Oct 132009
 

Now available is a Boeing digram for a 1/20-scale BOMARC display model. This shows the missile in good detail, giving dimensions and cross-sections. Perfect for anyone wanting to scratchbuild a BOMARC either static model or flying model rocket. Or for the truly adventurous, a flying RC model… preferable with a solid rocket booster in the fuselage and two turbine units in the “ramjet” pods. The drawing is in grayscale and is 11031X7184 pixels, and comes with a half-size version for easier viewing and printing.

The BOMARC drawing can be downloaded for $5.50.


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 Posted by at 7:30 am
Oct 072009
 

This is not the best photo, but time is short and it’ll do the job. Below you can see the parts after they’ve been 3-D “printed” and cleaned up & finished by yours truly. They are now boxed up for shipment to Fantastic Plastic. What’s shown below is not a complete kit, but instead the unique parts. Some parts will be cast multiple times… two boats, 4 taxies, 3 turret bays & turrets, etc. The pistons will be provided by way of lengths of tubing, the pusher plate by a  sheet of plastic to be trimmed to shape (casting a resin pusher plate in scale would have been nightmarish, given that it’s be thin as cardstock).

When the parts were briefly assembled, it looked to be a fairly meaty, impressive kit.

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 Posted by at 7:09 pm
Oct 042009
 

Note that the description given in the actual auction is not accurate.

HUGHES PROTOTYPE MODEL XV-9A HOT CYCLE HELICOPTER

From estate of late military helicopter test pilot and holder of Sikorsky built helicopter speed record comes this unique-one of a kind- sturdy resin model on heavy aircraft grade aluminum plinth, with terrain finish. Please check out enclosed link showing the actual prototype. I believe only one was ever built and it was basically a patchwork piece assembled with parts from other military aircraft. The “Hot Cycle” technology did not pan out and the aircraft was never put into production. This model purchased from test pilot’s son in Southern California, shows an obviously different design in the rotor and tail structure as well as the placement of the engines. Therefore my one of a kind claim. I will let my pictures do the talking, should you need more………no problem…I will need your email address included with request. The piece will weigh 11 lbs including packaging and will be disassembled for safety in transit. The plinth and arm are the heaviest parts of the unit.

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Note… this is *not* a model of the XV-9. That was a helicopter that actually flew, using the “Hot Cycle” system… turbojet exhaust was ducted through the central into the hollow mast, through the hub, and down ducts through the rotors to nozzles at the tips. This would spin the rotors without the need for a direct mechanical drive, eliminating most of the torque that conventional helicopter drives produce – and thus eliminating the need for a tail rotor. While in development, Hughes engineers had the idea that an advanced application of the Hot Cycle system would be to spin up three-bladed “Y-Wings,” which could, once the vehicle was airborne and moving forward at a good clip, stop their rotation and be fixed in place as wings. This would drastically reduce drag and increase high-speed efficiency. So they drew up a series of “Y-Wing” vehicles… one of which is currently being auctioned on eBay, seen above. Numerous variations on the concept were designed, with varying ratios of “rotor size” to “hub size,” but all were meant to be high-speed aircraft that could take off and land vertically in the manner of a helicopter. Unfortunately, the XV-9 itself, with otherwise normal helicopter rotors, was a fuel hog, as well as loud. The Y-Wing in hover would have burned through fuel like it was throwing it overboard.

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 Posted by at 3:32 pm
Oct 022009
 

Back when Boeing was bidding on the TFX (what became the F-111), they studied a *vast* array of designs, some of which were very unusual… and some futuristic, such as VTOL versions and a stealthy design that featured blending much like a modern stealth fighter. At one point they seem to have hosted some sort of open house, displaying a number of these designs in wind-tunnel model form.

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 Posted by at 3:37 pm
Oct 012009
 

RARE BOEING JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER DESK MODEL PROTOTYPE!

 Here is a S-U-P-E-R and I really do mean super RARE desk top model of the never produced Boeing JSF Joint Strike Fighter! What makes this one rare? This 1:48 scale desk top model was not made from a kit, and not a mass produced factory made model, no. This is a urethane, hand made prototype made in the Boeing model shop. It comes in it’s original Boeing box, and did I mention how scarce this type of model is? This is the only one, and is being offered here at NO reserve! I had to seriously pry this out of friends collection recently by trading three of my models for this one rarity.

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 Posted by at 9:57 am
Sep 282009
 

This illustration has been floating around for a good long while, but unfortuantely, no data seems to come along with it. It is an actual honet-to-Odin General Dynamics PR glossy, not fan art (this particular copy comes from the Jay Miller collection). What it appears to show is an F-111 with a stretched fuselage, and that fuselage stretch containing doors for three or four lift jets (or perhaps 6 or 8… the “doors” visible in this view seem to be on the port side of the fuselage, not on the centerline, indicating that there may be matching features on the starboard side). But the exhaust pipes for the main engines at the tail show no indication of being vectorable, which would argue against VTOL. So just what the hell is this? Are those lift jets, but only used to provide STOL performance? Is it a true VTOL, with some vertical thrust at the tail that’s not apparent in this view? Or are those doors for something else… nto lift jets, but an unconventional weapons system?

Another thought occurs. Along with being streched, the fuselage is also a bit deeper, with unusual “chines” along the lower edge. This presents the appearance of a flying boat hull. Could this be an *amphibious* F-111… with the doors on the upper surface perhaps being secondary inlets used while on the water? Perhaps an amphibious F-111 with additional lift jets to get it clear of the water ASAP?

It would be nice to know.

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If you like this sort aerospace history and/or the other stuff I post, you can support the cause by Buying My Stuff, which includes aerospace drawings and documents, as well as the journal of unbuilt aircraft and spacecraft projects, Aerospace Projects Review. Or you could just Donate.

 Posted by at 10:35 am
Sep 262009
 

One of Boeings earliest Dyna Soar designs, dating from about March, 1958. Terribly ’50’s in design, looks like a hood ornament. All angles and fins, including two ventral fins which would have had a hell of a time surviving re-entry. This image is made from two separate kinda blurry photos of presumably the same display model.

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 Posted by at 3:06 pm
Sep 202009
 

A slightly later Boeing concept for using a Dyna Soar-like spaceplane as a lunar lander/Earth return vehicle. This one was likely designed to a higher degree of fidelity. I base this on two facts:

1) It has a much more realistic “Earth return vehicle size to launch vehicle size” ratio

2) It comes equipped with a Boeing model number (830-718) and weight numbers.

Scale can be roughly estimated by the tiny little figure at the bottom.

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 Posted by at 5:52 pm
Sep 172009
 

A day or two back the mail dropped off the 3-D “printed” version of the 1/288 Orion Battleship. Since then I’ve been busily sanding, filling and polishing. The engineering of it turns out to have *largely* been spot-on, although I did model a few small areas that when printed were just too thin. Not to worry, revising these blips won’t take too long.

The turret turned out surprisingly well. I’m have photos in a day or two.

If you want the details on jsut what the Orion Battleship was, see HERE.

 Posted by at 12:31 am