. The formula in the inset Pressurized cockpit lift of the tropopause in order to con- shows that there is a small decrease Steve Fossett, not at first convinced nect to stratospheric wave, and then with cold temperatures (about 50% of the need for a pressurized cockpit, climb in progressively less dense air from 0 to -70 °C), but a large increase asked Einar to borrow pressure suits until the increasing true airspeed be- as static pressure, P, decreases (about from NASA. To Einar’s total surprise, gins to converge with the decreasing an 8-fold decrease from sea level to NASA agreed, seeing a research ben- speed of sound. 90,000 ft). efit. At 50,000 ft in Perlan 1, the suits (Why not try higher? It isn’t clear were so stiff that moving the controls that it is feasible to build a wing that Mach tuck was fatiguing, and it was not clear will climb well at lower altitude, fly As the curved airfoil ascends and that full control movements would well when airflow over the wing is the true airspeed increases, transonic be possible if necessary. For example, transonic, and also fly safely and ef- flow begins to develop over the top above 50,000, Steve’s pressure suit fectively when that flow is supersonic, of the airfoil. An angle in the airflow pushed him forward such that the above the transonic altitude. A super- develops – a shock wave – which in- stick could not be pulled fully back. sonic wing should be thin and flat; a conveniently moves the center of lift This emphasized that a pressurized high-lift, slow-speed wing should be aft. This causes the nose to dip, which cockpit was necessary. curved and have some thickness.) increases airspeed. This can develop (In any case, a specially designed The design of Perlan 2 was some- very quickly, and the nose-dip irrecov- glider was necessary because aerody- what simplified by designing the air- erable, especially if the lift under the namically, the DG was not expected foil to fly at the same indicated air- horizontal tail has become transonic to be able to surpass 70,000 ft.) speed at all altitudes (Perlan 2 is flown and shifted strength and location. Pilots do not wear backup pressure at 48 kt) – there was no reason to cre- The shockwave over the airfoil and suits in Perlan 2 because they are pro- ate a compromise that would also fly Mach tuck develop earlier with in- hibitively expensive when not on loan well at high indicated airspeeds, if only creased wing loading. The Perlan 2 air- from a generous government – they because those airspeeds are supersonic foil will develop transonic flow above must be custom built for each pilot, well below the goal altitude. In any 90,000 ft if the wing loading is more and require their own maintenance crew on the ground. If I recall cor- True airspeed calculation rectly, they cost more than $100,000 to build and more than that annually for handling and maintenance. The cockpit is double-walled car- bon fiber with a foam core. It’s a space capsule: The prototype cockpit was tested to failure, at 23.5 psi. Sea-level pressure is 14.7 psi, so Perlan could be maintained at sea level cockpit pres- sure safely. This is not done because it is unnecessary physiologically, and the inevitable air leakage at seals would shorten endurance. It is pressurized to 8.5 psi – about 18,000 ft altitude, which provides a large safety margin and leakage is small, about 7 liters/ 26 Soaring • May 2019 • www.ssa.org neer Mike Malis devised a removable plastic third pane that was very help- ful. At one time, early in the project, a cockpit dehumidifier was constructed, but the fans were much too noisy. The visual backup is the tail cameras, with the image displayed on an iPad in each cockpit. In 2018, the forward- looking tail camera consistently failed, but the 360° VIRB was reliable. The cabin is designed as a two-gas system – a normal atmosphere in the cabin, and closed-loop pure oxygen for the pilots to prevent decompression sickness if cabin pressure is lost. This arrangement conserves oxygen minute, well within the capacity of the tudes, and a BRS ballistic chute to be and keeps exhaled moisture out of the air tanks. deployed below about 12,000 ft. This cabin. More important, there would Leakage is minimized by rotary con- is expected to result in a nose-first be a fire risk as the cabin oxygen ra- trol transfers, which are easier to seal landing at about 15 mph if the glider tio rises progressively above 25%. (It’s than push-pull tubes. Pressure is stored is uncontrollable. A bonus advantage the ratio, not the partial pressure of in large air tanks – SCUBA tanks. of the BRS system is that it’s lighter oxygen that’s key. This was carefully than 2 parachutes and harnesses. studied after the Apollo 1 catastrophe Why not a canopy? occurred.) As you’ve probably