Don was only permitted to go 150 mph instead of the 200 mph we had hoped to do.

There was a designated area that was two miles wide and five miles long where testing could be done, such as tow ups and low speed power run ups. I wanted to do a couple of tow ups with Don without any scrutineers around to make sure there were no malfunctions of the skids, tow release, or the rider's ability to get her up on her wheels. The designated area had not been graded, however, the salt was in excellent condition. The liner was loaded and taken to the designated area. I put out the word that we were first going to do a photo op while the liner was still shiney, and that anyone wanting to take pictures was welcome. The photo op session went on for about 45 minutes, then it was time to put don in the cockpit for his first tow up. John Macdougall and I picked out a mountain peak on the horizon that would serve as our reference point for our tow up course--if you don't do this you will find yourself going around in circles. We drove the five miles to ensure that there were no debris on our course. There wasn't. We turned around and followed our tracks back to the liner. Put Don into the cockpit. Hooked up the tow line to the glider release on the liner and the tow bar on the pick up. The pickup tow bar is a bar that can telescope about three feet from the side of the pickup. The reason for this is that in the event the liner should ever accelerate out of control for whatever reason it would give the rider a better chance to miss the tow vehicle. Keep in mind there is very little steering on a streamliner. Second is when the pick up accelerates it kicks up salt from it's rear wheels and gets on the liner's wind screen. Third is so the rider can better see the hand signal given to the rider when he has reached his speed and it is time to release. We towed Don up to 60 mph. The signal was given. Don hit the tow release (it worked) and he was on his way. He was on his right skid and when he tried to get it up on it's wheels he didn't catch it in time and went to the left skid with a bang. The jarring effect caused the canopy release to malfunction and the canopy popped up. Eventually he coasted to a stop. You see now why I didn't want any scrutineers around.

So it was back to the pits to figure out what to do about the canopy. Also Don reported that it was difficult to see due to the polished bits in the cockpit, which caused a glaring reflection on the Lexan wind screen. The fix was to use flat black paint and black duct tape to cover up the shiney bits, to eliminate the canopy gas shocks, and fiddle with the latch on the canopy a bit. With this all taken care of we went back to the testing area.

Don was towed up five times and we were finally getting our act together. Each time Don would get the liner up on it's wheels earlier and go further without the skids touching. He was learning how to ride a streamliner.

Now it was Hartmut's turn. He had been communicating with Don, getting as much information as possible in what to expect. Hartmut was towed up to 70 mph, hit the tow release and immediately got the liner up on it's wheels. I might point out that you just have to be there to appreciate how far the liner coasts at a 70 mph drop off point; about two and a half miles--hard to believe but true. When Hartmut got out of the liner he was all smiles and hollered, "This is fun!"

We ran the drill again with Hartmut, and I'll tell you he is a natural when it comes to riding a streamliner. Both Don and Hartmut will be the pilots for 2005, without a doubt. I do believe Black Lightning will keep her paint job intact with this talented duo.

Both Don and Hartmut reported to me that the only thing that they noticed was that the liner was easier to steer to the right then the left. I knew it wasn't a weight balance factor causing the problem. It had to be rear end steering caused by the back wheel not being in proper alignment. Sure enough, when I mentioned to the crew what the problem was John MacDougall told me that he thought the rear wheel may have moved when he tightened the rear axle. Hartmut checked the fixed alignment reference points and found the rear wheel .050 out of align. John and Hartmut aligned the rear wheel and tightened her down and keyed everything back up with safety wire. a few other things that went on the first day were: a continued sale of T-shirts, Barry Howell, "Mr. Easy" volunteered to go back to Salt Lake City and pick up Terry Prince, Steve Doherty bought three 5 gallon cans of alcohol. It was around 7 p.m. Another 13 hours of work or play (whichever you prefer) had transpired, so it was back to the digs for a rest, a bite to eat and a cold beer.