Eagle's Lair
Members Roster

June 10, 2006

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The one thing every team was thankful for was that Autobooks-Aerobooks is located in Burbank, rather than Seattle! We would be spending so much money on books and scale models that there would be no money left over to build the Eagle! Cam was seen leaving with a 427 SOHC Ford motor that was so detailed that if you took a photograph of it you wouldn’t know it was 8 inches tall. Keith bought the definitive book on Steve McQueen and how they made the movie LeMans. Nearly everyone on the team was about $100.00 poorer by the end of the weekend.

On day two, most car enthusiasts in town had heard we were in town, since there was a steady stream of exotic and hot rods going by all day. There were so many that it was hard not to get too complacent, but one that stood out was a 1963 Mercedes SL 300 with the gull wing doors. The car was immaculate and the owner, Bob Hines, thoroughly enjoyed the Eagle on display. Among the special visitors were this day were Bob Hines, a former F-104 pilot. Jim Travis, a well know Bonneville Salt Flats racer also stopped by to say hello to Ed and Cam and see the Eagle.

Around 11:00AM a noise of a steam locomotive blasted through the area, when none other Jay Leno showed up in one of his steam powered cars. From what we are told, Jay comes by the book store on a regular basis because it is a hangout for all the “car guys” in Southern CA.  Jay got out and Doug Stokes introduced him to Ed and the team. Jay then got a full tour of the car, stopping to talk to many of the team members about the different systems. After the Eagle tour, Jay gave Ed a tour of the steam car. The 1925 Doble looks very similar to a Duesenberg, no doubt, because the body was made by Walter Murphy of Pasadena who used to build custom bodies for Duesenberg.  You can read all about the Abner Doble car in Jay Leno’s Garage feature in Popular Mechanics. With over a 1000 lbs. of torque, the car gets moving in a hurry, and because it is steam, it is silent. The car is an engineering masterpiece as Jay lifted the hood and showed us how it worked. There is about as much tubing in the car as the North American Eagle™. When Jay left he gave us a big whistle blow as the car traveled down the road without no noise.

We had an another special guest on Saturday morning: Dan Wolfe. People might not know him outside the entertainment industry, but everyone in the world has seen his work. Movies such as Space Cowboys, Air Force 1,  Broken Arrow, Passenger 57 and Hunt For Red October have all been filmed by Wolfe Air Aviation.  One of the trademarks of Wolfe Air Aviation Limited  is their unique camera systems. Using VectraVision and Gyron by Nettmann Systems International,  the camera is rock steady.

About 1:00PM Jay came back for a 2nd time. This time he drove up in a 1909 Stanley Steamer. The bright red car was in immaculate condition. Jay spent time with the team talking about cars in general and gave us insight into the inner workings and history of the Stanley Steamer. Everyone in attendance had a great time. For a guy as well known as Jay, he was relaxed around the crowd and was easily approachable.

Elaine and Rachel Shadle, along with Libby Wallace had another day of brisk tee shirt sales as Southern CA fans stopped by to see the Eagle.

At the end of the day the team loaded up and headed home.  It was a culmination of a great day that finished up a great week.

Special Thanks

We would like to thank the B&I Marketplace in Tacoma WA that help make this trip possible.

We would also like to thank NorWest Trucking who helped us get to California.

North American Eagle™ fuel was supplied by Seattle BioDiesel which we mixed with Kerosene provided by Small & Sons Oil Distributing in Auburn, WA.

We would also like to thank Doug Stokes and Chet at Autobooks-Aerobooks for their fine hospitality and all the wonderfull people of Burbank.

For images of this, and other days at Burbank, please go to our Photo Gallery.

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