Einar Enevoldson
Encyclopedia
Einar K. Enevoldson is the director of the Perlan Project
. He was a civilian research pilot for NASA's Hugh L. Dryden Flight Research Center
, Edwards, Calif. from 1968 until 1986. He was involved in many research programs, including those with experimental wings, propulsion and digital computer flight control systems.
He was a jet fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, and as an exchange officer with the Royal Air Force
attended the Empire Test Pilot's School in Farnborough, Hampshire, England. Following graduation, he served as a test pilot on the Hawker Hunter
, English Electric Lightning
, and Gloster Javelin
British fighter aircraft from 1966 to 1967.
In 1959 he was awarded the USAF Distinguished Flying Cross for his record flights in a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. In 1974 Enevoldson was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal
, for his contributions as NASA Project Pilot on the F-111 Supercritical Wing Program and on the F-15 Remotely Piloted Research Vehicle. In 1980 he was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal for contributions as project pilot on F-14 stall and spin resistance tests.
In 1988 he retired from NASA and accepted a full-time position as the chief test pilot for the Grob Egrett, in Mindelheim, Germany. The Egrett was a high altitude reconnaissance aircraft for the German Air Force. Enevoldson set the absolute altitude record for all turboprop aircraft in the prototype Egrett in 1988. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 the requirement for the Egrett diminished, and the project was cancelled after 6 aircraft had been built.
Subsequently he was the test pilot for the Grob company's Strato 2C. This was an extremely advanced, all carbon, very high altitude, propeller driven aircraft, built to carry two pilots, two scientists, and 2,000 pounds of scientific instruments to an altitude of 80,000 feet for 8 hours, or to 60,000 feet for 60 hours. On its 29th and final flight, Enevoldson reached an altitude of over 60,700 feet, which exceeded the official altitude record for all propeller driven aircraft by over 5,000 feet. The project was cancelled by the German Aerospace Research Center, DLR
due to the cost of proposed final modifications necessary to make the aircraft mission-ready.
Among the NASA aircraft that he flew were the F-111
, F-14
, F-8
Digital Fly-By-Wire and Supercritical Wing, YF-12A
, the oblique wing AD-1, Controlled Deep Stall Sailplane, sub-scale F-15
remotely piloted spin research vehicle and the X-24B lifting body
.
Among the pressure suit
s in which he flew are the US MC-4, US A/P22S-6, US S-1000, US 1030/1034, UK pressure jerkin with Taylor helmet, the Russian KK0-15, the US copy of the UK pressure jerkin with P-mask.
Enevoldson said that he had never intended to specialize in high altitude testing, but over a long career he has probably accumulated more diverse experience there than anyone. He has flown above 50,000 feet in 14 different types of jet aircraft, one turboprop (record altitude), one reciprocrating engine (5000 feet above record altitude), one sailplane (record altitude), and one rocket aircraft (glide flights). He also held three time-to-climb records in the F104 (which have since been broken). He may also hold the record for longest time between record flights—48 years.
he developed the meteorological basis for the Perlan Project
. The theory, briefly, posits that the coincidence of the stratospheric polar night jet and the polar jet stream
, when occurring over a mountain barrier, creates the necessary conditions for the amplification of standing mountain waves through the tropopause, in accordance with the Eliassen-Palm theorem. Enevoldson initiated a search for funding for the project. When balloonist and adventurer Steve Fossett
heard about it from friend, Barron Hilton
, Fossett enthusiastically joined the project as its sponsor. Using NASA and USAF full pressure suits Fossett and Enevoldson set the world sailplane absolute altitude record of 50,724 feet, flying from El Calafate in the south of Argentine Patagonia, above the Andes mountains in the wind field of the stratospheric polar night jet.
Enevoldson will be the pilot for the Perlan II follow-up project aircraft.
Perlan Project
The Perlan Project is a current research project to fly a sailplane to an altitude of 100,000 feet .-Meteorological Basis of the Project:Standing Mountain waves are a source of rising air used in the sport of soaring...
. He was a civilian research pilot for NASA's Hugh L. Dryden Flight Research Center
Dryden Flight Research Center
The Dryden Flight Research Center , located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. Dryden, a prominent aeronautical engineer who at the time of his death in 1965 was NASA's deputy administrator...
, Edwards, Calif. from 1968 until 1986. He was involved in many research programs, including those with experimental wings, propulsion and digital computer flight control systems.
Career
Enevoldson attended several colleges. He received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering and his M.S. degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Wyoming in 1963.He was a jet fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, and as an exchange officer with the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
attended the Empire Test Pilot's School in Farnborough, Hampshire, England. Following graduation, he served as a test pilot on the Hawker Hunter
Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s. The single-seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary...
, English Electric Lightning
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...
, and Gloster Javelin
Gloster Javelin
The Gloster Javelin was an "all-weather" interceptor aircraft that served with Britain's Royal Air Force in the late 1950s and most of the 1960s...
British fighter aircraft from 1966 to 1967.
In 1959 he was awarded the USAF Distinguished Flying Cross for his record flights in a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. In 1974 Enevoldson was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal
NASA Exceptional Service Medal
The NASA Exceptional Service Medal is an award granted to U.S. government employees for significant sustained performance characterized by unusual initiative or creative ability that clearly demonstrates substantial improvement in engineering, aeronautics, space flight, administration, support, or...
