August 2023 Rewards

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Sep 012023

The rewards for August, 2023, have been released. They include:

Document: Report No. ZD-013, “Preliminary Detail Specification for United States Navy Class VP Long Range Patrol Seaplane,” Convair, 1 April 1946

Document: “Space Shuttle: What Will It Do?” A 1970’s brochure describing the Shuttle, with six full-color full page illustrations

Art: McDonnell-Douglas lithograph of “NASA Earth Orbital Space Station”

CAD Diagram: Northrop Grumman Next Generation Long Range Strike

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with getting high quality scans for yourself, please consider signing on either for the APR Patreon or the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program. Back issues are available for purchase by patrons and subscribers.

And as happens far too often, I’ve been remiss in my PR campaign. The rewards for July, released a month ago, included:

Document: “C-5 Galaxy Pocket Guide,” brochure giving info on the C-5

Document: GDIC-64 O29-21, “Alighting Gear Convair Model 48 Light Armed Reconnaissance Airplane,” an illustrated report on the landing gear for Convairs competitor for the OV-10

Document: “Police Department Lecture #3 Effects of Atomic Weapons,” an early-50’s paper describing what NYC could expect int he event of a nuclear strike

Diagram: EMW “Wasserfall,” German WWII surface to air guided missile

CAD Diagram: Boeing 2707-100-derived bomber

Jun 062023

I put one copy of each of my current books on ebay. They’re all in brand-new condition, and will be signed/dated when sold. They also come with bonus 18X24-inch prints… the “SR-71” book has two prints of the SR-71, the “B-47/B-52” book has one B-47 diagram and two B-52 diagrams; “US Supersonic Bomber Projects Vol. 1” has two B-70 Valkyrie diagrams. Take a look…

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (Origins and Evolution): Signed, with bonus prints

Boeing B-47 Stratojet and B-52 Stratofortress: Signed, with bonus prints

US Supersonic Bomber Projects Volume 1: Signed, with bonus prints

US VTOL Projects #03 NOW AVAILABLE

CAD Diagrams, fighter, jetliner, transports, US VTOL Projects, VTOL No Responses »

Mar 282023

The first US Aerospace Projects in *years* is now available. Cover art was provided by Rob Parthoens, www.baroba.be

US VTOL Projects #3

US VTOL Projects #3 is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #2 includes:

Lockheed CL-579: An optionally-manned “communications satellite” for after WWIII
Vanguard Model 18: A short range passenger transport from the 60s with slightly unusual wings
Hiller STORC: A helicopter that could convert into a conventional aircraft for long-range ferry flights
North American Rockwell NR-356 Sea Control Fighter: The design that led to the failed XFV-12A
Bell D181: One of the first VTOL “assault transports”
Hiller Anti-Submarine Warfare Drone Tailsitter: An unmanned pulsejet-powered torpedo-launcher
Gates Twinjet: An ill-timed executive transport helicopter
McDonnell Douglas VT107-4-4I: A short-range VTOL jetliner from the early 70s

While this issue covers the usual eight designs, note that it’s about 50% longer than similar, earlier issues. The delay in publication was due in large part to working on several book… and working on several books seems to have led me to be more verbose in my descriptions. So hopefully this means a better product!

USVP #3 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $5.25:

——–

Test for USVP03

CAD Diagrams, hi-rez, US VTOL Projects, VTOL 1 Response »

Mar 252023

After a delay of several years, I’m back to working on my own little publications. Since the delay was caused by working on actual published *books,* I like to think that I’ve gotten a bit better. Thus the next issue of US VTOL projects has about twice the text of the prior issue, and the diagrams are a bit better. To get best use of the diagrams, I’m reviewing how they are being incorporated into the final text. The link below is a test PDF with four pages… each page has the same illustration, but with variations in resolution, line weight, etc. I’m interested in what looks “best.” So take a look and let me know which page – if any – looks best on screen, and if possible printed out.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jy8tbvrgje464v7/test.pdf?dl=0

APR rewards: December (and November) 2022

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Jan 022023

The December 2022 rewards are available for APR Patrons and Subscribers. This latest package includes:

Large Format Diagram: AWACS model diagram

Document: “Preliminary Design of a Mars Excursion Module,” 1964 conference paper, Philco

Document: “Astronauts Memorial” 2 diagrams

Document: “Patrol Reconnaissance Airplane Twin Float,” Convair brochure (via photos), 1944. Two piston engines, two turbojets

Document: “Hard Mobile Launcher,” Martin Marietta PR, two images. One photo, one artists impression

Document: “JVX Space Proposal” apparently a fragment, 1984 Bell maps of manufacturing facilities for what would become the V-22

Document: “Minimum Man In Space,” 1958 NACA memo describing proposals made to Wright Air Development Center for what would become the Mercury program

And because I forgot to post about it at the time, the November 2022 rewards were made available a month ago:

Large Format Diagram: B-50A Superfortress Model Diagram

Document: “Design Study of a One Man Lunar Transportation device,” 1964 North American Aviation conference paper on a rocket “hopper”

Document: “Project EGRESS (Emergency Global Rescue, Escape and Survival System),” 1964 Martin conference paper on ejection capsule for aerospacecraft

Document: “The Hydrogen Fueled Hypersonic Transport,” 1968 Convair conference paper

CAD Diagram: Mach 3 turbojets: Allison 700 B-2 (J89), GE YJ-93-GE-3 (cutaway), P&W J58

The return of cyanotypes

CAD Diagrams, Dyna Soar, hi-rez, launch vehicles, rockets 3 Responses »

Dec 062022

Some years ago I produced a range of cyanotype blueprints of a number of aerospace subjects. The hardware needed for this was disposed of when I left Utah at the end of 2019, so starting again seemed unlikely. However, someone has expressed interest in a special commission. Rebuilding the hardware needed will be an expensive chore, and sadly getting the large format transparencies printed looks like it will be much more difficult here than it was in Utah. Nevertheless, at this point it looks probable that I will restore that capability sometime in the next few months, assuming one further detail can be ironed out.

