bomber – Page 12 – Aerospace Projects Review Blog

APR Patreon Back Issue Catalog NOW AVAILABLE

bomber, Dyna Soar, fighter, hi-rez, hypersonic, jetliner, launch vehicles, Patreon, Patreon catalog, rockets, space shuttle, space station, spacecraft, spaceplane, stealth, transports, VTOL No Responses »

Oct 302016

I’ve been running the Aerospace Projects Review Patreon project for a bit over two years now. Every month, Patrons get rewarded with sets of aerospace history stuff… currently, one large-format diagram or piece of artwork, three documents and, depending on level of patronage, an all-new CAD diagram of an aerospace subject of interest. More than two dozen such packages have been put together so far and distributed. Given that you can get in on this for as little as $1.50 a month (for 125-dpi scans… $4/month for full-rez 300 dpi scans) and you get at least four items, that’s a pretty good bargain compared to the individual aerospace drawings and documents.

Patrons who signed up after the process got underway can now get “back issues” of the previously released rewards packages. A catalog of more than the first years worth has just been posted; each month will see an updated catalog posted for Patrons to order from. So if you are interested, check out the APR Patreon page to see how to sign up; if you are already a patron, check out the catalog here.

Navaho Down

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Oct 112016

While Kennedy Space Center did not receive the apocalyptic death blow from hurricane Matthew that some were projecting, that doesn’t mean that the storm passed without causing damage. One sad casualty was the SM-64 Navaho missile and booster on display at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station; it has been *badly* damaged. Restoration will be a chore… assuming that it is restored.

These photos came to me from aviation historian/writer Dennis R. Jenkins. If you post ’em, make sure to point that out.

Northrop Low Altitude Penetrator

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Jul 292016

An artist used my diagrams of the Northrop Low Altitude Penetrator (a concept that competed against the design that became the B-2) to create a full-color layout. I wish I could work in color half as well…

The CAD vector-PDF, released in May:

And US Bomber Projects #2:

Which resulted in this:

The artist (Kurt Beswick) bounced an earlier version of the art off me and we discussed it for a bit. It was my opinion that a stealth bomber like this specifically designed to fly at near-treetop level (200 feet) would either be in green camouflage, or F-117 Nighthawk black. What do you think?

747 MX-launcher

bomber, hi-rez, jetliner, nukes, rockets 1 Response »

Jul 062016

Every now and then ebay provides some interesting items that are just plain too expensive. One such is a Boeing presentation on using the 747 to carry and air-launch MX ICBMs. The original Buy It Now price was over two grand; consequently, the document remained on ebay for something like a year. However, I negotiated down to $250. Still too expensive, but crowdfunding makes it reasonably affordable.

I currently have about 9 people interested in splitting the cost. Nine plus me means the cost is $25 per person… suddenly not quite so horrible. If more people come on board, the price will fall even more. Twenty people total drops it to $12.50 each. Thirty drops it to $8.33, and so on. Each contributor gets a complete high-rez scan of the document.

If you are interested in getting in on this, it’s open to APR Patreon patrons at all levels. Check out the APR Patreon for this and other rewards. The most recent posting at the APR Patreon has a place to comment and express your interest in getting a copy of this document.

The opportunity will be open until the document arrives in the mail, which should be a few days.

PDF Review: Aerospace Projects Clip Art

bomber, fighter, future projects, hypersonic, jetliner, launch vehicles, PDF Review, space shuttle, spaceplane, stealth, VTOL 1 Response »

Jun 252016

A heavily illustrated USAF brochure on turbine engine technology included, among a vast number of little photos of engines and aircraft, a few illustrations that might be of interest.

Several futuristic concepts here, several old ones. Of particular interest is the “Supersonic Multirole Fighter,” which looks like a cross between the old Lockheed Hopeless Diamond concept and the Northrop XST design… tailless with an inlet on top, with features reminiscent of the F-117, but blended rather than faceted.

Of these “Emerging Concept Needs,” several are distinctly old. The middle row of three designs are all 20+ year-old concepts.

New Vector-PDF Diagrams

bomber, CAD Diagrams, fighter, hi-rez, hypersonic, launch vehicles, rockets, space shuttle, spaceplane, stealth, US Bomber Projects, US Fighter Projects, US Launcher Projects, US Transport Projects No Responses »

May 302016

I’ve recently figured out how to get reliably good-quality vector graphic PDF files from my AutoCAD diagrams.These differ from standard “raster” graphics like GIFs and JPGs in that they are composed of scalable lines rather than pixels; this means that they can be printed off at many scales and they’ll retain clarity.

I think a lot of the diagrams would look quite good printed in large format; I’ve previously mentioned that I’m working on a few diagrams specifically for printing off on large format (24X36) mylar, but I’ve others that I think would also look good scaled for 18X24. I’m making these first seven diagrams available, formatted and scaled for 18X24. They can be viewed on screen, printed on a standard printer or printed by a large format printer all with equal clarity.

If this idea appeals, be sure to tell your friends, family, foes, anyone you think might be interested. Also be sure to comment if there are any diagrams I’ve previously created for APR, USXP or elsewhere that you’d like to see in this format. Some of them would be best as multi-sheet diagrams. Suggestions on how to improve also appreciated.

CAD 007: Northrop Low Altitude Penetrator

A 1/72 diagram of a 1979 design for a B-2 alternate configuration

Download for $3

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CAD 006

A 1/96 scale diagram of the 1979 Rockwell D645-4a spanloader bomber.

