Griffon Vultures have been seen up north of to 36,000ft (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCppells_Vulture http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCppells_Vulture)

Griffon Vultures have been seen up north of to 36,000ft (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCppells_Vulture http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCppells_Vulture) Nature really, really is amazing. Part of the motivation for "The MIT drone" as it was lovingly called among my friends was trying to beat nature :). There is a bird called the Arctic Tern which performs a polar migration (44k Miles/yr). The fact that there is an autonomous flying machine capable of refueling itself using its surroundings, and flying that far is really daunting.