SHUTTLE SPECIALIST HANGS ON.

Byline: Amanda Covarrubias Associated Press 

Three weeks before Christmas, Russell Lancaster got word he was being laid off from his job with Boeing installing heat-resistant coverings on America's space shuttles.

The timing could not have been worse. Not only were the holidays fast approaching, but his 21-year-old daughter and her baby girl had just moved in with him. Twice-divorced, Lancaster lives in a two-bedroom house with his 7-year-old son, Conal, a bright second-grader with a ready smile.

But instead of being bummed, the 15-year-veteran of the aerospace industry is rolling with the punches. He and hundreds of aerospace workers in Southern California have learned to ride the highs and lows of a cyclical industry that once dominated the region's economy.

The nation's shrinking defense appetite is primarily responsible for the decline, but the Asian financial crisis is blamed for the latest hits.

In recent weeks, Seattle-based Boeing announced that nearly 7,700 jobs would be eliminated in Southern California - mostly at its commercial airplane assembly plant in Long Beach.

Lancaster was let go Nov. 30 after Boeing's aerospace division in nearby Palmdale lost its bid to install heat-resistant thermal blankets and tiles on the new shuttle prototype.

Lancaster's mortgage is paid off, thanks to his dad. His car is old, but it's paid for, too. About the only expenses hanging over his head are utilities, food and entertainment - for himself, daughter Nichole, 18-month-old granddaughter Ashleigh and young Conal.

``I try to live simply,'' said Lancaster, 46, his burly figure clad in blue jeans and a plaid shirt. ``If I had to make a house payment, I would be dead.''

He tossed a log into the wood-burning stove he installed last year to heat his poorly insulated house, which he inherited nine years ago when his dad died. The front room is cozy with books on the shelves, family photographs on the walls and tired, old clocks that appear to be in their own time zones.

But for Lancaster, time is not an issue. He never entered the harried world of daily commutes and nonstop consumerism. Instead, when he is not working for Boeing, he hustles odd jobs doing whatever a handyman and plumber can do to pay the bills.

``Wherever someone will pay me to do something, I'll go,'' Lancaster said. ``I'm real flexible.''

He earned $21 an hour with Boeing but only about $10 an hour as a handyman, although his rate can climb to $35 an hour for specialized plumbing jobs. When he was working for Boeing this summer, he managed to save about $3,000. Most of it has since been spent on living expenses.

For Boeing, Lancaster worked at Air Force Plant 42, where the space shuttles were assembled and now return periodically for inspections, repairs and upgrades.

Boeing Co. took over the shuttle plant in 1996 when it bought the aerospace and defense units of Rockwell International Inc. for $3.2 billion.

During peak operations, the shuttle division employs some 700 workers. This time of year, with no craft on the line, the crew has dwindled to about 550 support people and staffers working on related projects.

Lancaster was hired on an hourly wage 25 years ago by Rockwell to work on the shuttle Discovery. Knowing nothing about shuttle assembly, he received six weeks training to learn how to bond protective coverings on the ship's exterior.

He helped build or refurbish space shuttles on and off over the next decade. During a particularly long dry spell of five years, he thought he would never work in aerospace again. But work always seemed to materialize.

He was last hired by Boeing on May 11 to work on the shuttle Atlantis. By then, the five-year window to retain his seniority under the UAW labor contract had expired. He lost his accumulated seniority and had to be hired as a new employee. His medical benefits will kick in after eight months with the company.

Even if Lancaster had not been laid off, Christmas would be a low-key affair at his house. A few toys for Conal and Ashleigh, Christmas Eve at Aunt Elaine's in nearby Quartz Hill, a live Christmas tree that will be planted in the front yard when the season is over.

``We're definitely downscale,'' Lancaster said. ``My ex-wife used to spend $2,000 to $3,000 on toys, and the kids would end up playing with the box. Now we just get off on the holiday and being together.''

Whatever they do, bluegrass music will be part of the holiday scene. Lancaster, Nichole and his girlfriend, Judy Hersh, want to form their own bluegrass band. In the meantime, they take music lessons and attend concerts at a bluegrass shop in the San Fernando Valley.

Even Conal takes weekly fiddle lessons.

``What better gift can you give a kid than music?'' Lancaster said.

Lancaster hears Boeing aerospace may be hiring again in March. If they make an offer, he will accept.

``Most of us go back because it's unique,'' Lancaster said. ``How many people can say they're working on the space shuttle? And they pay 90 percent of your medical benefits.''

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PHOTO Rosamond resident Russell Lancaster, right, was laid off from his Boeing job in Lancaster on Nov. 30.

Kevin Karzin/Associated Press