Jul 012022
Recently APR Patrons/Subscribers and I were able to successfully crowdfund the purchase of a lot off ebay that included a few folders of vintage lifting body work. The chief prize from the lot was a *giant* blueprint of a “GTV Structure,” a manned Model 176/ FDL-7 lifting body test vehicle (“GTV” was not explained, but I suspect it means something like “Glide Test Vehicle,” designed to be dropped from an NB-52). Scanning of the lot is underway; the crowdfunders now have access to the blueprint in several forms (full size, halfsize; full color, grayscale).
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acquisition and preservation of such things, please consider signing on either for the APR Patreon or the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program.
I have some modest familiarity with the FDL flight vehicle design/program. Several years ago I was in contact with a person with considerably more knowledge than I on these vehicles – when asked he referred to the designation GTV as Ground Test Vehicle. But I think given the vehicle type and program phase, both “Ground” and “Glide” would apply.