Despite the rainy conditions in the morning the Perlan team welcomed Airbus CEO Tom Enders and a large group of international reporters to the Tito Perlan hangar at Minden Tahoe airport on May 7, 2016.
Earlier that morning Perlan CEO Ed Warnock, meterologist Elizabeth Austin and Stephane Fymat briefed the reporters on Perlan info. Perlan major sponsor Dennis Tito and fiancee Elizabeth were on hand to welcome Perlan major sponsor Dr. Enders to Minden. Hot lunch of yummy panini and soup from Sierra Chef took the chill out of the air. Reporters were able to ask questions of Enders and Perlan team. They observed the pre-flight brief by Chief Piilot Jim Payne for Dr. Enders. Tim Gardner ran the flight simulator set up with Perlan characteristics. About 3pm there was a break in the weather with potential for the flight. It had dried out but the cloud base was low, so a reduced tow was all that was possible. Ground support for the flight included Morgan Sandercock, Doug Perrenod, Stewart Tattersall, and Jackie Payne. Tim Gardner flew his plane as the photo chase. After landing, Dr Enders was asked “how was it?” and the answer was of course “it was short!” After a brief press interview we towed Perlan back to hangar and closed the doors just before it started to rain. Also visiting from Airbus were Paul Eremenko CEO of A3 , Ken McKenzie SVP, Strategy & Corporate Development; Rainer Ohler, Head of Corporate Communications; Bettina Nerb Head of Sponsorship and Promotion, and Jamie Darcy, Head of External Communications.
