skunkworks wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2019 3:44 pm Some one PM'ed me and asked why skunkworks and if I had anything to do with Lockheed....
Sadly - it isn't as exciting as that.
My freinds started calling my skunkworks because of A) I owned a stealth and B) I was always tinkering quietly away...
sam
My mother worked on the Stealth at Skunkworks in Burbank. She would never tell us about the ships other than "right hand angles don't reflect radar."
She was a "Status Assembly Clerk" and it was her job to keep track of the progress of construction as they worked on the planes. She did not work directly on the planes, but stood directly behind those that did with the clipboard keeping track of things. As such, while they had special breathing apperatus, she didn't. Recognize that the planes are assembled using an "undisclosed proprietary adhesive" that releases fumes as it degasses.
My mother died of a rare form of liver cancer in her 60s. The cancer is most commonly associated with prolonged exposure to vinyl chloride monomer. We tried to sue Lockheed, but they said their adhesive was not "vinyl chloride monomer" but would not disclose the contents as a military secret.
Several doctors said that in all probablility that exposure caused the cancer, but because you can't prove it..., and the military denys vinyl chloride monomer, they would not go to court and testify to the fact that the exposure killed her.
Lockheed gave use $2,500 (split three ways) to go away. But, Lockheed awarded 22 million dollars to the residents in the adjoining neighborhood for "possible exposure." We were denied any of this because "my mother worked there voluntarily."
