Eagle's Lair
Members Roster

January 6, 2007

Ladies & Gentlemen:

Today's work party had Ed Shadle, Keith Zanghi, Jon Higley, Bill Eckberg, Sean Rondestvedt, Bernard McVay, Tim Finley, Rich Pengelley and Sam Yellowbird present. With many tasks on the list, the team came together for our first official work party for 2007 and got right to work. For almost a decade we have been meeting each weekend to transform our former F-104 Lockheed Starfighter into the next world land speed record contender. This year is going to be different. We have been tilling the soil and planting the seeds all these years, and this year will be the harvest: the one that will bear fruit. This year we intend to take a shot at breaking the 763 MPH world land speed record!

Our guest today was Cameron Bloomer, a student at Green River Community College in Auburn, WA. He also volunteered to help separate the thousands of fastener standards. Thanks Cameron.

Bernard McVay, accompanied with Tim Finley today, showed up with a flatbed truck loaded with fourteen donated collapsible work tables from a family member. The tables will be an integral part of a mobile operation like the North American Eagle™. In the field during test sessions, everyone on the team from the parachute crew, to electronics, and the engine team depend on a place to work.  Fixed permanent tables will not work in an operation like this. That is why this donation is so critical to our success. In the harsh environments of the desert, productivity and morale for the team is paramont. Little things like a place for food preparation and lunch tables for the team cannot be over emphasize. The team would like to thank Patty for this generous donation to the team. They were quickly unpacked from their shipping boxes and stored inside the Lev-X® travel trailer. The boxes they came in were bundled up together and stored in the trailer as well. They are large enough to serve as mats to lay on out on the dusty lakebed during testing sessions.

Today's major task was removing the front steering box for modification. After jacking the car, hydraulic lines were disconnected, the transducer, which has a line through a hole in the floor of the electronics bay behind the cockpit and connected to the suspension, was disconnected, and the bolts which hold the steel box in place were removed. It was then dropped out of the front landing gear bay on a jack, then turned upside down. Built by Steve Green at Eagle Machine, Inc in Abbottsford BC, the several hundred pound assembly was carefully removed from the car.  In the next two months, it will be completely rebuilt and returned with an all new wheel and steering box.  The new steering box built by Hydraulic Repair and Design (HRD) is four times as strong as the original unit.  In the next few weeks, the front wheel assembly, along with the rear axle assembly will be completely retrofitted to our new all metal wheels. Steve Green will integrate the LevX® magnetic braking into the new metal wheels.

The North American Eagle™ is the very first vehicle in history to utilize magnetic braking. Together, the two wheels will generate over 4200 brake horsepower at 800 MPH. No wonder NASA Scientists at this year's Aerospace Testing Expo 2006 were like a couple of kids in a candy store when they saw the non-contact magnetic braking. Testing so far on the North American Eagle™ has used wheels off of a F-15 to provide a proof of concept. With low speed runs now complete, we will integrate it into the final high speed configuration.

Sam Yellowbird of One More Time Supply began to formulate plans on the painting of our new bus, donated by Caveman Coffee. The team is really excited about this new asset. Unlike most race car teams, the Eagle Team is made up of over 40 people during test sessions. The bus will provide key transportation needs.

At the end of the day the team met as Keith and Ed brought the group up to speed with the latest news. Noteworthy will be our appearance as this year's Dassault Systemes PLM Summit in Las Vegas, NV April 29 – May 2, 2007. What was originally going to be a presentation by Ed, Keith and Steve Wallace has now mushroomed into a large display booth, highlighting the North American Eagle™ partners of Dassault Systemes, INCAT®,  FARO Technologies, Verisurf Software  and CSM Software. The exhibit promises to be as exciting as our PCB Peizotronics display in Anaheim during Aerospace Testing Expo 2006.

Other tasks discussed for the months ahead was a concept for stopping the car from rolling at the end of a run while the engine is cooling down, as there will no longer be any disk brake on the front wheel after it is converted over to an all aluminum one. A workable concept was arrived at after ideas were tossed around and it will be interesting to see how it evolves.

A reminder to all our American readers.  The Dugald Maudsley directed show, Mega Builders – Worlds Fastest Wheels will air three times this upcoming week on Discovery Channel. Check your local listings for exact times.  With satellites, cable and regular programming, the times could be different with your service.

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

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