The most recently finished diagram took several days. The references were clear and detailed… and difficult to suss out in some ways, a common issue with aircraft that had deployable bits.
Oct 262022
Oct 152022
Photos of a physical copy, fresh from the printer, somewhere in the wilds of Britain. UK/EU buyers should start receiving them shortly, I’d imagine.
The ordering link straight from the publisher:
US Supersonic Bomber Projects
And the updated Amazon link:
US Supersonic Bomber Projects Paperback – December 23, 2022
As previously mentioned, if you are interested in a signed, dated and bonus-print copy, let me know so I know how many to order.
Oct 122022
I’m at work on a new series of CAD diagrams (see HERE for the first run) to be released as PDFs formatted for printing at 18X24. For example, here are first drafts of a few:
- Boeing Space Sortie (3 sheets)
- Saturn C-8/Nova
- Jules Verne’s “Columbiad”
- A-12 Avenger II (2 sheets)
- Lockheed CL-400 “Suntan”
All of these require a bit more dressing-up, as well as explanatory text. But I think they’re starting to look pretty good.
I’ve selected a fair number more to work on. If any of these are of particular interest, or if any of the many, many diagrams I’ve made over the years would be of interest, let me know.
- BIS “Daedalus” straship
- Rockwell MRCC
- Northrop Tacit Blue
- Space Shuttle Main Engine
- Boeing Bird of Prey
- General Atomic 86-foot Orion
- General Atomic Orion battleship
- General Atomic 10-meter Orion
- Martin SeaMistress
- Space Launch System
- Have Sting orbital railgun
- Casaba Howitzer
- X-20 Dyna Soar
- B-47E
- DB-47E/Bold Orion
- DB-47E/RASCAL
- B-52G
- B-52H
- B-52H/Skybolt
- Boeing Space Freighter
- Boeing Big Onion
- Shuttle C
- Rockwell Star Raker
- Lockheed STAR Clipper
- Lockheed SR-71
- Lockheed A-12 (early canards)
- Lockheed A-12
- Lockheed A-12 (honeycomb panels)
- Lockheed A-12 “Titanium Goose”
- Lockheed YF-12A
- Lockheed M-21/D-21
- Lockheed AP-12
- Republic YF-103
- North American XF-108
- Bell MX-2147
- Convair Kingfish
Oct 042022
My third book, “US Supersonic Bomber Projects Vol 1” is, as I understand it, somewhere between “being printed” and “being shipped.” I am thus hard at work on Volume 2. I had hoped to also do a Volume 3, but that is unlikely: Volume 3 would be “Space Bombers.” However, apparently the market for “space” is nothing like what it is for “aviation,” so the idea has been nixed. There is official interest in several other works I’ve planned, so properly published books seem likely to continue for some time.
That said: while the market for “space” is less than the market for “aviation,” my own interest in the two is about equal. And I would be happy to sell works at a number substantially lower than a professional, proper publisher would. A publisher would have books on bookstore or grocery store shelves, while I would only sell from my little website. And if I’m not incredibly stupid about it (no guarantee of that, of course), a self-published book would, theoretically, bring in more on a per-book basis than one done through a publisher. So I’m contemplating something like a Kickstarter for “Space Bombers.”
As currently laid out, this book would be almost overwhelmingly “The Book Of Dyna Soar,” as the bulk of (available) American space-based bombardment studies revolved around that program. However, it would extend well beyond Dyna Soar, including Orion and other strategic orbital weapons systems studied back in the sixties, on up through much more recent studies including aerospaceplanes and bombers based on the X-33/Venturestar/RLV studies. Being self published I would not be locked into a set page count and, perhaps, could include foldouts and perhaps more color art (depending on funding). This could be released as both an Ebook and a softcover… and, depending on length, a hardback. Other “extras” could include 18X24 or 24X36 prints of diagrams, perhaps on something like mylar.
I am *far* from setting up a Kickstarter for this. I’ve seen a lot of people get *really* mad about funding this or that project and then watching it slip far behind schedule, so I wouldn’t even start a crowdfunding campaign until it was substantially complete. There are a number of topic areas that I really want to delve into more deeply via FOIA and whatnot, a process that has become far more troublesome in recent years. At this point it’s in the “this is an idea to think about” stage. But I am interested in any input on the subject… thoughts on crowdfunding, ideas about subjects to add and, as always, input of documentation on the topic that you might have that you think I may not.
