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Stevens Web Site
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Date: 5-27-2007
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Number of Hours: 0.00
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: That's one small step for man
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Today was the Sunday before Memorial day, traditionally the date of the Indy 500. Our middle son, Patrick, is the data acquisition engineer for Michael Andretti, so we decided to hold an Indy 500 party to watch the race and look for Patrick in the pits (sort of like reading a Where's Waldo book). We had Jim, Cathy and John Anderson over for hot dogs and brats. John is home from Davidson and he looks great. Jim and Cathy gave me a great new digital camera for my birthday, so the photos of the project are bound to improve. Earlier that morning, right after church, I was piddling around in the basement (Tranquility Base) and determined that I had improperly riveted on the F805D braces way back when I fabricated the floor ribs. I was supposed to rivet them on .060" down from the top of the rib. Instead, I riveted them on flush with the top. DOH! Oh well, I just have to drill them out and fabricate two new 805D braces. The only problem is that it is difficult to even see the heads of the rivets that hold the old braces on. Therefore, I figured I had to crawl into the fuselage for a better visualization. Before stepping into the fuselage, I figured that this was a momentous occasion, so I got Vicki down to snap a photo of my first step into my airplane. Despite my ponderous girth, the fuselage did not creak, groan or pop upon my entry. Cool. Later, during a break in the race, Jim, John and I went into the shop and I drilled out most of the rivets holding the braces. It turned out that I could drill them without getting inside the fuse anyway. The rain-delayed Indy 500 race turned out well. Michael Andretti, Patrick's boss, did not win, but at least an Andretti/Green driver, Dario Franchiti, won. Dario is a great guy. I met him at Oshkosh last year and he is a real gentleman. We ended the day by visiting my son and daughter in law, Drew and Anna, to see our new grand dog, Duke. He is a baby now, but will grow to the size of a small bear.
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Captain Steve about to take the first step into the fuselage
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The first moments inside. Hopefully, the first of many hours of enjoyment
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Drew, Anna and granddog Duke
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