I’d planned on having these done a few days ago, but as I’ve reported recently, CAD drafting has been difficult of late. Nevertheless I forged through, and here’s a preview of the next three things I plan to release.
Oct 132014
Oct 132014
While my right arm theoretically heals up (I hopped a ride to the doc at o’dark thirty this AM, waited around for an hour till they showed up, got an X-Ray and a jab right in the damage with a shot of cortisone and pain reliever, and the tentative diagnosis is simple tendonitis, though there may be a bone spur that’ll need to be Dremel’ed off), my ability to do CAD drafting is seriously compromised. Still trying to make some progress, and I hope to have something to show later today.
So rather than just sit around and do nothing, I’m sitting around and doing scanning. One of these decades I’d like to have scanned in everything I have, which would be a neat trick, but every little bit helps. Some things are just photocopies of journal articles and the like. One was something I’d been looking for for a while, and couldn’t find when actively searching for it (but which turned up when searching for something else), Gerard K. O’Neill’s 1974 Physics Today article on space colonization via vast rotating cylinders. hat has now been scanned in an uploaded to the APR Patreon “creations” section, as a downloadable bonus for all APR Patrons.
I’ve a bunch more things like this that I plan on posting for APR Patreon patrons of various levels. These are all, of course, in addition to the promised “rewards.” All the “creations” get wiped out at the end of each monthly billing cycle, so if you’d like to get in, time’s a-wastin’…
Oct 102014
The October rewards for the APR patrons have been released. They include:
PDF document: “A Recoverable Air Breathing Booster,” A Chrysler study from 1964 for a strap-on booster system for the Saturn Ib incorporating additional H-1 rocket engines and jet engines for recovery.
PDF Document: “XF-103 Descriptive Data,”a Lockheed collection of information on the then-current XF-103. This is from a Lockheed collection of information on competitors designs.
Large format diagram scan: the Boeing Advanced Theater Transport. A later version of the tilt-wing “Super Frog.”
And for the higher-end patrons, a CAD diagram of an early NACA-Langley design for what would become the X-15.
If you would like to access these items and support the cause of acquiring and sharing these pieces of aerospace history, please visit my Patreon page and consider contributing.
Oct 072014
In 1972 the Holland America cruise ship S.S. Statendam set sail for a spot off the coast of Florida where the passengers got to watch the launch of Apollo 17. Also held on board was the 4th Conference on Planetology and Space Mission Planning. This conference, as described at http://up-ship.com/blog/blog/?p=6879 , was a complete disaster. It was a sad, sad tale of lost opportunities and odd choices. It has also largely faded from memory.
I have a photocopy of the brochure selling the cruise and conference, and have scanned it in as a PDF. The quality is not spectacular, but it’s nevertheless an interesting bit of aerospace history. I’ve posted the PDF for $5 APR Patreon patrons over HYAR.
Sep 202014
After a bit of a delay, the September rewards have been released. These include a large-format inboard profile of the North American Aviation F-108 Rapier Mach 3+ interceptor:
And “Notes on Space Technology,” a compilation of notes by the Flight Research Division of the NACA Langley Research Center based on a space technology course given in the early part of 1958. A hefty 670+pages in length, this covered just about every aspect of space travel as understood in 1958. While I haven’t read the whole thing, it appears to be not only of historical interest, but also useful to get a pretty good general grasp of space travel science, principles and technologies.
Also included for the higher level patrons are three CAD diagrams:
Boeing Bird of Prey stealth, manufacturing and materials testing prototype aircraft from the 1990’s
Zenith Star experimental space based laser anti-missile system, 1988
Hypersonic Test Vehicle 2, a maneuverable hypersonic glider for missile-launched warheads
The September rewards are about a week and a half late in being released. Since I hope to get the October rewards out a little earlier than normal, that means that the September releases will probably be available for a short time.
If you would like to access these items and support the cause of acquiring and sharing these pieces of aerospace history, please visit my Patreon page and consider contributing.
Sep 042014
Issues 09 and 10 of US Bomber Projects is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #09 includes:
- Boeing Model 464-33-0: A turboprop B-52 predecessor
- Consolidated Army Bombardment Flying Wing: A ground attacker with an extreme mode of attack
- GE Supersonic System 6X: A Mach 3 nuclear-powered bomber
- Convair B/J-58: A supercuising version of the Hustler
- Boeing model 484-2-2: AB-58 competitor
- Northrop 464L: A blended wing/body spaceplane
- Martin Model 223-9: a 1944 step on the road to the XB-48
- Boeing Model 800-15A: A Mach 3.5 hydrogen fueled design of incredible range
USBP#09 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4:
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Issue #10 includes:
- Boeing Model 464-34-3: A turboprop B-52 predecessor
- Martin Model 192-5: A medium-sized flying wing
- Republic Mach 7: a relatively small high-speed design
- Convair WS-125A: A large nuclear powered supersonic design
- Boeing model 484-415: A jet-powered supersonic flying boat
- Boeing 464L: Boeings first Dyna Soar
- Martin Model 223-10: a 1944 step on the road to the XB-48
- Lockheed CL-1301-1: A very small VTOL ground attacker
USBP#10 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4:
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Sep 032014
US Bomber Projects issues 09 and 10 are now done, and will be available for sale just as soon as I get all the requisite website blahblah worked out. Hopefully tonight. I have issues 11 and 12 planned out, though still quite a bit of drafting to do.