You can see my now-defunct catalog here:

https://www.aerospaceprojectsreview.com/catalog/cyan.htm

When I get back to it I will probably focus on the larger format stuff rather than the smaller prints. I have plans on how to improve upon the prior hardware to make things work better and more efficiently. If there are any of the former large format prints you’d like to see returned to production, or you have any prints you’d like to see, let me know. And once this is up and running I plan on trying to take commissions, working with a local print shop to find customers interested in this somewhat unusual and certainly obsolete form of art.

If you have a diagram you’d like me to turn into a cyanotype, contact me. Commissions aren’t going to be restricted to aerospace subjects; naval, architectural, movie props, whatever you’ve got, so long as it *can* be blueprinted, once things are in place I should be able to do it.

Grumman Advanced Stealthy Penetrator: Early CAD

bomber, CAD Diagrams, fighter, stealth No Responses »

Nov 232022

The Grumman Advanced Stealthy Penetrator (GASP) received a fair amount of exposure in the mid 1980’s by way of artists concepts published in aviation magazines and the like. Actual technical information has remained elusive; the total pile of artwork and photos of a display model would permit the creation of reasonably good layout diagrams, but dimensions and performance remain wholly unavailable. The GASP would most likely have been intended for strike applications rather than air supremacy.

Shown below is a PR image showing, presumably, a Grumman engineer at work on a 3D CAD diagram of the GASP. This image dates from no later than 1984, so the CAD system was a pretty early one (though by no means the *earliest* CAD system). It would be interesting if the files were still in existence and could be imported into a modern CAD system… but that’s not something I’d hold out a lot of hope for. Artists impressions that show the cockpit seem to indicate that this was a sizable vehicle, though such judgements are difficult to take fully seriously.

Boeing Model 987-350

bomber, CAD Diagrams, fighter, nukes, US Supersonic Bomber Projects Vol 2 No Responses »

Nov 222022

A bit short of a week ago I posted artwork of a “Boeing Advanced Fighter.” This led to the re-discovery of the actual model number 987-350 (I knew it some time back, but my brain is full I guess). And that led to the below CAD diagram, coming in just under the wire for a forthcoming book. The 987-350 was a tactical supercruiser; armament is unfortunately left a bit vague in the available documentation. The artwork depicts it with four folding-fin AGM-69 SRAM missiles; another diagram depicts it with two larger-diameter missiles of similar length. All were to be semi-submerged for low drag.

APR Rewards: October 2022

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Nov 012022

The October 2022 rewards are available for APR Patrons and Subscribers. This latest package includes:

Large format art: A Bell Aerospace painting of the D188A VTOL fighter/bomber

Document: “Standard Aircraft Characteristics – Convair Class VF Seaplane Night Fighter (SKATE)” diagrams and data for seaplane jet fighter

Document: “21St Century Aerospace – The 20th Century Challenge,” General Dynamics presentation, late 80’s about hypersonics/NASP. From photographs.

Document: “Prototype X-14 VTOL Aircraft,” Bell Aerospace presentation, 1971, on the “SeaKat” operational naval VTOL. From photos, but art and diagrams were also scanned for clarity.

CAD Diagram ($5 and up): XB-70 Valkyrie forward fuselage configuration

CAD diagrams

bomber, CAD Diagrams, Dyna Soar, fighter, hi-rez, hypersonic, launch vehicles, nukes, Recon, research, rockets, space shuttle, spacecraft, spaceplane, stealth, transports, VTOL No Responses »

Oct 122022

I’m at work on a new series of CAD diagrams (see HERE for the first run) to be released as PDFs formatted for printing at 18X24. For example, here are first drafts of a few:

Boeing Space Sortie (3 sheets)
Saturn C-8/Nova
Jules Verne’s “Columbiad”
A-12 Avenger II (2 sheets)
Lockheed CL-400 “Suntan”

All of these require a bit more dressing-up, as well as explanatory text. But I think they’re starting to look pretty good.

I’ve selected a fair number more to work on. If any of these are of particular interest, or if any of the many, many diagrams I’ve made over the years would be of interest, let me know.

BIS “Daedalus” straship
Rockwell MRCC
Northrop Tacit Blue
Space Shuttle Main Engine
Boeing Bird of Prey
General Atomic 86-foot Orion
General Atomic Orion battleship
General Atomic 10-meter Orion
Martin SeaMistress
Space Launch System
Have Sting orbital railgun
Casaba Howitzer
X-20 Dyna Soar
B-47E
DB-47E/Bold Orion
DB-47E/RASCAL
B-52G
B-52H
B-52H/Skybolt
Boeing Space Freighter
Boeing Big Onion
Shuttle C
Rockwell Star Raker
Lockheed STAR Clipper
Lockheed SR-71
Lockheed A-12 (early canards)
Lockheed A-12
Lockheed A-12 (honeycomb panels)
Lockheed A-12 “Titanium Goose”
Lockheed YF-12A
Lockheed M-21/D-21
Lockheed AP-12
Republic YF-103
North American XF-108
Bell MX-2147
Convair Kingfish

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