Breaking the Land Speed Record: North American Eagle, Dassault Systèmes and Lenovo

The history of the North American Eagle is unlike any other in the history of automobile racing. It is a part of American history, and in particular, aviation history. Converted from an F-104 jet fighter once flown by test pilots Scott Crossfield and Gen. Joe Engle and powered by a 42,500 horsepower turbojet engine, the North American Eagle is one of the most sophisticated vehicles on earth. Built to break the 763 mph world land speed record for automobiles set on October 15, 1997, the 56-feet long supersonic vehicle is leading the world in many technologies and in the use of advanced materials.

See how this team of engineers is using Dassault Systèmes CATIA V5 and Lenovo ThinkStation and ThinkPad to design:

	Magnetic anti-skid braking
	Wheel fairings manufactured from advance nanolaminate metals
	High speed parachutes that can withstand dynamic pressures exceeding 1,600 lb per square foot
	High speed wheels that are rated to 950 mph using Finite Element Analysis
	Mitigation of transonic shock waves in a ground plane using Computational Fluid Dynamics
	Data acquisition system gathering 3.2 million measurements per second

The project has been featured worldwide in over eight television documentaries and hundreds of newspapers and magazines. It is a subject of an upcoming Sundance Film Festival short documentary. Now, it’s here to share with you!

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Not only is Ed Shadle the project manager, but he is also the driver and owner. After serving in the USAF as a Communications and Relay Center Electronics Technician, Ed went to work for the IBM Corporation in Field Engineering. Ed held several positions during his 31 year career including Field Manager, Systems Management Specialist, Account Representative and Disaster Recovery Planner. Upon retirement from IBM in 1996 he joined the Frank Russell Company as Project Manager and Business Continuity Planner. In 2000 Ed formed his own company, North American Eagle Services. The mission of his company is to bring the world land speed record back to North America. He began building and racing cars at the age of 14 and began competing at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in 1989. Ed is also a private pilot and member of the Experimental Aircraft Association. Ed is past president of Greyhound Pets of America, an organization that places retired racing Greyhounds into homes.

Keith Zanghi is Director of Operations and co-owner of the North American Eagle. Keith studied mathematics at Seattle University. He formed his own company in the late '70s supporting the power generation industry. Today Keith is a manager at the Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Deputy Director of ECF campaign for the Fabrication Division. He served as Director on the South Pierce County Tacoma Chamber of Commerce for five years. His racing career started in 1975 running rear engine Alcohol Dragsters. Over the years he has crewed on Funny Car and Top Fuel teams. Keith is also a crew member on Ed Shadle’s Bonneville Land Speed Team.

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