Eagle's Lair
Members Roster

June 1, 2002

Ladies & Gentlemen:

Ed, Keith, Jon, Glenn & Bill showed up today to work on last second jobs that needed doing before getting painted this month. Ed got some spot welding done to the titanium stinger section to repair a skin crack. Keith and Jon drilled and riveted on a small skin patch to the front edge of the hydraulic door on the belly. Jon & Glenn washed the trailer that had sat all winter outside and had moss growing on the shady side. Glenn & Keith also went around the entire vehicle microshaving all rivets that protuded from the skin. Bill finished up the patch work on the nose cone. Ed & Slimm - who stopped by for a brief visit - filled holes in the spine just aft of the cockpit where the fuel transfer tube used to be by riveting or putting screws in the larger holes.

Loading began once jobs were finished. Having had "the beast" in the hangar for almost a whole year, our procedures as a team for getting things in place and operating the equipment used to load the vehicle were somewhat rusty. To make matters worse, just after we managed to get it lifted into the rear of the trailer with the nose barely inside, our engine which gave the lifting unit hydraulic power failed suddenly. After a couple of frustrating hours of troubleshooting, we arrived at the conclusion the engine's solenoid had failed and we decided to call it a day, wait until tomorrow morning to get a replacement part, and finish the loading. It won't be a moment too soon since we're scheduled to deliver the vehicle to Bates Tech. College's south campus for her paint job.

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