They don't get thermals at night. But can fly at night over winds blowing from ridges.
As well as in the "mountain waves" which cause these lenticular clouds
See Lee wave Those are available day and night. And the wave winds go so high you can fly into the stratosphere.
The record flight using these is to 15,453 metres, nearly twice the height of Everest - the pilots wore spacesuits to set the record. Perlan height record in Argentina - and during the flight they spotted a commercial airliner crusing below them at an altitude of 10,668 metres.
And also using the mountain waves, another pilot Klaus Ohlmann flew the distance record of over 3,000 km in a glider in S. America. Fai Record File
As well as other methods occasionally. See Gliding#Soaring
The flight duration record for a model glider is 36 hours involving night flying:
Nick with Elimin'ator 134 after the flight.
World Duration Record
Most pages say that the world duration record for a glider is 56 hours 15 minutes in this plane, an Arsenal Air 100, by Charles Atger, April 2–4, 1952 at Romanin les Alpilles near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France
Soaring May-June 1955: Page 24
Here is a photo of him:
Romanin - Charles ATGER prepares its Air-100 before his attempt
There's a slightly longer time for men's tandem:
57 h 10 '- 6 to 8 April 1954 - Bertrand DAUVIN and Henry COUSTON (France) on a Kranich III (F-CATZ) to Romanin the Alpilles.
The F-CATZ and Bertrand DAUVIN wingtip [Collection Reginald Jouhaud]
Kranich III [6]
Louis BRUN (right) welcomes Bertrand DAUVIN (centre) and Henri COUSTON (left)
See Glider records (Google Translate) or for French speakers: Records de durée
You can probably stay up in the air endlessly using these ridge winds, but they stopped doing these record flights after Bertrand Dauvin (aged 21 at the time), same one that helped set the tandem record, died in 1954 trying to break the solo record probably as a result of falling asleep at his controls. Gliding Record Attempt Fatal
As well as in the "mountain waves" which cause these lenticular clouds
The record flight using these is to 15,453 metres, nearly twice the height of Everest - the pilots wore spacesuits to set the record. Perlan height record in Argentina - and during the flight they spotted a commercial airliner crusing below them at an altitude of 10,668 metres.
"I couldn't understand how the Chilean controller described us in
Spanish to the airline pilot," he said in the statement. "But I
understood the answer by the pilot: 'Wow.'''
Perlan height record in Argentina
And also using the mountain waves, another pilot Klaus Ohlmann flew the distance record of over 3,000 km in a glider in S. America. Fai Record File
As well as other methods occasionally. See Gliding#Soaring
The flight duration record for a model glider is 36 hours involving night flying:
World Duration Record
Most pages say that the world duration record for a glider is 56 hours 15 minutes in this plane, an Arsenal Air 100, by Charles Atger, April 2–4, 1952 at Romanin les Alpilles near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France
Here is a photo of him:
Romanin - Charles ATGER prepares its Air-100 before his attempt
There's a slightly longer time for men's tandem:
57 h 10 '- 6 to 8 April 1954 - Bertrand DAUVIN and Henry COUSTON (France) on a Kranich III (F-CATZ) to Romanin the Alpilles.
The F-CATZ and Bertrand DAUVIN wingtip [Collection Reginald Jouhaud]
Kranich III [6]
Louis BRUN (right) welcomes Bertrand DAUVIN (centre) and Henri COUSTON (left)
See Glider records (Google Translate) or for French speakers: Records de durée
You can probably stay up in the air endlessly using these ridge winds, but they stopped doing these record flights after Bertrand Dauvin (aged 21 at the time), same one that helped set the tandem record, died in 1954 trying to break the solo record probably as a result of falling asleep at his controls. Gliding Record Attempt Fatal
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