Finished this one tonight. The main line thickness is somewhat exaggerated here.
May 112021
May 092021
Might have noticed that blogging has been reduced mostly to posting YouTube vids and very brief grumbles of late. It’ll probably be much the same or even less for the next month or two… I’m hard at work on “B-47/B-52” and that takes precedence. Just passed 200 pages of diagrams; a few more left to do, but text is the current priority and I’m a slower writer than draftsman (and I don’t draft that fast).
Side note: Amazon has decided that I might be interested in these. Amazing! How do it know?
May 072021
Amazon sent me a link to a book it thought I might like:
Does that Amazon AI know me or what?
FYI: Here’s my other computer screen at the moment…
Apr 302021
Here is an incomplete look at the diagrams created for my first book, “Boeing B-47 Stratojet and B-52 Stratofortress; Origins & Evolution.” It can be pre-ordered either directly from the publisher (with publication expected in late September) or through Amazon (looks like they’ll have it two months later). It is also expected to be on certain store shelves… more on that when it’s confirmed.
A few of these diagrams will be compressed to several-per-page; a few of them here are already shown in multiple optional layouts. But there are also a dozen-ish diagrams *not* shown because they are incomplete as yet. This gives an indication of the size and scope of the project…
Apr 272021
My publisher has gone public with Book One, entitled
Boeing B-47 Stratojet and B-52 Stratofortress; Origins & Evolution
Woo!
It is being published by Mortons out of Britain, is scheduled for release at the end of September, and is going to be around 250 to 280 pages (I’m still furiously working away at it). As those who have seen my work may assume, it will be loaded to the gills with diagrams, in this case covering the competitors to the B-47 and B-52, the original concepts, how the designs evolved and many of the proposed and built derivatives. You can pre-order at the link above. I’m getting confirmation on availability in the States… Amazon and Barnes & Noble and other sources. Will report back on that, but it does look like both outlets will carry it.
I will post more details – including glimpses of diagrams and some of the color art created for the book by Rob Parthoens – in the coming days. Feel free to ask questions.
Note: Book Two has not yet gone public. But Book Two should be published *first* since it is finished and edited; I’ve seen and approved the layout. All it’s missing right now is cover art, which is in process.
And…behold! An Amazon link, listing it as available in late November/early December. Just in time for Chrisnukkwanzayulmass! Note though that the “150 page” length listed there is incorrect… came from the original placeholder text.
Apr 232021
Some important news:
Book One: Started in January of 2020, it was scheduled to be turned in in July of 2020… but a pandemic came along and trashed the planetary economy. the publisher pushed the deadline back a year. Today I saw the probable layout for the cover, as well as finished another 3-view bring the total to 191.5 pages of diagrams. Quite a few more to go.
Book Two: started a month or so after Book One was delayed, it’s to be a smaller work. The manuscript was turned in a month ago. Today I saw a near-final revision of the layout, with some corrections to be made. Around 109 or so distinct designs are illustrated; some two or more to a page, some taking two pages to illustrate. A number of inboard profile/plan views.
It seems that Book One is likely to be announced Real Soon Now, now that the cover is worked out. At that time, the details of the publisher, format and contents will be made available.
Mar 132021
Moments ago I sent off the final chapter, text and diagrams, of Book Two to the publisher. It needs a fair bit of editing, and the diagrams will need adjusting… but it is in an important sense *done.*
Now, to finish Book One…
Nov 052020
In the long long ago this blog focused far more on “unbuilt aerospace projects.” Last few years it has become far more about the culture war/war on western civilization/The Crazy Years. This is not how I would have it… but then if it were up to me society wouldn’t be going crazy either, cities would not be getting trashed, Antifa and their violence and criminality promotion would be the stuff of alternate realities, the likely next President and the likely next *next* President would not be promising to toss me, my friends and family into federal prison. This sort of thing can kinda come to dominate a discussion.
All that said, aerospace is never far from my mind or my efforts. The thing is, though, my efforts have been devoted to a few books that I’ve got contracts to produce. This is a new sort of thing, and it is unsurprisingly a substantial time-sink. And since the publisher has not gone public with the books (they won’t until after the manuscripts are turned in next year), there’s not a lot I can say about them publicly.
*THAT* said, below is a render of a little CAD model I’ve recently made. The model is not the subject of the book; but it has been made for the purposes of making *one* diagram of a vehicle that incorporates this. One might argue that this is going a bit far for a small part of a diagram; this part of the diagram might be only an inch or so long. But while it is possible that these books might see a Second Edition, at this point I’m working under the assumption that I’m only doing this once, so I want to do it right.
So I still spend a whole lot of time with aerospace. It just doesn’t translate to blog postings right now.
Oct 182020
As of yesterday, the diagram count for Book Two surpassed one hundred. The spreadsheet lists a bit short of 160, but I think it’ll realistically top out at 120-ish. The final product may have notably fewer; many of the designs feature two and even three separate diagrams (for 2 to 3 separate pages), including not only general arrangements but also inboard views, sections, undersides, scrap views and the like. The publisher will decide whether or not to include them all, trading off size vs. cost. But progress, while slower than I’d hoped, is still moving forward.
Jul 092020
Several recommendations have come in over the years to set up an APR Discord server… which has now been done. I’m still in the process of configuring it and figuring it all out, but once it’s up and running it will serve as sort of a backup to the APR blog. It is something that seems to be available solely via invitation, so there will be some other little features it’ll have… such as, probably, even more restricted discussion forums specifically about Book 1 and Book 2 (“Book X” and “Book XX,” whatever) where I will describe them and post preview images such as representative diagrams, lists of vehicles to be illustrated, possibly early stabs at cover art, etc.
Subscribers to the APR Patreon and the Monthly Historical Documentation Program will all get invites when the time comes. I’m thinking of inviting the higher-level patrons/subscribers into the Book1 & 2 subforums. At the moment it’s pretty bare… there are channels for “Aircraft projects,” “spacecraft projects,” “aerospace news,” “aircraft – built” (as opposed to “projects), “general” (which is just for discussion of the APR Discord server itself) and “US Aerospace Projects,” which will go into further detail about the USxP issues I’ve released and plan to release.
If anyone has experience with such things, feel free to leave recommendations and suggestions in the comments.