Australian student plans to build world’s fastest glider
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028344
Sydney Morning Herald : Three years ago Jason Brand used a weather balloon to loft a toy chicken 33 km above New South Wales, Australia. Now, at the age of 12, he is designing a remote-controlled glider that he believes could break the sound barrier. As with the chicken, he plans to use a balloon to lift the 9-kg, 2.5-m craft before releasing it. Unlike the chicken, he’ll be in control of the glider and its descent via remote; he’ll be able to see the glider with a pair of virtual-reality goggles linked to a camera in the glider’s nose. With his father’s help, he is running a Kickstarter campaign to raise the $80 000 they estimate it will cost to obtain the necessary equipment. In Jason’s free time, he is also a student representative on a team competing for a Google Lunar XPrize to land a robot on the Moon.
