Airbus's Perlan 2 glider flew higher than ever before this week as it ramps up for its attempt to break the high altitude glider record later this year. With test pilots Jim Payne, Morgan Sandercock, ...

In an ambitious attempt to break every wing-borne sustained flight height record for a manned aircraft, the Perlan ll project intends to construct and fly a glider higher than any sailplane has gone ...

Optimized for altitude: Jim Payne, one of the most accomplished glider pilots in the world, is one of four who will fly the purpose-built glider on its record attempts. A wall of cloud runs above the ...

Flying in a glider, some pilots say, is the closest thing to flying like a bird—the aircraft, which has no engine, is towed off the runway by a powered aircraft, then disconnects and climbs currents ...

Advances in laminar-flow airfoils and composites have sparked a renaissance in sailplane design. And no company seems to have exploited these two technologies more adeptly than Windward Performance in ...

It still costs an arm and a leg (and sometimes an entire Antares rocket) to lift crews and cargo into space. So until we get around to building that space elevator we’ve always wanted, NASA will just ...

SARASOTA — The campaign by unpowered technology to eclipse altitude milestones set by American spyplanes took a giant leap in Argentina last week. That’s when a glider carrying a local test pilot ...