Dyna Soar Instrument Panel

 aircraft, APR, drawings, history, Hmm..., projects, rockets, spacecraft  No Responses »
Mar 042015
 

While the overall configuration of the Dyna Soar was set (and is well known) well before the program ended, the pilots instrument panel seemed to be in a constant state of flux. A number of mockup photos and diagrams of generally low resolution and/or poor reproduction quality. But a decade ago what appears to have been a decent-quality instrument panel layout was auctioned off:

858: DynaSoar Blueprints Diagrams Photos

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So… is there any chance that anyone reading along knows the buyer, or has access to this or a similar instrument panel layout diagram?

PS: if you are interested in the final Model 2050E Dyna Soar design, you could not do much better than to check this out.

 Posted by at 11:05 am

USBP13/ USLP01 updates/corrections

 AARRRGH, aircraft, art, books, drawings, Gah., new products, news, projects, rockets, spacecraft, US Bomber Projects, US Launch Vehicle Projects  4 Responses »
Mar 042015
 

I happened to notice that the last diagram in US Bomber Projects #13, showing that issues various designs all together at the same scale, was not the actual finalized diagram. So I’ve corrected it. At the same time, I added an equivalent diagram to US Launch Vehicles Projects #01, showing all the boosters to the same scale. If you have previously purchased one or both of these, the info in the email your received with the download instructions will still work if you’d like to download the revised versions.

And if you haven’t purchased these… well, here’s another chance!

 Posted by at 2:00 am

PDF Review: Space Settlements, A Design Study

 awesomeness, books, history, Patreon, projects, reshaping the world, science, spacecraft  2 Responses »
Mar 022015
 

NASA SP-413, “Space Settlements, A Design Study,” was published in 1977 and brought together the results of a 1975 NASA-Ames Research Center effort to do a preliminary study of a giant torus space station for several thousand permanent inhabitants. It is a basic text on the subject of space colonies, but obtaining a copy of the printed book of course requires money (but not much… a quick check at abebooks.com shows them going for about $8) and online versions have typically been either black-and-white scan PDFs of indifferent quality, or versions rendered into painful HTML format. Fortunately, someone (it’s unclear to me who, though it seems a professional job) has scanned in the book and all the illustrations and reformatted the text into an all-new, clean PDF version.

The PDF can be downloaded HERE.

spacesettlements4 spacesettlements3 spacesettlements2 spacesettlements1

Much more aerospace stuff is available via the APR Patreon.

patreon-200

 Posted by at 11:35 pm

US Bomber Projects #13, US Launcher Projects #01

 aircraft, books, drawings, history, new products, news, projects, rockets, spacecraft, US Bomber Projects, US Launch Vehicle Projects  No Responses »
Mar 022015
 

Two new publications in the US Aerospace Projects series are now available.

Now available: US Bomber Projects #13. This issue includes:

  • Ryan Model 162: A VTOL strike/recon plane
  • Boeing Orbital Bomb: a nuclear-tipped re-entry glider
  • Northrop Atomic Wing: an asymetric nuclear powered design
  • Consolidated Vultee High Speed Flying Boat: an early post-war Skate design
  • Martin Model 189: a canard version of the B-26 Marauder
  • Boeing Model 464-046: A six-engined B-52 predecessor
  • Curtis F-87C: a night fighter with bomber abilities
  • Boeing Model 701-247: a supersonic antecedent of the B-59

usbp13ad

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USBP #13 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4:

———

 

Also available: US Launch Vehicle Projects #01. The premiere issue of this new series includes:

  • Pre-Saturn Phase III Vehicles: 1958 concpet for clustered Atlas boosters
  • Boeing “Big Onion”: an SSTO to launch SPS
  • Northrop TAV: an in-flight propellant transfer spaceplane
  • Martin Orbit Project: A 1946 concept for a hydrogen fueled SSTO
  • Saturn V derived HLLV for FLO: A brief Saturn V revival in the early 1990s
  • MSC Orbiter 020: An early Shuttle with straight wings and a single SRB
  • Hammerhead ET: a way for the Shuttle to transport outsized payloads
  • Loral Aquarius: A way to make space launch cheap

 

uslp 01ad

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

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 Posted by at 3:37 am

February 2015 APR Patreon rewards are available

 aircraft, APR, awesomeness, books, drawings, history, new products, news, Patreon, projects, rockets, spacecraft  1 Response »
Feb 232015
 

I have made available for APR Patrons the following:

1) “Titan III B-C-D-E Propulsion Handbook,” from Aerojet, explaing and diagramming just about everything you want to know about the Titan III propulsion systems, from the SRMs to the Transstage. I originally got this via ebay.

titanIIIlayout

(This shows just a small portion of the ~300 page handbook)

2) “Aircraft Descriptive Data for Northrop F-89F.” A collection of then-current data on the projected (and unbuilt) F-89F. This was from a collection gathered by Lockheed to keep tabs on their competitors. Has some “Secret” markings on it. I originally got this via ebay.

