Perlan 2

Construction Process

Perlan 2, benefitting from the lessons learned on Perlan 1’s ascent, incorporates a pressurized cabin to allow its pilots to enjoy unencumbered flight, with full control over stick and rudder, and many small switches. The cabin pressure of 8.5 pounds per square inch (psi) gives a cabin atmosphere equal to flight at about 14,000 feet. With an empty weight of 1,500 pounds, and a wing area of 262 square feet, the 84-foot span machine is amazingly light for the structural strength required for stratospheric flight.

With more wing area than a conventional sailplane, it would stay aloft, but never compete with such craft at lower altitudes. But in the thin air at 90,000 feet, with 98 percent of the earth’s atmosphere beneath it, it will be unrivalled. Because it carries two into a very hazardous realm, it is equipped with specialized equipment, including dual-redundant oxygen rebreathers, a drogue parachute to allow rapid descent in the unlikely emergency, and a ballistic chute for a lower-altitude emergency descent.