Join the Climb on a Record-Breaking Flight

Watch pilot Dan Gray take off from Oxnard Airport in California and blast up to 100,000 feet in just 100 seconds. Cameras mounted to the tail, wings, and in the cockpit of the modified Harmon Rocket show the dramatic angle of attack Gray achieves with the twin-rotor engine roaring at full power. Once back on the ground, the team at Aviation F/X pops some well-earned champagne. Running time: 1:40. (1:39)

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Preview thumbnail for video'Whole-Airplane Parachute

In 1998, during eight tests including this one with an SR20 out of Ocotillo Wells Airport in California, engineers and pilots from Cirrus Aircraft and Ballistic Recovery Systems took the plunge. They fine-tuned many items, including how the whole-airplane parachutes rocket extracts the system, and how the slider, the white ring that travels down the cords, keeps the parachute from opening too quickly, which would damage the chute and airplane.After each deployment, the SR20 released the parachute and returned to the airport rather than stranding itself in the desert. This meant that guides had to be added to the empennage to prevent damage to the vertical and horizontal tail surfaces. "Design of the test harness and parachute release mechanism were nearly as difficult as the design of the recovery systems itself," says Jay Yeakle, a Cirrus engineer. Less complex was the animal tracking system used by wildlife management groups that located the abandoned parachutes.

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Preview thumbnail for video'Great Restorations

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Preview thumbnail for video'Shooting the September 2011 Cover

Ed Darack, the photographer and writer who documented a Colorado Air National Guard unit for our September 2011 issue, tells how he got the cover shot. We launched gently into the skyas opposed to a vertical takeoff which, while dramatic, uses up a lot of fuel that we needed to save for climbs over the mountains. As I readied to make the shot, Lt. Col. Turner rocked his aircraft toward me for the best view of his jet, just as wed briefed. But at the critical moment I realized the camera had been firing the whole timethe G forces had depressed the shutter release. And by that time, so many shots had been fired that the camera's buffer was full. "We regrouped and did it again, then again, and again. By the end of the fourth try I was disoriented and feeling nauseous. But I still wasn't satisfied with the shots Id gotten. We had just enough fuel for one more try, so we pulled up in formation for a last attempt. We flew into a cloud opening, well lit by the sun and with views of the mountains below as we hit the perfect anglefor just a half second. I hit the shutter at the very last moment before all three aircraft rolled out. Video: Ed Darack

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Preview thumbnail for video'A Flock of Drones

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