noticed, glider canopies are pretty flexible. This de- Aerodynamic challenges formability is not suitable for a pres- After Steve Fossett’s death in Sep- sure cooker. A conventional canopy tember 2007, Einar said to Greg Cole, would require latches to resist a very “Let’s build the glider we really ought large pressure load. It is likely that a to have.” Greg really grabbed onto sufficient latching mechanism would Einar’s dream, and for years worked be too heavy for the light structure all his spare time on the nuances of its that it served. Einar’s preferred solu- design. Everything has to work. Mean- tion was plug hatches, which are sealed while, they wrote one proposal after and kept in place by the pressure itself. Perlan overhead. (Photo by James Darcey, another for financing with little result. One winter in New Zealand, while Airbus.) Money was difficult to raise. waiting for wave, Einar got a NZ The mission and the materials drive wooden-glider repair expert to build The round windows date from design. a mockup of the pressure cabin. They flights in an ASK-21, in which the The requirement to be able to climb built side hatches and then top hatch- canopy was masked and holes cut, through the tropopause was the most es in turn, and decided the top entry with different window arrangements difficult challenge, because a design would work better, to avoid control until satisfactory visibility with sturdy for high altitude has decreased climb passes and avoid pilot contortion dur- structure was feasible. performance at low altitude. If tow ing entry and exit. They are sized to Einar notes, “The windows are not could have been planned to above the permit wearing a parachute. In Perlan the finest achievement of this design. tropopause, it would have been pos- 2, pilots do not wear parachutes, most- In the ASK-21, the pilot sits further sible to use wing profiles that permit ly because actually bailing out above forward than in Perlan 2, and the pres- higher Mach numbers. 20,000 ft is more harmful than staying surized cockpit walls are much thicker. Designing a subsonic aircraft able in the cockpit, partly because it’s very The angle of view and the actual ap- to fly to 90,000 ft was comparatively difficult to exit Perlan 2 actually wear- erture is smaller, so the view is not as straightforward (though very com- ing a parachute, as was discovered in nice as intended.” plex). Going to 100,000 ft is a very the first mockup. The view is further degraded by frost difficult design challenge because Perlan has 2 rescue chutes, a drogue even though the windows are double of the expected transonic flows. The tail chute to be deployed at high alti- glazed. During the 2018 season, engi- pressure at 90,000 ft is 0.25 psi, at www.ssa.org • May 2019 • Soaring 27 100,000 ft it’s 0.16 psi – this is trivi- – the speed of the molecules of air locities are not as great as if the air were ally different from space. passing across the surfaces (remem- dense, but Perlan would get severely As transonic flows develop, shock ber, this varies with both temperature banged around, though it’s designed separation produces loss of control. and pressure – density). Flutter occurs to withstand this extreme turbulence. Perlan was designed to be capable of when at some point the elastic reso- Yes, the pilots wear crash helmets. No, Mach 0.6-0.65, to create some mar- nance of the airframe is matched by they have not encountered breaking gin and ensure that the altitude goal the harmonics of the turbulence in the wave. At altitude, the lift is broad and of 90,000 ft was feasible. Ultimately, flowing air. Because at that point, the smooth. Downwind excursions have the wing was a blended transitional turbulence is synchronous with the not been undertaken because of the design with a series of airfoils. Sharp airframe response, very little force is limited airspace permitted in Argenti- breaks were avoided, as these have a required to trigger it. And flutter tends na, and this helps avoid breaking wave. drag penalty. Greg Cole states: to develop abruptly. The flutter true One of the purposes of having in- Each part of the wing talks to every airspeed in Perlan 2 is much higher at stalled a tail-drogue chute is in case a other part of the wing. The wing design high altitude than at lower altitudes, breaking wave creates loss of control, it is intended to minimize induced drag and so flutter testing is necessary at each can be deployed to prevent a damag- parasitic drag at its operating point (rela- high altitude. As Einar says, “There are ing high-speed excursion and keep the tively slow or high coefficient of lift). The no safe rules of thumb.” nose pointed forward. planform (chord distribution) combined Perlan has two measures to decrease with twist, geometric, and