The USBP series has been modestly successful (not blisteringly so, but ok, I guess…). I’m pondering doing the same format but with something other than bombers. Other concepts include:
- US Fighter Projects
- US Transport Projects (jetliners, cargo, civvies, SSTs, HSTs, etc.)
- US Recon & Experimental Projects
- US Launch Vehicle Projects
- US Spacecraft Projects (spaceplanes, moon landers, Mars ships, etc.)
- US Helicopter Projects
So, a few questions for commentors:
1) What did I leave out?
2) What would you most like to see? Some of these have a much bigger database to work from than others, of course.
Aug 192014
With the recent cat illnesses, serious dropoff in business and increase in vet bills, stress levels hereabouts have been at near-historic levels. But hey, at least I haven’t yet contracted a life threatening case of bronchitis in 2014 (that’s me, always looking on the bright side). One of the consequences of stress is a decrease in lesser creativity… I might still be able to creatively think myself out of some emergency situation, but art? Feh. Gone.
Fortunately, things are starting to crawl back towards the normal only-slightly-apocalyptic level of DOOM stress, and creativity is starting to slooowly return. So, some updates:
Jul 212014
For $10 patrons on my Patreon campaign, a new message should appear there asking you to vote on what I’ll release in August (two documents and one large format diagram). For those who are $10 patrons, here’s a partial list anyway… if you see something there and you really want to make sure it becomes available, well, the obvious thing to do is sign on and vote!
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Drawing: fairly detailed 3-view of Lunar Roving Vehicle (as actually flown to the moon)
Drawing: “Plans for Scale Model Construction of the Honest John Surface-to-Surface Missile” by McDonnell-Douglas, 1971 (does anyone know of more of these???)
Document: “Douglas Aircraft Company: An Overview,” 60+ page brochure showing existing and proposed jetliners, by McDonnell-Douglas, ca. 1980
Art: a vintage lithograph of the Lockheed L-2000 SST in flight, w/3 view on the back.
Document: “CT-39 International Sabreliner,” a Rockwell International booklet/brochure describing the multipurpose utility jet
Document: “Air Force Expeditionary Catapult,” a truly massive billet of paper serving as a proposal from the All American Engineering Company for the System 300 Catapult, 1955. This was to be a turbojet-powered cable launching system for jet fighters which could be easily transported and set up in the field. (NOTE: this one counts as two reports, as it’s fairly gigantic)
Document: Aeroassisted Flight Experiment Nonadvocate Review, 1989, NASA
Document: Pocket Data for Rocket Engines, 1953, Bell
Document: SAM-D Air Defense Weapon System, 1973, US Army
Document: Pilots Handbook of Operation XLR11-RM-3 & XLR11-RM-5, liquid Rocket Engines, 1950, Reaction Motors
Art: X-15 lithograph (date unknown)
Document: The Centaur Program, 1961, Convair
Document: Orbiter Vehicle Structures, Rockwell
Document: An integrated Moonmobile-Spacesuit Concept, 1961, Aerojet
Document: The Intercontinental Stratoliner 707-320, 1955, Boeing
Document: Douglas DC-8 Design Study, 1953, Douglas
Document: Transport Weight Comparison Based on Lockheed 49-10, 1943, Lockheed
Document: ETR Launch Operations Plan for Cenaur on Shuttle, 1979, General Dynamics
Diagram: MD-11 wing diagram, six-feet long: McDonnel-Douglas, 1995
Document: A Lockheed presentation on the GL-224 Turbo-Jet VTOL Aircraft, 1958
Document: A Project RAND report on the GG-2 all-wing bomber, 1949
Document: A small Rockwell brochure on the “common core” concept for a fixed-wing subsonic B-1 variant, 1979 4) A presentation on the Douglas “Skybus,” 1944
Document: A NAA report on a turboprop-powered F-82E for ground attack, 1949
Document: A Curtis report on the twin engined F-87C, 1948
Document: A Vertol report on VTOL transport aircraft, showing several very different configurations, 1956
Document: A Lockheed presentation to the AIAA on the history of the Fleet Ballistic Missile, 1978
Document: A collection of Manned Spacecraft Center Space Shuttle orbiter concepts, 1972
Document: A Convair collection of design drawings of an Assault Seaplane, 1948 (NOTE: this one counts as two reports, as it’s fairly gigantic)
Document: A Vought report on the Regulus II missile with detailed diagrams, 1955
Jul 182014
A while back I took a stab at printing cyanotype blueprints on canvas (the kind used by artists for painting on). After a rough start, I managed to get the process to work pretty well. It’s more complex and substantially more expensive than cyanotype printing on vellum paper, so I don’t know if I’ll make canvas blueprints available for regular sale like the paper versions. Still, I’ve put the first three successes on ebay if anyone is interested:
“Little Boy” atom bomb blueprint on canvas
“Fat Man” atom bomb blueprint on canvas
Dual Saturn V blueprint on canvas
