Eagle's Lair
Members Roster

October 21, 2006

Ladies & Gentlemen,

With the official press announcement by Steve Fossett of his intention to go for the LSR at an undisclosed location in Nevada next fall, and not the Black Rock desert as thought earlier, the team wishes him well in his endeavor and welcomes him into very small and misunderstood world of land speed racing in the unlimited class.

Today Ed Shadle, Keith Zanghi, Jon Higley, Bernard McVay, Patricia Wood, Bill Eckberg, Rich & Tom Pengelley, Steve Wallace, Von Armstrong, Earl Gratzer, Tim Finley and Meeko were present to accomplish tasks on a list an arm long.

Earlier in the week, Ed Shadle had picked up the orbitral valve from its bench test at Hydraulic Repair & Design where it checked out fine. Ed also got one of the two rear wheels to our sponsors at Superior Tire in Longview, WA to change out the tire on the rim that has needed replacing. Work on the LEV-X® tractor engine fan air valve was completed during the week by Ed Shadle. Also, the rear suspension beams were returned to the hangar from our sponsor Powder Coating, Inc. where they were powder coated once again to restore them to their pristine condition.

Work on the hydraulic system was continued by Bill Eckberg. This included replacing some of the tubing and the inclusion of gauges and replacement of certain valves. Bernard McVay continued work on welding the hydraulic actuator on the trailer's carraige assembly. This will make it easier for adjustment of the car's attitude during loading and unloading as it moves up and down the loading ramp.

The LEV-X® tractor was worked on some more today by Earl Gratzer, Ed Shadle and Rich Pengelley. Ed Shadle gave her a grease job, while Earl Gratzer removed the shocks so the welds could be redone. Meanwhile, Rich Pengelley buffed off rust from the majority of the rear of the tractor. Ed Shadle put a primer coat on the smoke stack mufflers and Jon Higley put the finishing coat of silver on them.

Steve Wallace was busy troubleshooting the data acquisition system sensors, while Tim Finley spent the day rewiring some of the cockpit instruments. Von Armstrong and Tom Pengelley secured the rear suspension beam racks in the trailer. Through all of these activities, Keith Zanghi continued putting into practice his safety management skills overseeing all the various tasks by team members.

The team present held a brief meeting to discuss plans for next month's trip south to California for the Anaheim appearance and the test runs which will follow immediately afterwards.

Some of the team went to Ed Drumheller's home after the work party to pay him a visit and present him with matted and framed print signed by the team.

Next weekend will be the final work party for completion of tasks before loading up the car into the LevX trailer for the trip south and the scheduled appearance at the Anaheim, CA Aerospace Testing Expo November 14, 15, & 16.

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