aerodynamic, this risk. Handling are selected to accomplish this. The loop One is massive control surface bal- At low altitude, the lateral stick is getting airfoils to work at this design ance weights. The elevator horns are forces are high. On tow at 70 kt, the point consistent with structures. As we tungsten, a heavy metal. These actu- controls are heavy. If you find a cockpit have pointed out, the Reynolds number ally tend to reduce the stick force, be- video of a takeoff, you may notice that (small and ever worse with the small tip cause they are forward of the hinges. the pilot then usually has both hands chords) and Mach number are not helping The aileron mass balance is increased on the stick. The roll rate is slow and us on this plane. So the wing outer area is with small lead torpedoes attached at the ship feels somewhat sluggish. driven by these factors and a very impor- the hinge points, positioned in front of In general, Jim Payne says, the han- tant additional one. The low speed behav- the hinges. dling is like an open-class ship. He ior of the aircraft (from near to stall) The other is resonance detection. mentions the Nimbus 3D as being is strongly affected by the behavior of the There is a collection of tiny acceler- most like it. The wing loading is pretty outer wing. The lateral control devices are ometers in the control surfaces that light, close to 8.2 (lb/sqft), so the feel also located in this outer wing area. are monitored for vibration, and a test even down low is pretty good. The horizontal tail is very thin in or- protocol is flown every few thousand Stall characteristics are totally be- der to be effective at the low Reynolds feet in which wing vibrations are in- nign – we haven’t stalled it above numbers at 90,000 ft. (At that altitude troduced briefly and resonant response 20,000 ft, but at low altitude, it’s just Perlan is operating with the Reynolds can be detected. like an ASK-21, a slight break. Or numbers of a bird.) There is a little with forward CG, you may end up sweep on the tail surfaces because this Meteorological danger with the stick full back and mushing. reduces the effective Mach number, At these high altitudes, the thin It’s very stable in a steep bank, no delaying onset of Mach tuck and mak- air can result in odd loss-of-control different from an open-class ship. ing less of a cliff. modes. Stratospheric wave is known Thermaling has been done only in A T-tail would be unsatisfactory be- to break just as ocean waves do; this rotor, which is always less pretty than cause of the torsional load this puts on is a concern because the vertical ve- in a standard smooth-ish thermal. the tail boom, increasing the airframe- locities are very high and there are no At high altitudes, the controls get flutter risk. wave-marking clouds there (and air is light and the roll rate increases. “Up invisible, so you discover lift or turbu- and away, you’re making small in- Flutter risk lence only by entering it). puts, and Perlan 2 isn’t much different The entire aircraft is involved in flut- Wave-marking stratospheric clouds from the ASH-25. Control feel – this ter, with elasticity in all three dimen- are known to exist – mother-of-pearl year in Argentina, we never saw any sions, with both bending and twisting or “Perlan” clouds – but these are rare turbulence off tow, and up that high, motions simultaneously. The control and have not been seen during Perlan the areas of lift are fairly big, so you surfaces cannot be fixed, so their mass flights, either from the glider or from don’t have any sharp transitions, so it’s balance is critical to flutter response. the ground. pretty straightforward.” Flutter is related to the true airspeed The g-stresses at these car-crash ve- He observes that during the hands- 28 Soaring • May 2019 • www.ssa.org off portion of flight testing there has temperature decreases from +5 °C to is divergent. Should a yaw-damper be been some gentle Dutch roll (yaw) -90 °C, and other physical factors. All added as insurance? This is a point of with a period of about 4 seconds with these factors can change the handling debate: It is added complexity, time, a “snaky” motion involving small bank qualities and stability. and cost. We can’t know whether it’s angle changes of < 10° that has been Einar has a great deal of experience necessary without flying high. easily controlled and not evident if in high-altitude test flight. He points Aerodynamic stability analyses have either pilot is hands-on. out that there are always surprises, and never been done, so it’s possible there Dutch roll is generally a problem these surprises can develop quickly. are some surprises ahead. with highly swept wings or high di- The flight characteristics of the air- hedral. As Perlan 2 goes higher, we craft