After two envelope expansioin flights it was time to pack up Perlan 2 and our equipment to ship north. With inclement weather expected, the team took the final nice weather day for personal use. The boat trip excursion to the glaciers was popular, as was skiing in Ushuaia, or a day trip to El Chalten and Mt FitzRoy. Then the big push to pack up while it drizzled rain.
Packing up takes several days and lots of skilled help. The tail dolly made by Silvio was dissassembled, the wing rigger dolly made by Tom Stowers was also taken apart. The big black boxes were re-packed and labeled. The compressor and tool box are heavy and went in the front of the container. The re-breathers are cleaned a final time. The wings come off and finally the fuselage goes into the trailer. The trailer was the last item to go into the container. It must be secured with heavy wheel chocks bolted to the floor and a special tongue jack made by Greg Scates. It was a happy crew to close and lock the container one day early.
The truck and crane arrived at the hangar while still drizzling. It only took 15 minutes to load the container onto the Tribal truck. We bid adios to our baby as she headed north to Minden, Nevada. Big smiles from everyone as we felt a well earned sense of accomplishment. The next blog will be about the Egrett. Perlan Soars High! Jackie
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