Eagle's Lair
Members Roster

May 13, 2006

Ladies and Gentlemen:

With two weekends left before John Drury climbs into the LevX Tractor and heads south to the North American Eagle™ test session # 4 at El Mirage Dry Lake Bed, team members met to start finishing up the final tasks.

In the previous week many of the team members have been putting in a lot of time on the project.  Bill Eckberg, Earl Gratzer, Scott Robertson, Omar Chramosta, Tim Finley and Bernard McVay were in and out all week. Tim spent the night camped out at the Schenk Ranch to get an early morning start.

This weekend, Steve Wallace, Von Armstrong, Earl Gratzer, Omar Chramosta, Sean Rondestvedt, Rich Pengelley, Bernard McVay, Patricia Woods, Gabriel Woods, Scott Robertson, Tim Finley, Keith Zanghi and Ed Shadle were on hand to get things done.

Steve installed a LaserTach™ ICP™ tachometeron the rear strut assembly that will send signals to the PCB Piezotronics / Larson Davis Data Acquisition System. The LaserTach™ tachometer is  a product of  The Modal Shop which is part of the  PCB Group. The LaserTach™ tachometer can measure up to 30,000 RPM from distances as far as 20 inches. With rotational speeds just above 8,700 for the North American Eagle™, the LaserTach™ tachometer will give accurate speed data.

Tim installed and wired the four (4) new over-amperage fuel pump breakers and finished wiring the Rapp Hydema servos. These new fuel pump breakers sense the slightest power surges and will shut the power off long before it can damage the fuel pumps.

After Steve and Tim completed the electrical installation, Bernard fired up the American Valley Aviation AVA M32A-60B Turbine Powered Start Cart. The cart supplies 220 volt 400 cycle electricity for the vehicles internal power. We ran the start cart for 30 minutes so that the electrical system could be tested. Earl Gratzer also worked like a dog on many small tasks.

Prior to testing the fuel pumps, Ed and Sean pumped in 100 gallons of Seattle BioDiesel and mixed it with an equal amount of Small and Sons Jet A.  Seattle BioDiesel is one of the nation's leading commercial biodiesel refiners, pioneering locally grown fuel and technology for cleaner air and energy independence.  They are the first company in the Pacific Northwest to open and operate a commercial-scale biodiesel refinery producing fuel that meets or exceeds ASTM D-6751 specifications. Team NAE is working with Seattle BioDiesel for applications in the aerospace industry by testing it in the S&S Turbine Services turbojet engine.  Small and Sons of Auburn Washington has been providing fuel for all the Eagle's test runs.  After the fuel was in the car, the team tested the fuel pumps.  We are happy to report the new breakers and pumps work great.

Earl, Rich, Von, Sean and Bernard installed the rear struts and axle assembly.  Scott hooked up all the hydraulic lines so that Bernard could weld some fairleads to support the hydraulic tubing. The hydraulics is used to operate the LevX Magnetic Braking / Steering devices used on the rear axle. With Rich running the Rapp Hydema external pump, Scott, Ed and Von bled the hydraulic system, while Omar actuated the brake servos from the car's cockpit.

With the axle installed, Bernard fabricated and installed Ed Drumheller II's design parachute guard that will be used as a secondary safety device to keep the parachute lines from tangling with anything on the back of the car. 

Earl, Von and Keith built the mount for the new Olympus Industrial High Speed Video Camera. The bracket is designed to be mounted anywhere on the vehicle suspension system, giving the team a number of options to videotape the parachute opening sequence. Never before has parachute technology been tested at such a high rate of speed in close proximity with the ground. The i-SPEED 2 High Speed Video Cameras can record up to 33,000 FPS (Frames per Second) and will give the team a tool to perform detailed analysis of the parachute deployment.

Speaking of cameras, Tim Ennis from MotoCam® will be installing the recording units on the car in the next two weeks. The cameras are small enough that they can be positioned in a number of different locations to gather exciting video that can be used for television documentaries and to analyze conditions during the runs.

This weekend was very productive. We had an excellent day and many important systems were tested with positive results. In the upcoming week we will try to wrap up as many tasks as possible in preparation for our El Mirage Test Session.

Behind The Scenes

For the past month Didi Boyington has been coordinating our upcoming test session at El Mirage. Trying to coordinate 32 people with their hotels, automobile rentals, airfares, food and arranging for porta potties at the lake is a huge task.  Didi has been working tirelessly on this task for over two months and needs to be recognized here for such a fantastic job.

John Drury passed his drivers test for  NorWest Transport . NorWest Transport, a west coast trucking company owned by Greg Baxley, is sponsoring the NAE™ project with its transportation needs. Whether it's semi-tractors or trailers, NorWest Transport will be there to support us!

B & I Marketplace in Tacoma, Washington continues to sponsor the project by including photos and team announcements in their corporate advertising. The extra exposure always helps and we appreciate the effort that they have shown to the project.

Signs By Tomorrow - Signs By Tomorrow is working on security badges, decals and information posters for the upcoming appearances at Heritage Air Park in Palmdale and Autobooks/Aerobooks Bookstore in Burbank.

Jon Higley and Patricia have been working with Chris Miller at Miracle Studios. We are close to unveiling our brand new website. With over 1.5 million visitors so far, the new look will be an improvement that will feature exclusive access for Eagle's Lair members. It will be maintained using the Sitemax Suite of web tools.

Doug Schwartz has been busy sending out sponsorship packets and preparing press releases. The interest is getting real serious and we hope to announce a major sponsor shortly. Doug will be coordinating the more then 50 journalists and television production companies that will be covering the El Mirage test sessions. Look for a real cool poster that Doug will be offering in the near future. It will be something you'll want to hang in your favorite workshop or sports memorabilia room.

On Television

Canadian fans will be happy to hear that the MegaBuilders: Worlds Fastest Wheels has been extended through August. Directed by Dugald Mauldsley (Infield Fly Productions) and produced by Barna-Alper Productions, the one hour Discovery Channel show follows the team for its first test session of spring 2005.

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

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