A hybrid aerial vehicle is optimized, for example, and not by way of limitation, to operate above 100,000 feet in altitude and provide persistent and maneuverable flight while carrying a wide array of communications and sensing payloads. The hybrid vehicle may use the high altitude winds to gain altitude by pitching up with the center of gravity (CG) control and using its propulsion drive to thrust into the wind to create aerodynamic lift to rise above the neutral buoyancy altitude. The hybrid vehicle will pitch down with the CG control so as to use gravity and propulsion to accelerate. Yaw control directs the flight towards any compass direction by rotating the gondola. This maneuvering capability permits the vehicle to station operate persistently, even in high winds. The lighter-than-air inflatable saucer shape is optimized for maintaining an aerodynamic cross-section to the prevailing wind from any direction in the vehicle horizontal plane. A gondola below the saucer contains a motor, batteries, solar collector, sensors, and yaw and CG control mechanisms.