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:

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 Posted by at 8:18 am
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

 Posted by at 6:13 pm
Jun 152020
 

So after a long hiatus while I worked on The Book That Shall Not Yet Be Named, I started off a return to prior form by creating the diagrams for US Fighter Projects #4. That went pretty quickly, with some of the designs taking only a day to create the diagram. I then launched into US VTOL projects #3… and the going has been much slower. A single aircraft has taken the better part of two weeks to piece together the diagrams. This was due to the complexity of the design and the fact that it would undergo some fairly substantial configuration changes between horizontal and vertical flight.

Huzzah:

 Posted by at 1:20 am
Sep 052018
 

A 1969 Bell Helicopter design for a high speed stowed-rotor tiltrotor. This was meant for USAF search and rescue and featured gun turrets fore and aft (each with a Minigun) and four turboshaft engines under the wings. Doubtless the gearing from the engines up through the pylons and along the wings to the nacelles would have been an engineering nightmare. But if it worked, it would have resulted in a tiltrotor with the hover performance of the V-22 and a cruise speed of 400 knots.

An article on the similar D270-900-112 (the main visual difference being that the engines were separately podded) was included in US VTOL Projects #1.

I have made the much-larger full-rez scan of the cutaway available to $10+ APR Patreon patrons. If this sort of thing is of interest, please consider signing up for the APR Patreon.

patreon-200

 Posted by at 8:19 pm
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 182018
 

A few decades before the “X-Wing” configuration gained a measure of popularity, Hughes Tool Company made a detailed study of a somewhat similar concept, the “rotor/wing.” This was a three-bladed helicopter rotor attached to a large central lifting surface, either a circular disk or a triangular structure. The rotor was not turned the conventional way with a turbine engine turning a drive shaft, but instead the engine exhaust was ducted through the center and then out to nozzles at the tips of the rotors. Jet thrust would spin the rotors without transmitting torque to the rest of the vehicles; as a consequence only a small tail rotor would be needed, just powerful enough to orient the craft at low airspeeds.

A few configurations were produced, most of which looking much the same. Probably the most well known configuration was shown in US VTOL Projects 01. Shown below is a lesser-known configuration designed for anti-submarine use. Normally the configurations included the turbojet engines within the upper fuselage, close to the hub of the rotor, but this one rather bizarrely put the engines on the tail. No obvious means of ducting the exhaust to the rotor is evident, so presumably a third (or even fourth) engine was tucked into the fuselage somewhere.

 

 Posted by at 1:24 am
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
Feb 132018
 

Now available: two new US Aerospace Projects issues. Cover art was provided by Rob Parthoens, www.baroba.be

US VTOL Projects #2

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

  • SOS Interceptor: A US Navy Mach 3 aircraft with jettisonable wings
  • Lockheed GL-224-3: A small battlefield surveillance and ground attack plane
  • Phalanx Dragon MP-18: An unconventional small civilian transport
  • Lockheed L-161-1: An early concept for a variable geometry roadable helicopter
  • GE Supersonic V/STOL: A supersonic strike fighter with flip-out lift fans
  • Convair ANP-VTOL: A nuclear-powered ground-effect craft of the Navy of unusual configuration
  • Piasecki 16H-3: A compound helicopter for high speed passenger transport
  • Boeing Vertol Model 147: A tilt-wing close support fire support design for the US Army

USVP #2 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4:

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US Research & Recon Projects #2

US Research & Recon Projects #2 is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #2 includes:

  • Lockheed A-1: The first true design leading to the SR-71
  • Bell MX-2147 Model 105: The high altitude “X-16”
  • Boeing/CRC/AMROC X-34 Reference Configuration: A reusable launcher test vehicle
  • Martin Model 159: A scout/observation float plane
  • NASA-Langley Low-Boom Demonstrator: a recent design to demonstrate quiet SST tech
  • McDonnell-Douglas DC-9 Super 80 Propfan Configuration 1: A fuel efficient transport demo
  • Convair “HAZEL” MC-10: An inflatable Mach 3 plane for the Navy
  • Republic Manned Hypersonic Reconnaissance Vehicle: an early scramjet concept

 

USRP #2 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4:

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 Posted by at 11:57 am