F-89Flayout

3) Skylab diagram. This very large format illustration was found in the NASA HQ and photographed piecemeal and painstakingly reassembled, using text scanned from another copy of the illustration (with a far smaller diagram, but good text).

skylab

4) An original layout diagram of the XB-70. It took several years to get this diagram into this shape. It seems pretty good to me.

misc-127 XB-70

You can gain access to these by becoming an APR Patron for as little as $1.50 a month. That’s not so very much, is it? Check out the APR Patreon page for more details.

 Posted by at 8:52 pm

PDF Review: Unconventional Submarine Propulsion Systems

 drawings, history, Patreon, projects, ships  3 Responses »
Feb 212015
 

Modern submarines (like the Seawolf and Virgina classes) are often propelled not by propellers, but by pumpjets. These are shrouded turbines with a number of blades, looking much like the inlets and compressors of modern high bypass turbofans. They provide propulsive improvement, but apparently more importantly they are quieter than exposed propellers. However, the details of their designs are often obscure, for the obvious fact that they make submarines stealthier vehicles.

One of the few pumpjets I’ve seen shown in any detail comes from a 1963 General Dynamics report covering unusual propulsion system options for submarines. At this early date it’s safe to assume that the resemblance to a modern pumpjet is probably fairly minimal beyond the overall concept and configuration, but it’s still an interesting look at a rarely seen technology Additionally, the pumpjet is about the *least* unconventional of the concepts shown in detail, which include props that are fitted to a ring at the maximum diameter of the hull and separate, podded propulsion systems (a common enough design feature on many surface vessels today) and cycloidal propulsion systems. All of the systems are compared by assuming they are applied to SSB(N)-616 USS Lafayette, a ballistic missile sub.

DESIGN STUDY REPORT: A SURVEY OF CONVENTIONAL AND UNCONVENTIONAL SUBMARINE PROPULSION SYSTEMS

Pages from 342338 CONVENTIONAL AND UNCONVENTIONAL SUBMARINE PROPULSION SYSTEMS_Page_3 Pages from 342338 CONVENTIONAL AND UNCONVENTIONAL SUBMARINE PROPULSION SYSTEMS_Page_2 Pages from 342338 CONVENTIONAL AND UNCONVENTIONAL SUBMARINE PROPULSION SYSTEMS_Page_1

 

This report can be downloaded from the Defense Technical Information Center website.

The link to the abstract is here.

The direct link to the PDF file is here.

Support the APR Patreon to help bring more of this sort of thing to light!

patreon-200

 Posted by at 11:19 am

All prior APR Patreon Rewards

 blather, new products, Patreon, projects  No Responses »
Feb 192015
 

I’ve been pondering how to go about making the APR Patreon rewards available in a reasonably fair way. What I’ve come up with… patrons can now purchase the rewards bundled by the month they were made available. in other words… if you want the diagram from October, 2014, it comes with the documents and CAD diagram made available in October 2014, all in a single ZIP archive.

The documents and diagrams are available in the full-rez 300 (or better) dpi format. The CAD diagram is included in the 18X24 format. All bundles are $10 each. I’m not making the web address of the order form publicly known, but for simplicity it’s not being password protected. If you are interested in any of the prior APR Patreon rewards, either because you signed up several months in or because you were signed in for lower-rez rewards, you can now access the full-rez items.

The link to the order form is now available on the APR Patreon page for all patrons (as low as $0.75/month).

 Posted by at 12:45 am

ALASA

 art, projects, rockets, youtube  7 Responses »
Feb 062015
 

DARPA has released a shiny new video of the ALASA (Airborne Launch Assist Space Access) concept. The video seems to show a different design than that described HERE,  which describes the vehicle as using the same engines for both the first and second stages (thus why there are four “tractor” rockets). The vehicle would ditch the first stage propellant tanks and use the same engines for stage 2. But the video shows the first stage dropping off and takign the engines with it. This would seem to negate the value of using tractor rockets. Also, the propellant is said to be a mix of nitrous oxide and acetylene, mixed together and chilled, in a single tank. This would make the design simple. But it seems a little spooky to me; acetylene has the unfortunate habit of detonating on its own unless stabilized; perhaps nitrous oxide does that. Propellants made from mixes of liquid oxidizers and liquid fuels have been made to work before, but there are definite safety concerns.

 Posted by at 10:37 pm
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