Jun 102018
 

A Boeing illustration from 1964 showing a number of designs for lifting entry vehicles that Boeing had produced by that point. Most of these are manned vehicle concepts; a few of them are unfamiliar to me. The “B-3 —– B” looks like it might have been an ASSET competitor. The “Recoverable Booster” at top is one of several similar V-shaped designs that used a modestly modified Dyna Soar as the crew capsule up front. One such design was the Model 895 shown (along with competing ASP designs from other firms) in Aerospace Projects Review issue V2N5.

 

 Posted by at 12:19 am
Jun 082018
 

Bad news: the Chinese have already pilfered it.

What Secretive Anti-Ship Missile Did China Hack From The U.S. Navy?

The “Sea Dragon” is a mysterious missile program that began in 2015 and has already resulted in flight vehicles, with new versions being prepared for launch by submarines while submerged. The article suggests several possibilities of what the “Sea Dragon” might be… but one thing it does seem to be is the next missile design the Chinese will be building, since they managed to  swipe half a terabyte of data.

It’s great that the Navy might actually be developing something new. Not helpful is letting our enemies just copy the damn thing. Somebody needs a whoopin’.

 

 Posted by at 10:51 pm
Jun 062018
 

I was allowed to take a gander at a true piece of art: an old Colt M1911 pistol. There have been millions of these (according to Wiki, 2.7 million were procured for the US military alone), but this one may be a little special. The vast majority of the pistols were the improved M1911A1’s… but this is an M1911. Its serial number is 4482. That’s four thousand four hundred eighty two… out of at least 2.7 million. (That’s 0.00166, or in the first 0.166% of the production, if it means anything.) Reportedly, this particular pistol was made in 1913 for the US Marines, but I don’t know if that’s certain.

It’s by no means in mint condition, but it’s in certainly well-kept condition and complete, and it sends rounds downrange reliably and accurately.

So, the question is value. The owner is curious if it would go for a truckload of money, or if it should remain a family heirloom.

 Posted by at 8:39 pm
May 162018
 

… are the brain-damaged cowardly anti-liberty rubes that the likes of “Lil Hitler” Hogg would have us believe:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Posted by at 4:05 pm
May 122018
 

Dynetics has a UAV designed to be launched from and recovered in flight by larger aircraft. The UAV looks like a cruise missile, but is meant to carry a variety of recoverable payloads such as recon, communications and targeting systems. The video below kinda buries the lede: it starts off with several minutes of “meh” computer graphics, and *then* goes to video showing that important portions of the actual systems have been built and flight tested. They don’t seem to have gone as far as in-flight recovery of powered vehicles as yet.

The recovery rate planned for 2019 seems kinda slow: 4 in-flight recoveries in 30 minutes. *Eventually* I bet AI will get good enough that the recovery system will be reduced to approximately nothing, just a net *inside* the cargo bay. The Advanced Gremlin will just fly itself right into the rear door of the C-130  and shut its engine down, perfectly timed so that it is gently snagged in a net, and then a roboarm will swiftly reach out, grab the vehicle and put it in a rack. One recovery every few seconds. A *really* advanced system would have the Uber gremlins fly themselves straight into a rack, no roboarm needed.

 Posted by at 8:44 am
May 062018
 

OK, so, this:

VIDEO: Hollywood actress attends anti-gun protest — with armed guards

It’s a little difficult to see (by design), but the bodyguard has a pistol concealed under his coat, on his belt.You can see the firearm “printing” though his jacket starting at about the 1:00 point here:

But even if he was unarmed, the guard is skilled in using his physical size and presence to expel unarmed law-abiding people from a public space, something most people cannot do. In an unarmed group, the big strong guy has an immediate and undeniable advantage over the smaller and weaker members.

A well-known statement on the limits of the First Amendment is something along the lines of “you can’t yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater.” But, in fact, you *can.* *IF* there is an actual fire, then it is perfectly valid to do just that. Being honest and truthful is always a pretty iron-clad defense against things like libel and slander as well. So, here’s my suggestion to those who would attend public speeches by politicians and celebrities who are there to convince the people to give up their rights: find the inevitable armed guard that they are owed and that you, the Little people, are not. Examine them closely. Get them to move, without touching them or threatening them (use a “sacrificial” member of your group kinda like the guy in the video above who asked the guard if he was armed, prompting the guard to hustle the guy away). Then, when you are sure that the armed guard is indeed armed… do like a modern leftie and scream: “This man has a gun!” DON’T scream anything like “he’s gonna kill us all,” but stick *strictly* to the facts. There’s a gun. He’s hiding a gun. Gun. GUN.

