Nov 042018
 

All the US Aerospace Projects issues I’ve teased over the last few months are now basically done. I’m going through them for the jillionth time looking for the usual collection of minor flubs as well as putting together advertising images. I hope to have them available in the next day or three. At the same time, I will be adjusting the prices of the existing issues. Maybe up, maybe down. Who knows? What has happened to the cost of living in the last five or six years?

I’m also putting together stuff for the next set of issues. I plan on starting a new series of designs for US Spacecraft projects. As a hint, the dimensions won’t be in inches, feet, meters or centimeters. More like kilometers and miles.

 Posted by at 10:10 pm
Oct 052018
 

A glimpse at the first draft of the diagrams for US Transport Projects #8. The careful observer will note that there have been a number of “Forthcoming” posts over the last several months with no followup of a final product. There will be, at some point, a mass release of a larger than usual number of USxP issues.

 Posted by at 1:50 am
Feb 252018
 

You may have noticed some older US Bomber/Fighter/Etc. Projects sales posts appearing at the top of the page. This is courtesy of the “Stick this post to the front page” option that I can apply to posts, a feature I’ve ignored until very recently. The purpose here is to remind folks of stuff I’ve published; once a post has slid off the front page, it’s pretty much gone as far as most visitors are concerned. Please note that each post has a date on it; and older sales-posts will have text like “Now Available” removed from them, leaving that only for brand-new posts.

 Posted by at 3:06 pm
Feb 152018
 

Updated the webpage is an irritating process compared to adding new blog posts, but I’ve finally gotten around to updating the Aerospace Projects Review main page and the US Aerospace Projects catalog page:

http://aerospaceprojectsreview.com/

http://aerospaceprojectsreview.com/bomproj.htm

 

 Posted by at 12:10 am
Apr 152017
 

From April, 2017, two US Aerospace Projects issues:

US Transport Projects #07

US Transport Projects #07 is available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #07 includes:

  • Lockheed L-279-9: an early SST
  • Convair HST – Phase II Variable Sweep Configuration: A mid-1960’s hypersonic transport
  • Lockheed CL-1373: a short-haul turboprop liner
  • Boeing Model 702-134(4): a large nuclear-powered logistics hauler
  • McDonnell-Douglas Swept Wing Spanloader: a heavy cargo carrier
  • Lockheed Hybrid Wing Body: a current design for an efficient military transport
  • NASA Cut-Down 747 SCA: a 1973 idea for a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
  • Rockwell Boost Glide Transport: An early 1970’s rocket transport

 

USTP #07 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4:

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Also available, the first in a new series:

US Recon and Research Projects #01

US Recon & Research Projects #01 is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #01 includes:

  • General Dynamics “FISH”: 1958 concept for Mach 4 parasite
  • NACA-Langley X-Tail X-15: early hypersonic rocket plane concept
  • “Jake’s Jeep”: WWII-era motorjet design
  • Lockheed “Archangel”: The first step on the road to the SR-71
  • Boeing Model 853-21 “Quiet Bird”: A 1961 stealth platform
  • Northrop Tacit Blue: Operational version of the early stealth experiment
  • Convair Pilotless Airplane I-40 Inhabited: WWII-era design of a manned test for a flying bomb
  • Lockheed CL-278-1-1: a proto-U-2

 

USRP #01 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4:

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 Posted by at 11:45 am
Apr 122017
 

So very, very close on the next two US Aerospace Projects issues. I’m only lacking cover “art”and have to deal with a bit of “dead air” in the middle of US Transport Projects #7. Usually I can shuffle things around well enough to not have this sort of thing, but this time it just hasn’t worked out. I suppose it doesn’t really matter all that much, but it does look kinda lazy like that.

It’s been about a year since I released the last USxP issue. That last issue was the first time where I used vector diagrams embedded within the issue, rather than raster images; getting the diagrams from AutoCAD into Word was a bit of a chore back then. And in the intervening months… I forgot how I did it. So I had to figure it out again, and the process is different. I have to walk the AutoCAD diagram through Rhino 3D and save as a WMF and blah, blah, blah; end result is it works just fine. I’ve done some further refinement… the main outlines are set at 0.25 mm width and the ends of the lines have been reset to rounded and mitered, so sharp corners now look more like sharp corners.

