By Jon Hemmerdinger2021-04-30T20:56:00+01:00
Perlan Project proved you don’t need fuel to fly to the edge of space.
Mountain air will do the trick.
But you probably need a man like Einar Enevoldson, the legendary test pilot behind a project that has flown sailplanes to altitudes exceeding 70,000ft, capturing records and advancing high-altitude scientific research.
“His primary job was being our compass,” Perlan chief executive Ed Warnock says of Enevoldson, who founded Perlan Project. “Einar stayed involved day-to-day up until three days before he passed.”
Enevoldson’s death on 14 April at the age of 88 leaves Perlan Project challenged to continue its high-altitude work without the man who helped make it all possible.