Paraglider goes higher than Everest

AdamZ said:
This story is just amazing. I can't beleive this woman survived not just the lack of oxygen but the -58F temps. How did her para-glider not get ripped to shreds or collapse? WOW

And how exactly do they verify this stuff?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17185299/?GT1=9033
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She's pretty lucky.

The early glider pilots who exploited mountain waves miraculously survived the hypoxia too. They would go so high their altimeters were off the scale.

To prove it, they likely use a Data Logger or a Barograph. Datalogger is basically a black box that records the atmospheric pressure (altitude) and keeps it in a digital file. They also record GPS position. For Glider badge and record flying, this is considered proof that you have gone as far as you claim and flown as high as you claim. The Barograph is more antiquated technology. A piece of paper is wrapped around a drum that rotates. A pen moves up/down with changes in atmospheric pressure, and therefore traces altitude. It is used to record altitude gains and establishes "continuity of flight". This along with turn point photographs or landing witness signatures prove that you have gone as far as you say. The FAI requires a certified barograph trace or a datalogger file for record claims.
 
If she actually went to 32000 it's remarkable she didn't suffer brain damage. Must have been a very brief time at that altitude.

Reminds me of The Man Who Rode the Thunder, a book about a USAF pilot who ejected into a thunderstorm back in the 50s or early 60s. He described a similar ride.

MM
 
wby0nder said:
If she actually went to 32000 it's remarkable she didn't suffer brain damage. Must have been a very brief time at that altitude.

Reminds me of The Man Who Rode the Thunder, a book about a USAF pilot who ejected into a thunderstorm back in the 50s or early 60s. He described a similar ride.

MM
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She went, according to the article, to 32612 feet in less than 10 minutes. Man, what a scary ride! 3200+ fpm average, in a paraglider?! Holy moley.
 
Troy Whistman said:
She went, according to the article, to 32612 feet in less than 10 minutes. Man, what a scary ride! 3200+ fpm average, in a paraglider?! Holy moley.
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from some presentations at the SSA convention in Memphis, climb rates of 3-5000 FPM are not uncommon inside building cumulus clouds. One presentation was a friend of Matt and I's that gets IFR clearances for cloud flights. He mentioned how he enjoyed outclimbing airliners. The other was a nationally known pilot from California who had an inadvertant cloud flight. The flight trace showed 5600 feet per minute at one point.

Powerful stuff.
 
tonycondon said:
from some presentations at the SSA convention in Memphis, climb rates of 3-5000 FPM are not uncommon inside building cumulus clouds. One presentation was a friend of Matt and I's that gets IFR clearances for cloud flights. He mentioned how he enjoyed outclimbing airliners. The other was a nationally known pilot from California who had an inadvertant cloud flight. The flight trace showed 5600 feet per minute at one point.

Powerful stuff.
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I was wondering how many glider pilots are IFR certified. What do they have to do to maintain currency? (certainly it's not holds/approaches!)
 
I believe its 61.3 that says that to fly a glider under IFR, you must have a power IFR rating or ATP. Currency requirements for gliders are laid out in the same reg as those for power pilots. I think you do have to be 6 approaches/holds etc current, and if you want to carry passengers in the glider IFR, then you must have 3 hrs of actual in the last 6 months in a glider or something like that. Look it up, dont count on my memory.
 
tonycondon said:
The flight trace showed 5600 feet per minute at one point.
Powerful stuff.
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At what point does "rapid decompression" come into play as far as lungs, ears, etc.? That can be a pretty big pressure differential I would imagine. I guess you would want to make sure you are chewing gum or something. ;)
 
CJones said:
At what point does "rapid decompression" come into play as far as lungs, ears, etc.? That can be a pretty big pressure differential I would imagine. I guess you would want to make sure you are chewing gum or something. ;)
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yea i guess. Shawn never mentioned anything about it.
 
I guess from an interview I saw about her, the fact that she passed out is what helped save her life.

Can you imagine being caught up in that kinda of thunderstorm, with lightning everywhere around you, and then live!
 
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