Eagle's Lair
Members Roster

October 16, 2000

Ladies and Gentlemen:

If you are reading this, it means you are receiving this information from the servers of Cascadia Software. Cascadia has supported the team for over a year now and with this update our complete website resides on their servers.   In addition, Cascadia is providing technical assistance for the website, all in an effort to provide a better product to our viewers.

We've been busy as usual with tasks on the "beast". With the help of Bob Pelka and two of his employees, Tom and Dave, we formed and fastened the fiberglass/kevlar wing root covers into place. Keith Zanghi, Glenn Amy and I are now good enough fiberglassers to get a job fixing corvettes, maybe! We still have some finish work to complete but we'll put that on hold until we finish the tail cone and suspension work.

Last weekend we loaded the F-104 into the transporter trailer and hauled it back to Spanaway Airport. It's a little closer to home for both Keith and me. I've been shaping the frame piece to attach the stinger to the tail cone. The original frame was cut off about 6 inches forward of the frame location so we have to fabricate our own design. We should be completed with that task in a week to 10 days.

Loading the 104 into the trailer was a major milestone. With the help of Larry Cruz and his brother plus Bruce Thun, airport manager of Pierce County Airport, we hoisted the nose of the fuselage with the overhead carriage and rolled it up the ramps into the trailer. Kelly Johnson would be proud of the fact that a 104 fits into a 48' trailer with room to spare, that's if you take the nose cone and tail fin off. We'll be based back at Spanaway Airport for a little while until we get started on the front suspension. Then it's off to Canada for a month or so.

We have to look for some more aluminum for the front wheel. Steve Green had purchased a blank of 7050-T6 to use for the front wheels. While he was off to see the first formula one race at Indy, someone broke into the yard at Eagle Machine and along with other things, stole the blank of aluminum. The same person tried to sell it to a local scrap dealer but the dealer smelled a rat and sent him on his way. By the time Steve contacted the scrap dealer the trail had gone cold. I'm currently searching for another blank. It has to be a minimum of 29" in diameter and about 8" thick and made of 7050 or 7075 T-6. If anyone has one laying in their back yard, please let me know, we can make a deal!

The team had expected to make it to the Edwards AFB open house this coming weekend but circumstances have prevailed which preclude us from making that event. Sometimes you just get behind schedule from things you have no control over....

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