Today was a great day since we got the Perlan 2 rigged in El Calafate! The day started with a beautiful sunrise. (However: Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning….) Although the hangar is super-sized we still need the doors open to rig the 84 foot wing span. The frontal passage brought gusty wind conditions on the ground in the afternoon. (Peak gust was a window rattling 42 kts.) So Airbus Perlan Mission II team pulled together to assemble in the morning before lunch. Jim Payne and Morgan Sandercock were team leads on this one. You will see virtually the entire team in the video collage at the YouTube link below.
Eveyone in the hangar contributed to the successful rigging. It is a team effort! Jim and Morgan got the wings perfectly aligned so the two wing pins went in smoother than ever before. After a hot lunch at the airport cafe the team tackled the rest of the tasks. Morgan installed the control linkages. It only took Jackie 2+ hours to get the taping done with Ivan assisting. It’s a beast using the cloth Tesa tape which withstands the frigid -70C cold temps without shattering. (Thanks Tilo)
We made progress on Thales software when Jim and Nick Ernest uploaded waypoint files remotely. Armistead assisted. Morgan and Jim purged eye windows to flush with super dry air. Morgan installed instrumentation in the science bay including the POM – personal ozone monitor. The interns were always ready to lend a hand. They also set up a time lapse video of all the assembly and activity. We will share it soon.
Perlan Soars! Jackie
