November 2021 APR Rewards

fighter, hi-rez, hypersonic, launch vehicles, Monthly Historical Documents Program, nukes, Patreon, research, rockets, space shuttle, spacecraft, spaceplane, stealth No Responses »

Dec 012021

The rewards for November, 2021, have been sent out. Patrons should have received a notification message through Patreon linking to the rewards; subscribers should have received a notification from Dropbox linking to the rewards. If you did not, let me know.

Document: “Galactic-Jupiter Probe Program Concept:” 1967 NASA-Goddard brochure describing a Pioneer/Voyager type of space probe

Document: “Mixed Mode Rocket Vehicles for International Space Transportation Systems,” 1973 paper describing modified Shuttles and other launch vehicles

Document: “Nuclear Physics Made Very, Very Easy,”1968 NASA NERVA test operation publication that summarizes nuclear physics

Diagram: Navalized Advanced tactical Fighter (Northrop NF-23) general arrangement

CAD Diagram ($5 and up): “Disney Bomb,” British designed and built, American dropped rocket-boosted submarine pen penetrating bomb from the end of WWII

If this sort of thing is of interest, sign up either for the APR Patreon or the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program. *ALL* back issues, one a month since 2014, are available for subscribers at low cost.

Apparently the F-117 is still in operation

bomber, fighter, hi-rez, stealth No Responses »

Oct 082021

Enjoy These Two Stunning 4K Videos Of The F-117s Operating Out Of Fresno Last Week

Battleglider

fighter, transports 1 Response »

Sep 052021

A 1942 US Army Air Force artists concept of a “battleglider” depicts a troop transport glider with an unusual means for propulsion. Rather than being towed into the air, this aircraft relied on the powerplants of two bell P-39’s attached to substantial under-wing pylons. The pylons encompassed the cockpits of the fighters, necessitating large windows in the pylons for the pilots to see through.

I am *made* of questions when I look at this. During powered flight… who’s the pilot? I would assume the pilot of the glider, somehow having access to the controls of the fighters… at least the fighters engines. Do the pylons drop off after the fighter separate? Does landing gear deploy down through the pylons? You’re certainly not going to land safely with those pylons hanging down there. Who does the fighter-jettison? Again, presumably the glider pilot has control, but do the fighters have independent control? Are their aerosurfaces locked during attached flight? Can the fighter pilots force the glider to maneuver? The glider fuselage actually looks a little small; what’s the troop/cargo complement? Do the fighters promptly return to base after releasing the glider, or do they continue to provide cover and perhaps serve in the ground attack role?

Grumman ATF artists concept

bomber, fighter 1 Response »

Aug 022021

A Grumman design from the 80’s (looks like 1980) for an advanced fighter. This was clearly from the era where fighters did not need to prioritize stealth over all else, though also clearly stealth aspects are included. The aircraft had missiles integrated onto the back surface, an unusual location; it appears that these are unpowered bombs, using wings to generate lift to fling themselves upwards. It’s not immediately clear what the purpose here is; chances are that these might be nukes, so flinging the bombs upwards would give the jet a few moments to gain some distance before the bombs glide down to the ground. Or it might be a low-observability feature… launching from the top would allow the aircraft to fly at a stupid-low altitude to avoid anti-aircraft systems.

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird – Origins & Evolution: Preview

bomber, fighter, hi-rez, hypersonic, launch vehicles, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Origins and Evolution, Recon, research, rockets, stealth 1 Response »

May 242021

Mortons has posted a preview “sampler” of my “Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird” bookazine. You can take a look and see if it’s for you.

It is available directly through the publisher for £8.99 (Approx $12.41 or €10.34). It is also available through Amazon for pre-order for $12.99. Direct from the publisher should be available sooner; from Amazon, lower mailing cost if you’re in the US.

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird – Origins & Evolution

bomber, fighter, hi-rez, hypersonic, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Origins and Evolution, nukes, Recon, research, rockets, spacecraft, spaceplane, stealth 6 Responses »

May 202021

Mortons has announced my “bookazine” Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird – Origins & Evolution, now available for pre-order. This is my first published book. Woo! It covers the development of the SR-71 from well before the program started , including the “Suntan” concepts and several Convair high speed reconnaissance platforms, up through the development of the “Archangel” series that led to the CIA’s A-12, through the Mach 3 interceptor designs and the SR-71 itself. From there it also includes a number of proposed derivatives and unbuilt concepts… an A-12 used to launch satellites, the SR-71 as a carrier for a manned hypersonic scramjet vehicle, the use of the “SR-71C” as a flying wind tunnel, etc.

Here are some shots of a few pages to give you an idea of what’s in it. I created all the diagrams within, based on official sources and as accurate as I could make them. There are many, MANY diagrams here describing designs mundane and downright wacky, from tiny unmanned drones to truly gigantic hydrogen-fueled monsters.

Tell your friends!

Lockheed NATF

fighter, hi-rez, Monthly Historical Documents Program, Patreon, stealth No Responses »

Mar 262021

In the long, long ago, Lockheed tried to sell the F-22 to the US Navy. In order to accommodate the needs of Naval aviation, the aircraft would have had to have been massively modified… most obviously by giving the aircraft variable geometry wings like the F-14’s. Clearly the Navy didn’t go for it: the cost of the program would have been immense, as would have been the risks. The F-22 ended up being troubled enough with materials and maintenance nightmares; add to that the rigors of slamming into carrier decks, constant humidity and salt air, all the other bothersome details of operating from ships at sea; and add to THAT the fact that while the NATF (Naval Advanced Tactical Fighter)*looked* like the F-22, it would have shared very few structures in common with its Air Force cousin and would have been basically a new aircraft… it would undoubtedly have been massively expensive to a degree that even the F-35 would have been hard pressed to match.

The fullrez scan of the artwork has been made available at 300 DPI to all $4/month patrons/subscribers in the 2021-03 APR Extras folder at Dropbox. If you would like to help fund the acquisition and preservation of such things, along with getting high quality scans for yourself, please consider signing on either for the APR Patreon or the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program.

XB-46 photos & early F-111 concept

bomber, fighter, hi-rez, Monthly Historical Documents Program, Patreon No Responses »

Jan 102021

A few seemingly random (because they are) photos. First: a display model of an early General Dynamics concept for what would become the F-111.

And then… two photos of the Convair XB-46 in flight.

I’ve uploaded the full-rez versions of these to the APR Dropbox, into the 2021-01 APR Extras folder. This is available to any APR Patron or Subscriber at the $4 level and above.