Download for $3

CAD 005

A 1/144 scale diagram of the Manned Spacecraft Center MSC Orbiter 020, a 1972 Space Shuttle concept with a single 260″ solid rocket booster.

Download for $3

CAD 004

A 1/350 scale diagram of the 1971 Boeing Resource Air Carrier (AKA RC-1, AKA “Brute Lifter”) designed as a flying oil tanker for the arctic.

Download for $3

CAD 003

A 1/72 scale diagram of the Martin-Marietta “Zenith Star” experimental space-based laser for the Strategic Defense Initiative.

Download for $3

CAD 002

A 1/24 diagram of the Lockheed “Harvey,” the initial concept for a low radar cross section strike platform that eventually became the F-117.

Download for $3

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CAD 001

A 1/32 diagram of the North American Rockwell D-541-4 “Surprise Fighter” from 1973, an early stealth concept designed to sneak up on Soviet AWACS planes.

Download for $3

Download all seven for $18.90 (10% off)

Graphics Design and USBP

bomber, US Bomber Projects, US Fighter Projects, US Launcher Projects, US Spacecraft Projects, US Transport Projects, US VTOL Projects 2 Responses »

May 012016

I admit that the USBP series looks kinda… bland. It’s text and line drawings; not a whole lot can be done to jazz that up. Especially since I have no head for graphics design whatsoever apart from layout diagrams.

Still, one reader sent me a mockup of a revised cover of USBP #18:

Things are moved around a little bit, but the obvious change is the addition of color. The suggestion was also made to consider color-coding each title in the USXP series. Just off the top of my head, I came up with:

Bombers: Olive Drab

Spacecraft: Black

Launch Vehicles: Blue on bottom, transitioning to black at the top

Fighters: slightly bluish gray (like the F-15 or F-22)

Transports: ??

VTOL: ??

The USBP#18 cover was re-done to reflect this, thusly:

Thoughts? Is this more appealing?How about color-coding… good idea or not? And if so, what colors?

I tried something vaguely like this once before, with USBP#05.

US Bomber Projects #18, Transport Projects #6 Now Available

bomber, hypersonic, jetliner, nukes, rockets, spaceplane, transports, US Bomber Projects, US Transport Projects 1 Response »

Apr 172016

Now available: two new US Aerospace Projects titles.

US Bomber Projects #18

US Bomber Projects #18 is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #18 includes:

Boeing Model 726-13: A nuclear pwoered bomber with the cockpit in the tail
Martin Model 164: A pre-war high altitude twin-tailed bomber
North American WS-110A: An early concept for what became the B-70, with “floating wingtips”
Convair MX-1593: An Early, large five-engined Atlas ICBM concept
Boeing Model 701-299-1: The final XB-59 supersonic bomber design
Boeing Model 464-72: A B-52 with pusher turboprops
Boeing F-15GSE Global Strike Eagle: An unmanned F-15 with a giant missile on its back General Dynamics – Light Weight Attack Configuration 29: An advanced ground attacker with vectored thrust

USBP #18 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4.25:

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US Transport Projects #6

US Transport Projects #06 is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #06 includes:

Lockheed CL-408-15: An early Mach 3 SST
Lockheed L-155-4: A very early 8-engine jetliner
Boeing Model 754-4V: A very-wide-bodied cargo hauler for Husky
Gates Learjet PD1502A: A four-seater with a turbofan
Convair Comet Seaplane: An American idea for turning a British jetliner into Flying Boat
Lockheed Twin C-5 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft: Two C-5’s mated together to carry a Shuttle between them
Boeing Model 765-096 Rev A “SUGAR Volt”: A hybrid jetliner
CRC HOT EAGLE – Super Global Troop Transport: Finally, hard data on a rocket transport for Special Forces and Marines

USTP #06 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4.25:

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And don’t forget…

US Fighter Projects #1 and US VTOL Projects #1 are still new and still available!

CCV bomber

bomber 1 Response »

Apr 012016

This image was passed along to me; it came from an ebay auction from some time in the past. No further info than this illustration, but it is clearly a Boeing “control configured vehicle” bomber concept.

I know it’s a Boeing design because a year and a half ago I lost out on an ebay auction for another piece of concept art showing the same aircraft, this time with “Boeing” clearly visible on the engine nacelle:

And I know it’s a Controlled Configured Vehicle because in the early 1970’s, Boeing studied a bomber that was very similar in configuration to this, known as the “CCV-100-2.” There are some obvious differences, such as the cockpit canopies and the engine inlets, but the overall configurations are very similar. The CCV-100-2 received a tiny bit of press in Aviation Week, and was granted a design patent for the overall shape. Sadly, I do not have anything on performance or dimensions; if anyone *does* know more about this, please let me know.

Zielpunkt: NYC

bomber, hypersonic, rockets, spaceplane 1 Response »

Mar 052016

I managed to finagle a complete full-color scan of an original copy of Eugen Sanger’s 1944 report, Uber einen Raketenantrieb fur Fernbomber (A Rocket Drive for Long Range Bombers). A “meh” quality B&W PDF of an English-language translation of the report has been available online for a while, but it seems to me that the world needs a proper high-rez version of the original, in color where appropriate.

One of the pages I’ve cleaned up from the new scan shows the statistical damage potential if New York City was regularly targeted by a very large number of bombs. This image, at least a black-and-white English-translated version, several generations removed from the original, is reasonably well-known and commonly reproduced… and as described a few years back, is generally described wrong.

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