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Minden airport center of high-altitude research

Published: June 4, 2011  By: admin, In: Grab Bag,  2 Comments
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Douglas County’s Minden-Tahoe Airport is preparing to host a series of landmark test flights in spring and summer 2012 by the Perlan Project.

The project, currently in phase two, has a goal of designing and building a high-altitude research glider to study the meteorological impact of a jet stream that circles the Polar Regions during the polar night called the “polar vortex.”

Contact Bobbi Thompson at the airport (775.782.9871) to learn more about the project.

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Comments (2)
  1. the conservation robot says - Posted: June 4, 2011

    http://www.perlanproject.com/index.php

    These people are going to attempt to get a glider up to 60,000ft and eventually 90,000ft.
    Yay science.

  2. Mike Bradford says - Posted: June 5, 2011

    The current glider altitude record is over 49,000 feet. The key is the atmospheric and topographic conditions near Minden. Minden attracts soaring pilots from around the world due to these conditions. The science exists in general aviation, it just has not been applied to soaring. That is what makes this so special.