, for his contributions as NASA Project Pilot on the F-111 Supercritical Wing Program and on the F-15 Remotely Piloted Research Vehicle. In 1980 he was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal for contributions as project pilot on F-14 stall and spin resistance tests.
In 1988 he retired from NASA and accepted a full-time position as the chief test pilot for the Grob Egrett, in Mindelheim, Germany. The Egrett was a high altitude reconnaissance aircraft for the German Air Force. Enevoldson set the absolute altitude record for all turboprop aircraft in the prototype Egrett in 1988. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 the requirement for the Egrett diminished, and the project was cancelled after 6 aircraft had been built.
Subsequently he was the test pilot for the Grob company's Strato 2C. This was an extremely advanced, all carbon, very high altitude, propeller driven aircraft, built to carry two pilots, two scientists, and 2,000 pounds of scientific instruments to an altitude of 80,000 feet for 8 hours, or to 60,000 feet for 60 hours. On its 29th and final flight, Enevoldson reached an altitude of over 60,700 feet, which exceeded the official altitude record for all propeller driven aircraft by over 5,000 feet. The project was cancelled by the German Aerospace Research Center, DLR
German Aerospace Center
The German Aerospace Center is the national centre for aerospace, energy and transportation research of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has multiple locations throughout Germany. Its headquarters are located in Cologne. It is engaged in a wide range of research and development projects in...
due to the cost of proposed final modifications necessary to make the aircraft mission-ready.
Among the NASA aircraft that he flew were the F-111
General Dynamics F-111
The General Dynamics F-111 "Aardvark" was a medium-range interdictor and tactical strike aircraft that also filled the roles of strategic bomber, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare in its various versions. Developed in the 1960s by General Dynamics, it first entered service in 1967 with the...
, F-14
F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental program following the collapse of the F-111B project...
, F-8
F-8 Crusader
The Vought F-8 Crusader was a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass...
Digital Fly-By-Wire and Supercritical Wing, YF-12A
Lockheed YF-12
The Lockheed YF-12 was an American prototype interceptor aircraft, which the United States Air Force evaluated as a development of the highly-secret Lockheed A-12 that also spawned the SR-71 Blackbird.-Design and development:...
, the oblique wing AD-1, Controlled Deep Stall Sailplane, sub-scale F-15
F-15 Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories with no losses in dogfights...
remotely piloted spin research vehicle and the X-24B lifting body
Lifting body
A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage with little or no conventional wing...
.
Among the pressure suit
Pressure suit
A pressure suit is a protective suit worn by high-altitude pilots who may fly at altitudes where the air pressure is too low for an unprotected person to survive, even breathing pure oxygen at positive pressure. Such suits may be either full-pressure or partial-pressure...
s in which he flew are the US MC-4, US A/P22S-6, US S-1000, US 1030/1034, UK pressure jerkin with Taylor helmet, the Russian KK0-15, the US copy of the UK pressure jerkin with P-mask.
Enevoldson said that he had never intended to specialize in high altitude testing, but over a long career he has probably accumulated more diverse experience there than anyone. He has flown above 50,000 feet in 14 different types of jet aircraft, one turboprop (record altitude), one reciprocrating engine (5000 feet above record altitude), one sailplane (record altitude), and one rocket aircraft (glide flights). He also held three time-to-climb records in the F104 (which have since been broken). He may also hold the record for longest time between record flights—48 years.
Perlan Project
While working in Germany with the DLRGerman Aerospace Center
The German Aerospace Center is the national centre for aerospace, energy and transportation research of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has multiple locations throughout Germany. Its headquarters are located in Cologne. It is engaged in a wide range of research and development projects in...
he developed the meteorological basis for the Perlan Project
Perlan Project
The Perlan Project is a current research project to fly a sailplane to an altitude of 100,000 feet .-Meteorological Basis of the Project:Standing Mountain waves are a source of rising air used in the sport of soaring...
. The theory, briefly, posits that the coincidence of the stratospheric polar night jet and the polar jet stream
Jet stream
Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow air currents found in the atmospheres of some planets, including Earth. The main jet streams are located near the tropopause, the transition between the troposphere and the stratosphere . The major jet streams on Earth are westerly winds...
, when occurring over a mountain barrier, creates the necessary conditions for the amplification of standing mountain waves through the tropopause, in accordance with the Eliassen-Palm theorem. Enevoldson initiated a search for funding for the project. When balloonist and adventurer Steve Fossett
Steve Fossett
James Stephen Fossett was an American commodities trader, businessman, and adventurer. Fossett is the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon...
heard about it from friend, Barron Hilton
Barron Hilton
William Barron Hilton I is an American business magnate, socialite, and hotel heir. He is the former co-chairman of the Hilton Hotels chain, and the original owner of the Los Angeles Chargers...
, Fossett enthusiastically joined the project as its sponsor. Using NASA and USAF full pressure suits Fossett and Enevoldson set the world sailplane absolute altitude record of 50,724 feet, flying from El Calafate in the south of Argentine Patagonia, above the Andes mountains in the wind field of the stratospheric polar night jet.
Enevoldson will be the pilot for the Perlan II follow-up project aircraft.