Sep 222022
 

It’s my understanding that my next bookazine should be printed within a week or so. So I think I can post a few teaser images (screenshotted from the penultimate digital proof) to get the idea across:

If you would like to order a copy, there are three main routes:

1) For those in Europe, by far the best approach will likely be by ordering directly through Mortons, link HERE, or on bookstore shelves.

2) For those in the US, the less expensive approach will *probably* be through Amazon (link HERE, though still preliminary), though probably taking longer than directly from Mortons, and the possibility of finding them on bookstore shelves.

3) For those who want the Extra Special Edition and say “damn the schedule and never mind the cost,” I will *probably* have a few signed copies available. As with my prior two books, these will have an additional pair of 18X24-inch prints of diagrams from the book. These will *probably* run about $25, including shipping to the US (if you want them shipped out of the US, the shipping prices gets ludicrous… don’t blame me). They’ll be signed and dated and numbered in order of receipts. If you would be interested in this version, send me an email so I can make sure I have enough on hand for that. My email:

 

 

 Posted by at 7:29 pm
Sep 182022
 

A mid-1960’s North American Aviation concept for a sorta-lifting body spacecraft that would use deployable rotors for landing. Functioning as an autogyro, these rotors would be a more controllable alternative to a parachute, in principle allowing fairly pinpoint runway touchdowns. I had cause to go looking for information on this recently; i was fairly certain that I had a few reports on the subject, but could not find them. Grrr.

A few photos I found online a few years ago of a display model, presumably originating from an auction website such as ebay:

 Posted by at 5:43 pm
Sep 162022
 

An Aerojet diagram comparing the Trident I (C-4) and Trident II (D-5) submarine launched ballistic missiles, showing the significantly larger size of the latter

The full-rez version of this scan has been uploaded into the 2022-09 APR Extras Dropbox folder. It is available to all APR Patrons/Subscribers at the $4/month level and above. If you would like to help fund the acquisition and preservation of such things, please consider signing on either for the APR Patreon or the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program.




 

 Posted by at 9:48 pm
Sep 062022
 

I looked through a small fraction of my surprisingly vast pile of CAD diagrams for some I thought might look good in really large format. Some I’ve gone some distance towards formatting them that way already; some are still formatted for small sheets. There are more, of course. In no particular order.

Lockheed CL-400 “Suntan”

Lockheed M-21/D-21:

Lockheed A-12:

Lockheed SR-71A:

Lockheed YF-12A:

X-20 Dyna Soar/Titan III:

A number of 10-Meter Orion vehicles/sub-vehicles:

USAF 10-meter Orion:

General Dynamics “Kingfish:”

North American XF-108:

Lockheed A-12 concept w/canards:

Boeing B-47E:

Boeing B-52G:

Boeing B-52H:

Boeing B-52H + Skybolt:

Boeing DB-47E + Bold Orion:

Rockwell Star Raker:

Boeing “Big Onion” SSTO:

Boeing Space Freighter:

NASA Saturn C-8:

Lockheed STAR Clipper:

 

 

 Posted by at 3:55 pm
Sep 052022
 

Back in 2016 I released seven PDFs of CAD diagrams formatted for printing at 24X36 inches (those are shown after the break). This was another product line that didn’t exactly blow up the market, and no further diagrams were released. But now that I have two books of CAD diagrams released, and two more coming (and potentially more after that), I’m considering trying again. The Lockheed CL-400 Suntan, A-11, A-12, SR-71, YF-12, along with several B-47 and B-52 related designs are possible, as well as designs that aren’t from those books (X-20 Dyna Soar, several Orion vehicles, etc.). If this sounds interesting, let me know; if there is something specific you might be interested in, let me know.

 

 

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 Posted by at 10:14 pm