Hoping to have these two out in a day or two. The other three will be rather longer.

 

 Posted by at 6:59 pm
Apr 022017
 

I’m essentially done with the drafting portion of the exercise. Now to finish the writing. I had planned on releasing ll five at once, but due to external factors I’ll almost certainly have to split this up. So… which ones do people want more? The publications forthcoming are Fighters, Bombers, Transports, Launchers and Recon & Research. Comment below…

 Posted by at 11:07 pm
Mar 102017
 

Coming soonish: the return of USXP publications. Five are under current development and are mostly done. There is a new title in the bunch… USRP. Strictly speaking it should probably be USR&RP… United States Research and Recon Projects. Perhaps Recon and Research aren’t necessarily the most obvious categories to link together into a single title, but apart from the vitally important alliteration, there is this important fact: compared to, say, Bombers, there aren’t that many Recon and Research projects out there.

If there are specific proposals, or general categories you’d like to see in future publications, feel free to comment below.

 Posted by at 9:46 am
May 302016
 

I’ve recently figured out how to get reliably good-quality vector graphic PDF files from my AutoCAD diagrams.These differ from standard “raster” graphics like GIFs and JPGs in that they are composed of scalable lines rather than pixels; this means that they can be printed off at many scales and they’ll retain clarity.

I think a lot of the diagrams would look quite good printed in large format; I’ve previously mentioned that I’m working on a few diagrams specifically for printing off on large format (24X36) mylar, but I’ve others that I think would also look good scaled for 18X24. I’m making these first seven diagrams available, formatted and scaled for 18X24. They can be viewed on screen, printed on a standard printer or printed by a large format printer all with equal clarity.

If this idea appeals, be sure to tell your friends, family, foes, anyone you think might be interested. Also be sure to comment if there are any diagrams I’ve previously created for APR, USXP or elsewhere that you’d like to see in this format. Some of them would be best as multi-sheet diagrams. Suggestions on how to improve also appreciated.

CAD007

CAD 007: Northrop Low Altitude Penetrator

A 1/72 diagram of a 1979 design for a B-2 alternate configuration

Download for $3

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CAD006

CAD 006

A 1/96 scale diagram of the 1979 Rockwell D645-4a spanloader bomber.

Download for $3

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CAD005

CAD 005

A 1/144 scale diagram of the Manned Spacecraft Center MSC Orbiter 020, a 1972 Space Shuttle concept with a single 260″ solid rocket booster.

Download for $3

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CAD004

CAD 004

A 1/350 scale diagram of the 1971 Boeing Resource Air Carrier (AKA RC-1, AKA “Brute Lifter”) designed as a flying oil tanker for the arctic.

Download for $3

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CAD003

CAD 003

A 1/72 scale diagram of the Martin-Marietta “Zenith Star” experimental space-based laser for the Strategic Defense Initiative.

Download for $3

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CAD002

CAD 002

A 1/24 diagram of the Lockheed “Harvey,” the initial concept for a low radar cross section strike platform that eventually became the F-117.

Download for $3

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CAD001

CAD 001

A 1/32 diagram of the North American Rockwell D-541-4 “Surprise Fighter” from 1973, an early stealth concept designed to sneak up on Soviet AWACS planes.

Download for $3

 


Download all seven for $18.90 (10% off)

 

 Posted by at 12:37 pm
May 012016
 

I admit that the USBP series looks kinda… bland. It’s text and line drawings; not a whole lot can be done to jazz that up. Especially since I have no head for graphics design whatsoever apart from layout diagrams.

Still, one reader sent me a mockup of a revised cover of USBP #18:

USBP18blue

Things are moved around a little bit, but the obvious change is the addition of color. The suggestion was also made to consider color-coding each title in the USXP series. Just off the top of my head, I came up with:

Bombers: Olive Drab

Spacecraft: Black

Launch Vehicles: Blue on bottom, transitioning to black at the top

Fighters: slightly bluish gray (like the F-15 or F-22)

Transports: ??

VTOL: ??

The USBP#18 cover was re-done to reflect this, thusly:

USBP18green

Thoughts? Is this more appealing?How about color-coding… good idea or not? And if so, what colors?

I tried something vaguely like this once before, with USBP#05.

 Posted by at 9:43 am