Vulture 1 Mk 2 release mech prepped for testing

Coming soon: Hypobaric chamber - The Revisiting

The Paper Aircraft Released Into Space (PARIS) team is preparing to turn down the pressure with a second visit to QinetiQ's hypobaric chamber.

You'll recall that our first attempt to put together a pressure-operated release mechanism for the Vulture 1 aircraft didn't quite run on rails.

Undaunted, we stuck with our plan to have an entirely mechanical release system. Some of you have asked why we don't just rig something electronic, run off a GPS system, which will let the plane go at the required altitude.

Well, we don't trust electronics much, and it's not nearly as much fun as pottering about in the shed with oxygen tubes and rubber bungs - vital components of the Mk 2 release mechanism:

You can get more details on how this top-class piece of British engineering works - and how we put it together - in our previous piece, which concluded with it fully assembled: