Eagle's Lair
Members Roster

March 11, 2006

Ladies & Gentlemen:

A new person showed up over the weekend that hasn't been seen in a long while.  Mr. Sunshine stopped by after what seems like months of rain, ice, sleet and snow. It was so tempting that Marty and Aaron snuck out the side door and went flying over the beautiful Pacific NW in the shadow of Mt. Rainer. Obviously we didn't get much work out of those two.

John Zambrano was missing. He just had his 3rd child earlier in the week and was busy home helping moma. Jackson Bryant is doing well. We're sure John will pull out some photos of his new boy upon his return and we'll get them posted as soon as that happens.

Bernard was MIA also.  He took a week off from McVay's Mobile Welding and left it in the hands of the very capable Bill McVay, his brother. He'll be back next week and I'm sure we'll find something for him to weld.

This weekend Jon Higley, Omar Chramosta, Earl Gratzer, Von Armstrong, Steve Wallace, Dennis McVay, Aaron McVay, Bill Eckberg, Rich Pengelley, Tim Finley, Ed Drumheller II, Marty Schenk, Ed Shadle, Keith Zanghi, and of course, Meeko the Moocher were on hand to get the Eagle ready for our next test session in May.

Steve began the process of mounting some specialized equipment from our new sponsor, Space Age Control. They are supplying us with Position Transducers. We will use them in two different areas of the car. One will be used to measure the ride height and travel of the front suspension. We will put a second Position Transducer on the front cannard to measure the angle which will send feedback to the cannard control mechanism. The great thing is the Space Age Control Position Transducers work great wiith the PCB Piezotronics, Inc/Larson Davis Data Aqusition System. As with all of our sponsors, the equipment is not only functional, but is of very high quality when seen. It is easy to understand why Space Age Control supplies equipment to many of the F-1 and Nascar teams. Look for a new sponsor update later this week highlighting Space Age Controls.

Drumheller worked on the parachute system by testing the packed cannisters for proper deployment. He successfully hooked up the electrical system and had two successful deployments. During the upcoming week, we will make some changes to the McVay Parachute Packer and install a pressure gage, so that in the future precise pressures can be made when packing the parachutes. This will help ensure successful deployments and create standardized processes to eliminate mistakes and increase quality.

Bill, Rich, Tim and Keith worked on installing two brand new peices of equipment from sponsor Rapp Hydema U.S., Inc.. The electrical actuators will be used to engage the LevX Magnetic Braking - Steering System. The North American Eagle™ is the first vehicle in the world that will utilize LEV-X® Technology to help stop and steer the 800 mph LSR. Next week all the brackets should be finished and we will be able to complete the installation. Special thanks to Jamie at Rapp-Hydema this week for his help. Special "hello" to Scott Robertson from Rapp-Hydema who is in Alaska right now working on the marine fishing fleet. We'll see you when you get back.

Earl and Omar were working on all kinds of stuff today. Earl was busy touching up the red paint on the Eagle . The scars from the Edwards testing were starting to show on the beast, so Earl got her back in first rate shape. The commitment from Earl and Omar is tremendous. Along with Ed, the three retirees can be found throughout the week doing odds and ends to get the hangar ready for each of the weekend's work party.  Without their help we would not be as far along as we are.

Dennis McVay brought by a lot of equipment from the welding shop today. Both McVay boys now have drivers licenses, and so are able to travel the roads. It'sbeen a treat seeing the boys turn into young men over the years they've been with the project.  No doubt through the mentorship from the rest of the team. They are learning lessons here that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Russ Garlow has just finished structural modifications for a 1:18 scale model of the Eagle. Now he will work on getting it painted and applying decals of the eagle artwork Russ designed himself.

Seattle BioDiesel
Earlier in the week Ed, Bill and Keith met with the management team of a local company called Seattle BioDiesel who are doing great things. In their Seattle plant, they take ordinary soybean oil and somehow make it work in diesel powered vehicles.  Plant manager Bill gave us a tour of the facility. Team North American Eagle™ is interested in the product and using it to run on at the Black Rock Desert.  Ed has already begun controlled laboratory testing of the product to see how compatible it is with the o-rings, fuel bladder and other rubber related parts. A-Gas Lakerster driver Eric McClain who lives in the Tacoma area was talking to Ed during the week and he graciously donated two small turbine engines to the project. Next weekend we'll get Bernard started on making a test cell where we can run different blends of Seattle BioDiesel mixed with Kerosene. We'll then perform exhaust emmision tests and compare those with regular Jet A.  Ed has been talking to Robin Sipe at S&S Turbine Services to see what steps need to be taken for a successfull test session. It is interesting that when the project started we never dreamed we would be leading the world with new technology such as LEV-X® Magnetic Braking, high speed wheels, ground base shockwaves created when a vehicle transitions from a subsonic state to transonic (QSP - Quiet Supersonic Paltform) and now leading the way for an unlimited fuel source with Seattle BioDiesel. John, the founder, along with Martin, Eric and Steve lent us some BioDiesel to perform these preliminary experiments. The biggest problem Ed sees now is how we're going to keep Aaron and Dennis from mounting the turbine onto one of their hill climb motorcycles!! Look out!

In the Media
This month has seen us in three different magazines. Two feature articles in DRIVE! Magazine, authored by Jon Higley, and the program brochure of the NW Aviation Conference (NWAA's On Course).  If you can get a copy of the March issue of NASA TECH BRIEFS, you can see a featured advertisement run by PCB Piezotronics. The Megabuilders: Worlds Fastest Wheels production that was directed by Dugald Mauldsley has generated a lot of interest from the television documentary world.  Ed is currently talking to three production companies about future  documentary projects. These take a long time to mature, but when we get the "OK" to run, you'll be the first to know.

Thank you to all of the readers of this website.  Be sure to post comments in our guest book area and stay with us as this group of men and women (and one new member Jackson Bryant Zambrano) bring the world land speed record back to North America.

PS:  Team member Shad McVay is on the USS Nimitz defending our country. If you're reading this you need to send us pictures, boy!

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