The plane without an engine

If successful, this special aircraft will conquer all previous altitude records.

Normally, flying devices (such as civil aircraft) often only fly in the troposphere or at the boundary between the troposphere and stratosphere because the air density here is very high, helping the engine have enough oxygen supply when operating.

Furthermore, to reach the stratosphere requires more fuel and takes more time. The thin air density makes the stratosphere less dense due to strong convection currents, however, this is also the reason why few aircraft fly in the stratosphere because there is not enough oxygen for the engines to operate.

Fly to the edge of space without an engine

Flying in the stratosphere has many advantages, but only a few aircraft such as the Concorde, military spacecraft such as the U2 and SR-71 spy planes, the MiG-29, or NASA weather balloons can operate in the stratosphere.

The ultralight aircraft doesn't need an engine to fly to the edge of space.

It should be added that when humans exceed 19,000m – also known as the Armstrong Limit – it is extremely dangerous because some of the body's fluids will boil. Unless the pilot is wearing a pressurized suit.

Its goal is to conquer the greatest height a human can attain.

There is only one aircraft that can break the SR-71's record, as its goal is to fly at an altitude of 27,000m above Earth, at the point of contact with space.

This aircraft is called Perlan 2 Glider by Airbus (USA), with a wingspan of 25m and weighs only 816kg (enough space for 2 pilots and some scientific equipment).

What's special is that it doesn't even have an engine, but moves by "gliding" along the strong air currents in the polar vortex (mountain waves, only found in the stratosphere).

The Perlan Glider aircraft would completely change human perception of space travel if it succeeded in achieving its goal.

Perlan will travel based on mountain waves in the stratosphere.

In September 2015, Perlan 2 successfully completed its first test flight, reaching an altitude of 1,500m.

However, Perlan 2 has not yet achieved its goal of conquering an altitude of 27,000m because it has not encountered favorable conditions such as stratospheric tornadoes.

Why is flying in the stratosphere both a challenge and an advantage?

Although commercial aircraft sometimes fly in this range in bad weather, they do so at very limited altitudes. That does not mean that the stratosphere is not suitable for flying.

In fact, flying at this level will save fuel, the plane will be more durable, more productive and faster (due to no air resistance), especially jet planes that use gas (a type of gas that is abundant in the stratosphere).

Flying in this layer of air also helps avoid many dangerous risks such as birds, bad weather, and vortexes.

According to Science