Sep 222022
It’s my understanding that my next bookazine should be printed within a week or so. So I think I can post a few teaser images (screenshotted from the penultimate digital proof) to get the idea across (if you don’t see images below, it’s probably because either your adblocker is overly enthusiastic or the APR website is blocked for some reason):
If you would like to order a copy, there are three main routes:
1) For those in Europe, by far the best approach will likely be by ordering directly through Mortons, link HERE, or on bookstore shelves.
2) For those in the US, the less expensive approach will *probably* be through Amazon (link HERE, though still preliminary), though probably taking longer than directly from Mortons, and the possibility of finding them on bookstore shelves.
3) For those who want the Extra Special Edition and say “damn the schedule and never mind the cost,” I will *probably* have a few signed copies available. As with my prior two books, these will have an additional pair of 18X24-inch prints of diagrams from the book. These will *probably* run about $25, including shipping to the US (if you want them shipped out of the US, the shipping prices gets ludicrous… don’t blame me). They’ll be signed and dated and numbered in order of receipts. If you would be interested in this version, send me an email so I can make sure I have enough on hand for that. My email: 
Sep 162022
An Aerojet diagram comparing the Trident I (C-4) and Trident II (D-5) submarine launched ballistic missiles, showing the significantly larger size of the latter
The full-rez version of this scan has been uploaded into the 2022-09 APR Extras Dropbox folder. It is available to all APR Patrons/Subscribers at the $4/month level and above. If you would like to help fund the acquisition and preservation of such things, please consider signing on either for the APR Patreon or the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program.
Sep 062022
I looked through a small fraction of my surprisingly vast pile of CAD diagrams for some I thought might look good in really large format. Some I’ve gone some distance towards formatting them that way already; some are still formatted for small sheets. There are more, of course. In no particular order.
Lockheed CL-400 “Suntan”
Lockheed M-21/D-21:
Lockheed A-12:
Lockheed SR-71A:
Lockheed YF-12A:
X-20 Dyna Soar/Titan III:
A number of 10-Meter Orion vehicles/sub-vehicles:
USAF 10-meter Orion:
General Dynamics “Kingfish:”
North American XF-108:
Lockheed A-12 concept w/canards:
Boeing B-47E:
Boeing B-52G:
Boeing B-52H:
Boeing B-52H + Skybolt:
Boeing DB-47E + Bold Orion:
Rockwell Star Raker:
Boeing “Big Onion” SSTO:
Boeing Space Freighter:
NASA Saturn C-8:
Lockheed STAR Clipper:
Sep 052022
Back in 2016 I released seven PDFs of CAD diagrams formatted for printing at 24X36 inches (those are shown after the break). This was another product line that didn’t exactly blow up the market, and no further diagrams were released. But now that I have two books of CAD diagrams released, and two more coming (and potentially more after that), I’m considering trying again. The Lockheed CL-400 Suntan, A-11, A-12, SR-71, YF-12, along with several B-47 and B-52 related designs are possible, as well as designs that aren’t from those books (X-20 Dyna Soar, several Orion vehicles, etc.). If this sounds interesting, let me know; if there is something specific you might be interested in, let me know.
Aug 262022
Mortons has announced my “Book 3,” They list it as available September 30… but I would expect it to come out a bit later than that. Well before Christmas, though.
US Supersonic Bomber Projects
This is Volume 1. I’m hard at work on Volume 2. A Volume 3 is *possible,* though uncertain just yet. Volume 1 covers the evolution of and derivative designs from the “official” bomber programs… B-58, B-59, B-68, B-70. B-1, A-5 and F-111. This covers, where possible, designs that competed for the contract. As with all my works, this is heavily illustrated with line diagrams, as accurate as I can make them.
This will eventually also be available through Amazon. THIS appears to be a placeholder for the listing. When released, it should be available directly through Mortons first, but for US buyers Amazon will have lower shipping cost.
Aug 012022
This is not for me. Instead, I was contacted by Someone Some Of You Might Know (and whose work *all* of you should know), who is working on a project and needs a bit of help. Specifically, dimensioned, accurate, detailed diagrams of the Weber ejection seat used on the F-106:
Sadly, this is the best I seem to have on hand:
Anybody have anything they can share or point to?