are also interdependent with Flight testing protocol expect the Dutch roll to have a lower piloting style, though we seldom think For these and other reasons, the damping ratio and maybe even be- about this. Perlan 2 team has followed a metic- come unstable. A yaw damper will be For example, in 2006, Einar and ulous, incremental, disciplined, and added, which would make the oscilla- Steve Fossett flew together in a modi- detailed test-flight protocol. tions damp out sooner. fied DG to over 50,000 MSL in a There are two key features of this To point out the obvious, this ship modified DG-1000. This altitude range testing: has never been above 76,100 ft, so we was not part of the design specification One is flutter evaluation. There are really don’t yet know what its aero- for this aircraft and every high flight in 3 asymmetric small gyros in the junc- dynamic and handling qualities are it was a first-experience test flight. tion between the wingtip extension above that. Dutch roll, as you know, is the ten- and the main wing, one for each geo- Jim says Perlan 2 is satisfying to fly dency of an aircraft to wag its own tail. metric axis. In a 15 second span, these rather than “fun” because it’s a chal- This is less well damped in a rarified are run from 1 Hz to 20 Hz, during lenge – like the F-104, it takes pilot atmosphere. Einar recalls that during which time accelerometers in the ai- compensation to fly it well. the record flight, at one point, Fossett lerons send data to a cockpit recorder asked to fly. As soon as he took it, the and telemetered to ground. The analy- Why not just go to 90,000 ft? airplane started sashaying around like sis evaluates whether resonance has People have asked, “Why did they a tugboat in high seas; Einar then real- occurred in any axis, at any frequency. stop climbing? They were still in good ized that he had been subconsciously The other is for handling and sta- lift.” Greg Cole said, “Why don’t compensating without realizing that bility. For each flight, test points are they just take it up to 90,000 ft? It’s the phenomenon was occurring. set, with the glider being flown at designed to go there.” Perlan 2 is predicted to have an in- selected speeds and altitudes during There are two uncertainties. One is creasing Dutch roll tendency above the flight. These tests of course include that the design is a model, based on as- 70,000 ft MSL. It is impossible to spoiler deployments. By this means, sumptions and known aerodynamics. know until it’s flown just how that will the known flight envelope is steadily No matter how careful the design, the change as they go higher. It is known expanded. fact remains that no aircraft has ever that the damping is negligible; aero- This is tedious work, and “success” flown in these extreme conditions of dynamic models have indicated that at for the glider is to have delivered no cold, rarefied air, and (potential) tur- some altitude it may become dynami- surprises. But it’s important work, bulence. There is no track record of cally unstable. The concern for possi- for it defines limits within which the prior successes or known problems. bly uncontrollable Dutch roll is one glider’s behavior is known. The Perlan test flight program is very reason for having a tail drogue chute carefully laid out to demonstrate that that can be deployed to keep the glid- Acknowledgements it handles safely at all design airspeeds er’s nose pointed forward. This essay was made possible by long and configurations – “expanding the Einar recalls that NASA created a discussions with Einar Enevoldson, [demonstrated] flight envelope.” simulator of the Apex unpowered re- whose idea this program was; Greg The other uncertainty is how well motely piloted stratospheric sailplane Cole, the designer of the Perlan 2 glid- the constructed, real-life glider con- and of his Perlan-concept design. er; Morgan Sandercock, the engineer forms to the design. This is not merely Both showed Dutch roll divergence who ensured it endured and its sys- a matter of measurement and precise above about 75,000 ft and that it was tems functioned; and Jim Payne, Chief mold cutting. It is also related to the marginally controllable. Pilot, a career test pilot who knows a behavior of hinges, control rod con- But Perlan 2 is different from each of great deal more than he lets on. Also, nections, the elasticity of the soles of these – yet how different? Only care- Jackie Payne and Dr. Elizabeth Austin the pilots’ boots, the change of struc- ful and incremental testing can reveal have reviewed the manuscript help- tural resonance frequency when the whether its Dutch roll characteristic fully. All errors are the author’s. www.ssa.org • May 2019 • Soaring 29

