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June 6, 2009 - 65th Anniversary of D-Day

Ladies and Gentlemen:

On a very special day in America, the 65th Anniversary of D-Day Tim Finley, Dave Selby, Corey Dawson, John Winchester, Von Armstrong, Chris Greene, Rich Pengelley, Jeremy Mathews, Omar Chramosta, John Drury, Jon Higley, Steve Wallace, Sean Rondestvedt, Gino Sanfilippo, Keith Zanghi and Ed Shadle spent today working on the North American Eagle™ in preparation for this summer's test session at the Black Rock Desert.

This week Randy Thomas, President of Paratech Parachutes, worked with John Winchester, the team's parachute specialist, on our new high speed parachutes. The two set up several tables back to back and packed the new chute into a custom made Paratech Parachutes Deployment Bag. With the help of Randy's brother Dr Dave Thomas, an active Colonel in the Army, the three test fitted the parachute into the Eagle's deployment tubes. The efforts were declared a big success! Randy and Dr. Dave Thomas will be flying to Black Rock to join the team for our summer test session.

Rich and Gino had the toughest job this weekend with the task of pressure washing the giant Lev X Sponsored Tractor and Trailer. Lev X is also the manufacturer of our innovative magnetic braking system on the Eagle. Jon spent most of the day updating our Safety Checklists and Standard Procedure Work lists that are used during our test sessions to ensure the vehicle is assembled properly and teams follow proper procedures. With thousands of parts and people's lives at stake, it is a critical job.

Chris, Jon, Jeremy, Sean and Von removed some damaged decals that will be replaced with some new ones from Lisa and Thor Holder from Signs by Tomorrow in Houston. Ed, Sean and Omar loaded up some fuel from Small & Sons Oil Distribution into the front of the trailer. A new single point lifting device simplified the process and made it much safer. Keith, with the help of Chris and Jeremy, installed a bracket in the trailer to stow the drum lift. Chris and Rich repaired some containment boxes used to transport our mid-wheels.

Cory, Dave, Von and Sean bled the front disk brake assembly. The front brake is used to hold the car at the line until our crew chief Bill Eckberg releases Ed on a run. Before buttoning up the cover, Cory gave an "OK" after inspecting the fuel and electrical lines.

Earlier in the week Ed and Keith did a live interview with a writer from the Dispatch Newspaper.

Also this week we have been in touch with a half dozen television production companies interested in doing a documentary featuring our upcoming test session.

The North American Eagle™ has been featured in over eight television shows and every major television network. Recently NBC / Universal filmed the team for a possible pilot.

Steve and Tim cleaned up some more wiring and tested the system by running the American Valley Aviation M32A-60B Start Cart . The sound of the loud turbine noise echoed through the neighborhood and we were treated by a couple of neighborhood boys who stopped by to see what all the fuss was about.

Currently on the newsstands is an article on the project in the June 2009 issue of FLY RC magazine. The very popular magazine can be found at most grocery stores and all book stores.

We know a lot of our fans are on facebook. Now the North American Eagle™ is on facebook! In fact many of our team members are also! It is just another great way to let everyone know what we're up to. We have many of our latest Power-On systems test videos up on the site. Just type in North American Eagle and you will find us! Tell your friends! It's fun!

We invite you to add a comment, or remark, about our program or the site.

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