Just bought on ebay, a print of the Boeing “Space Sortie” vehicle.
So much for my “maybe I should spend less in these difficult times” idea. 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with getting high quality scans for yourself, please consider signing on either for the APR Patreon or the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program.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.
A recent ebay acquisition, this is a lithograph with a photo and color cutaway of the Vought ALVRJ demonstrator vehicle. The Advanced Low-Volume Ramjet was a program that ran from the late 1960s into the 1980’s with the goal of producing a ramjet engine for missile applications, such as air-to-air missiles and the like.
The artwork was scanned at 600 dpi and made available to above-$10 Patrons and Subscribers. 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with getting high quality scans for yourself, please consider signing on either for the APR Patreon or the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program.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.
I have long bemoaned the fact that interesting aerospace history stuff sometimes sells on eBay at painfully high prices and sometimes even to people who aren’t me (the outrage of it all). Such is the case with this listing:
Two nice vintage lithographs… one of the Martin SV-5D (AKA, X-23) subscale lifting body, and one of the NASA-Langley HL-10 (an early concept with a raised cockpit, possibly also a Martin interpretation). The initial bid price for these was $100; after a number of recent eBay expenditures, that was more than I was willing to go for. So it’s just as well that the final selling price was $384, which seems really, really high. Perhaps the bidders thought that these were the original paintings? Or perhaps the market for lithographs has skyrocketed.
Well, I guess it’s time that I unload some stuff. Not that I necessarily want to, but the bills lately…. uuuuugh. I recently saw a modestly cruddy Convair F-106 joystick go for well over $700. Well, guess what I have: a *really* *nice* F-106 joystick. Anybody want to bribe me before I put it on eBay? If so, send me an email with your insanely generous offer…
A few more items I’ve recently paid for that will appear on the APR Patreon/Monthly Historical Documents Program catalog:
1) General Dynamics report “Technical Proposal for Advanced Exhaust Nozzle System Concepts,” 1977 designs for advanced fighters
2) “NASA Aeronautics,” 1974
3) NASA Facts – “The Jupiter Pioneers”
4) “Cessna EV-37E STOL” report, 1964
5) Cessna 407A: report on the proposed but unbuilt 407A transport derivative of the T-37
6) Cessna AT-37E STOL: report on attack variant
7) Cessna YAT-37D counter-insurgency airplane report
Also purchased were a large number of vintage “Space World,” “Aviation News” and “Interavia” magazines for research and “Extras” purposes.
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.
Huh.
It’s not clear to me what an average Joe would do with a busted-up T-33, but I thought it was interesting. Might be nice to see someone get it and restore it. Not, perhaps to flight status, or even to reskin it… but as a “cutaway” display. Doubtless a lot of bits and pieces would need to be procured to flesh it out.
Plus… they got themselves a Thud. Huh.
Start your Christmas shopping early by buying my stuff:
There is currently an item on ebay that the *title* of had me very interested, but the actual photos fire off my BS alarms:
A vintage F-108 display model made by the NAA model shop or by an official contractor for NAA would be a very interesting item. But… that’s not what we’ve got here. Observe:
This is not a North American Aviation design. It is, in fact, copied from the 1960 ITC “F-108 Rapier” model kit. This was designed before the F-108 design was revealed to the public, and was basically a fictional concept based on the North American “Navaho” intercontinental cruise missile.
The model is not actually an assembled ITC Rapier kit. It looks like one of the Asian specially-made “genuine Philippine mahogany” models that you can have made. Which is fine if that’s what you want, but that’s not what the ebay listing says it is. Quote: “For sale is a rare XF-108 Rapier contractor style model. I am unsure of the manufacturer -possibly Topping/Precise. ” Note: “style.”
As of this writing there are 15 bids, up to $140. This seems a bit much for a meh-quality modern replica of a meh-quality model kit. If this is something you’re interested in bidding on, keep in mind that this is *not* a North American Aviation design, but a design by a short-lived (1957-64) model kit company that had no special insight.
And I’m a little surprised at the lack of interest in some of them:
Aerospace Vehicle Design Vol II Spacecraft Design by K. D. Wood, 1964
This one is real hard to come by, usually sells for well over $100. Only one bid, $19.99. This one ends in a few hours.
Three early “Space” books for kids: Fletcher Pratt, Jack Coggins, Lester Del Rey
Sure, they’re a little rough, but they’re old kids books, awesome in their massively over-optimistic way, and terribly low price. This one ends in a few hours.
Proceedings of the Shuttle-Based Cometary Science Workshop, 1976 NASA
This one ends in a few hours.
And this one:
XIIIth International Astronautical Congress Varna 1962, II (pp 483-1026)
This book of conference proceedings has papers on the Aerojet Sea Dragon, a general Electic “Direct” Apollo design and a nuclear-powered TV satellite. It’s already made the rounds on ebay once, no bidders. Huh.
And there’s other stuff.
Someone is selling a contractors model of an engine for a cruise missile on ebay. The engine is an unducted aft fan design. This type of engine was proposed for use on jetliners; it provides fuel efficiency benefits but in the end the brain-melting noise it put out doomed the concept. Not only did it bother people, it also tended to buzz the bejeebers out of the aircraft structure. In the end very high bypass conventional turbofan engines proved capable of doing the job. Noise, of course, would not have been much of an issue for a cruise missile, but since this design was put forward (circa 1989) the US has not fielded any new major cruise missiles.
Note:”TCAE /GEAE” likely stands for Teledyne Continental Aviation and Engineering / General Electric Aviation Engines. Teledyne CAE was known as such between 1969 and 1999, an unhelpful 30-year span.
A second – and last – batch of Eaglemoss Star Trek ships has gone up on eBay. I’m preparing a bunch of books, many of aerospace interest, that will be posted soon. I’d planned on having half a dozen or so of them ready to go tonight but… shrug.
https://www.ebay.com/usr/dynascott
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Eaglemoss Star Trek Starship #139 Vaadwaur Assault Ship & magazine, new
Eaglemoss Star Trek Starship #103 Vidiian Warship & magazine, new, bagged
Eaglemoss Star Trek Starship #94 Suliban Cell Ship ship and magazine, new
Eaglemoss Star Trek Starship #96 Orion Scout Ship & magazine, new, still bagged
Eaglemoss Star Trek Starship #45 Malon Export Vessel Ship & magazine, new
Eaglemoss Star Trek Starship #134 Vulcan Survey Ship & magazine, new, bagged
Eaglemoss Star Trek Starship #41 Klingon Raptor ship & magazine, new, bagged
Eaglemoss Star Trek Starship #18 Bajoran Solar-Sailor ship & magazine, ne
Eaglemoss Star Trek Starship #51 Hirogen Warship & magazine, new, still bagged
Eaglemoss Star Trek Starship #49 ECS Fortunate ship and magazine, new
I made an attempt to add Earth-type humor to each of the listings.