Perlan 2 soars above the Andes in Argentine Patagonia. (Airbus photo by James Darcy.) US Hall of Fame Biographies Collected, Compiled, Adapted, or Written by Bertha Ryan

This month we continue the biographi- a depth of understanding of the situ- ing flying the F-104 to several time- cal articles, thanks to the efforts of Bertha ation. While in high school, through to-climb records, instructing Chinese Ryan. She has compiled, adapted, and friends in the model club, he discov- pilots in Taiwan, and, perhaps best of written brief biographies of the Soaring ered something else to test his curi- all, being selected for the prestigious Hall of Fame inductees up through 2013. osity and quest for understanding – Empire Test Pilot School in England. Since there are many, it will take several sailplanes. He spent some time at the He joined NASA at Edwards AFB issues to present them all, so we will be well-known gliderport of El Mirage in 1968 and stayed there until 1986, looking at groupings by year – this issue – which he called the University of when he started working for Grob un- presents the 2010 inductee. (NOTE: El Mirage, not only because of the til 1995. While at Grob, he set more there was no inductee in 2009.) The people and the sailplanes, but also the time-to-climb records – this time in full set will be on the National Soaring sport which challenged him. the Grob Egrett. Museum website. — Editor Einar loves competition as he be- lieves it is the best way to become a bet- ter soaring pilot. Setting of tasks by the 21st Century – 2010 Competition Director challenges the EINAR K. ENEVOLDSON (2010) pilot to try tasks he might not other- (1932- ) wise have considered – thus stretch- ing the boundaries of his skills. He Source: Soaring Beyond the Clouds – flew his first contest while stationed Einar Enevoldson Reaches for 100,000 in England. When he returned to the Feet, Bertha M. Ryan, 2010, published States, he flew a regional at California by SSA. City and then Nationals, first at Marfa, Texas, in 1969, then the U.S. Open at ngineer, Pilot, Explorer – Einar El Mirage in 1970, the U.S. Standard Enevoldson, like so many others Class at Ephrata, Washington in 1971, Eof his age group during that time, and the U.S. Standard Class at Hobbs, built models as a young boy. He soon He joined the Air Force in 1954, NM in 1974. In 1972, he was selected learned that, to be successful, it was where he stayed until 1967, and had to fly the Smirnoff Sailplane Derby, a necessary to do careful planning with several interesting experiences, includ- cross-country race with a series of goal

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32 Soaring • May 2019 • www.ssa.org flights from the West Coast to the East early 1950s, he dreamed of explor- 51,000 ft – more importantly, they had Coast. Einar enjoyed this type of com- ing the stratosphere in a sailplane. In reached the stratosphere and proven it petition because, even though the goal 1992, he saw a photo of a 75,000 ft was possible to reach and utilize the was selected for him, he had to deter- high wave cloud over northern Scan- high altitude wave. mine his own course in a geographical dinavia. His curiosity and imagina- Mission II of the is location that changed every day. tion were sparked. What caused these to soar to 90,000 ft. The project is now With all the various kinds of fly- stratospheric wave clouds? Might fully funded by Airbus, and Einar has ing experiences described above, you that meteorological condition carry the title of Founder and Chairman of might guess that Einar has flown him far into the stratosphere in a the Board. many different aircraft, and you would sailplane? He consulted with atmo- be correct. As a minimum, he has spheric scientists and others and soon flown 80 types of NASA and military learned about the , the aircraft, 97 various gliders, and 62 oth- Stratospheric Polar Night Jet, and, er types of aircraft (General Aviation). most importantly, that these condi- Ever since Einar participated brief- tions sometimes coincided with the ly in the Sierra Wave project in the traditional mountain wave. There were indications that this phenomenon reached 100,000 ft. Einar wanted to Artist rendition of Perlan 2 sailplane. find out. Project Perlan was formed. Einar had a plan and went about Einar earned Silver #193 in 1953, implementing it. Not surprisingly, Gold #629 in 1971, and Diamond the plan required money. Einar man- #207 (Intl #1009) in 1971. He gave aged to interest millionaire adventurer the Barnaby Lecture in 2007. Steve Fossett, and together they went Einar, in his own words, has spent L to R: Dr. Paul MacCready, Dr. Joachim to Argentina and set a new world ab- a lifetime learning to fly. More than Kuettner, Einar. solute altitude record of approximately that, he has lived his dreams.

www.ssa.org • May 2019 • Soaring 33