The Airbus-sponsored Perlan II mission is in Argentina for a second year of flight operations in a bid to set a new glider altitude record by riding so-called “mountain waves” created by powerful gusts of wind over the Andes Mountains.

The team hopes to reach a height of 16,700 metres using a custom-built pressurized sailplane – breaking the current glider record set by Perlan I in 2006 – while also gathering valuable scientific data on high altitude flight and climate change.

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