It seems perfectly fair to point out at high volume that in an anti-gun gathering that there is someone in attendance concealing a gun.

 

 

 

 

 Posted by at 11:05 am
Apr 292018
 

Artwork was created for USBP 21 by Rob Parthoens depicting the Convair Submersible Nuclear Ramjet paying a visit to 1970’s-era Moscow. If you think that this looks like Project Pluto, you’re not far off; this was also a Mach 4, treetop-level nuclear ramjet powered bomber. But there were a few minor differences. Notice that little bump above the nose? That’s the cockpit, a necessary addition because this design was manned. It was also designed to operate as a submarine, cruising the oceans of the world faster than 100 knots before launching upwards and taking flight. Because the 1950’s were rather more optimistic when it came to technological advancement.

Be sure to check out US Bomber Projects issue 21 to read more about this design.

 Posted by at 8:18 pm
Apr 292018
 

Rewards have been issued to APR Patreon patrons for April, 2018. This month, the “Diagram” is a Sikorsky lithograph of a Heavy Lift Helicopter concept. The Documents include a US Army catalog of airborne weaponry; a paper describing possible additional missions for the Saturn launch vehicles, and BOAC brochure extolling the virtues of the Comet 4 jetliner. The CAD diagram is of the British Interplanetary Society’s “Deadalus” starship design.

 

If you are interested in helping to preserve (and get copies of) this sort of thing, consider signing up for the APR Patreon.

 

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 Posted by at 3:06 pm
Apr 262018
 

US Bomber Projects #21 and Spacecraft Projects #05 are now available.

US Bomber Projects #21

Cover art was provided by Rob Parthoens, www.baroba.be

US Bomber Projects #21 is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #21 includes:

  • Convair Submersible Nuclear Ramjet: a Mach 4 manned nuclear powered flying submarine
  • Bell MX-776: an early post-war pilotless airplane
  • Convair Manned Flyback Atlas: an unconventional recoverable ICBM
  • DTNSRDC PAR-WIG Strategic Deterrent: a low-flying aircraft packing 4 Trident ballistic missiles
  • Boeing Model 464-197: a supersonic B-52
  • Martin Model 151-K: a pre-war twin-engined medium bomber
  • Boeing Cruise Ballistic Missile: an entire aircraft packed into a silo, carrying an ICBM
  • MC-747 Air Mobile System: a 1973 concept for carrying up to seven ICBMs in a modified cargo jet

 

 

USBP #21 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4.25:

——–


US Spacecraft Projects #5

US Spacecraft Projects #05 is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #05 includes:

  • Project HORIZON Lunar Lander: a late 1950’s US Army concept for a manned Lunar lander
  • Lockheed-Martin Mars Ascent/Descent Vehicle: A very recent concept for a future manned Mars vehicle
  • JPL Interstellar Precursor: a 970’s design for a space probe to interstellar space
  • Lockheed Modular Rotating Space Station: a truly gigantic design circa 1970
  • Lockheed Payload Carrier: an early 1960’s spaceplane for space station logistics
  • Martin-Marietta Winged NIMF: a nuclear powered “hopper”
  • Lockheed CL-414: a capsule for Man in Space Soonest
  • NASA HAVOC: High Altitude Venus Operational Concept, a 2015 project for manned exploration of the atmosphere of Venus

USSP #05 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $5.25:

——–

 


The previous releases of US Aerospace Projects:

US VTOL Projects #2

  • 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 $4.25:

——–

 


US Research & Recon Projects #2

  • 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 $4.25:

——–

 

 Posted by at 11:18 pm
Apr 232018
 

Ex-NFL player Jay Feely says photo of daughter, prom date and gun was “joke”

And so of course people are offended and Mr. Feely has been hectored into issuing an apology.

There is a real issue here, though. He’s posed with is pistol. It’s supposed to be a *shotgun.* Jeez, everybody knows this.

 

 Posted by at 10:12 am