On December 7, 8, and 9 the Perlan Team met in Minden to plan for 2019. We had a mix of informal and formal gatherings. The first event was a celebratory Holiday Party at Jim and Jackie’s house for team and spouses. It was lovely to toast our accomplishments of 2018 and to anticipate the 2019 campaign in Argentina.
We all enjoyed lots of nibbles from Bella Vita catering hosted by Perlan Project and holiday cheer from the Paynes. Of course we had to have a cake for Tim Gardner’s 39th (wink) birthday. Good times for all present.
On Saturday over 30 folks gathered to plan for 2019 and prioritize upgrades for Airbus Perlan 2 during the “off” season. Ed Warnock and Stephane Fymat presented the current status, and we thanked Tim Gann of Airbus for their additional support. Jim Payne presented a risk analysis, Miguel Iturmendi presented about pressure suits, Elizabeth Austin discussed weather analysis and future science data collection, Michael Batalia (remotely) discussed possible video options. The team discussed priorities for possible upgrades and allocating funding. On Saturday evening Airbus hosted a team dinner at JT’s Basque restaurant in Gardnerville.
On Sunday the Perlan Board met to discuss items needing Board approval or oversight. Miguel Iturmendi and Jackie Payne were interviewed and voted onto the Board. They join Founder Einar Enevoldson, CEO Ed Warnock, Jim Payne, Morgan Sandercock, Tim Gardner, Stephane Fymat, Preston Michie, Elizabeth Austin, and Doug Perrenod. In the afternoon the pilots met with Dr Dan Johnson to more deeply discuss medical factors and pilot priorities going forward. The 2019 Campaign looks very solid and we all have a sense of anticipation! Perlan soars high! Jackie
