Scheduled for Friday at 4:30 PM west coast time.
Dec 012022
Nov 232022
The Grumman Advanced Stealthy Penetrator (GASP) received a fair amount of exposure in the mid 1980’s by way of artists concepts published in aviation magazines and the like. Actual technical information has remained elusive; the total pile of artwork and photos of a display model would permit the creation of reasonably good layout diagrams, but dimensions and performance remain wholly unavailable. The GASP would most likely have been intended for strike applications rather than air supremacy.
Shown below is a PR image showing, presumably, a Grumman engineer at work on a 3D CAD diagram of the GASP. This image dates from no later than 1984, so the CAD system was a pretty early one (though by no means the *earliest* CAD system). It would be interesting if the files were still in existence and could be imported into a modern CAD system… but that’s not something I’d hold out a lot of hope for. Artists impressions that show the cockpit seem to indicate that this was a sizable vehicle, though such judgements are difficult to take fully seriously.
Nov 222022
A bit short of a week ago I posted artwork of a “Boeing Advanced Fighter.” This led to the re-discovery of the actual model number 987-350 (I knew it some time back, but my brain is full I guess). And that led to the below CAD diagram, coming in just under the wire for a forthcoming book. The 987-350 was a tactical supercruiser; armament is unfortunately left a bit vague in the available documentation. The artwork depicts it with four folding-fin AGM-69 SRAM missiles; another diagram depicts it with two larger-diameter missiles of similar length. All were to be semi-submerged for low drag.
Nov 172022
Another early 80s advanced fighter concept from Boeing. This one used Viggen-like close coupled canards and vectorable 2D exhaust nozzles for aerial agility. Stealth seems to have been a minimal concern, with performance being more important. The inlets and overall aerodynamcis suggest supersonic cruise. Four sizable missiles – possible SRAM nuclear-tipped surface attack missiles – are semi-submerged in the belly for reduced drag. No further data.
Full rez scan is in the 2022-11 APR Extras Dropbox folder.
Nov 142022
A Boeing rendering of an advanced fighter from the late 70’s/early 80’s. This design features variable sweep wings and inlets mounted over the shoulders, reminiscent of the Boeing Model 818 design proposed in the early 1960s for the TFX program (won by General Dynamics, resulting in the F-111… check out “US Supersonic Bomber Projects Vol 1” for more on that). There are four weapons mounted conformally to the underside. All in all it looks like an early attempt at a *somewhat* stealthy aircraft… not true stealth, but a substantial reduction in radar return, specifically from ground-based radar. This would seem to indicate that the aircraft was intended to generally fly low and to serve in a strike capacity.
The configuration is broadly conventional, apart from the inlets. The twin exhaust nozzles are 2D vectorable, reducing IR signature and increasing agility and short field takeoff performance. The twin tails are canted outboard, probably to knock out the “corner reflector” problem for radar returns. This was likely intended to be something of a replacement for the F-111 rather than the next air dominance fighter like the F-15.
The full rez scan has been uploaded into the 2022-11 APR Extras folder on Dropbox for $4 and up Patrons/Subscribers.
Nov 142022
At long last I’m getting word that copies are about to be shipped to me. If you would be interested in a signed, dated and numbered copy, with a bonus 18X24 CAD diagram for $25 plus postage, send me an email and I’ll put you on the list: 
Photos from the publisher:
Nov 062022
The model AGM-86 Air Launch Cruise Missile began life as a decoy missile, sort of an updated “Quail.” it was decided that the decoy could carry a nuclear warhead, and thus provide a lot more service; this began its development as a cruise missile. As originally envisaged, it had to fit in the some bays that could hold the AGM-69 SRAM missile; this made sense in a lot of ways but strictly limited its capabilities due to the short length. Efforts to increase the range of the missile included adding a droppable belly tank and stretching the fuselage for more internal fuel volume. The latter route was chose, along with making the nose much blunter and more voluminous.Both the external tank and the fuselage stretch meant that it could not long fit in internal SRAM bays, a tradeoff that was deemed worthwhile.
The illustration below dates from mid 1976 at the latest.
The full rez scan has been uploaded to the 2022-11 APR Extras folder on Dropbox for $4 and up APR Patrons/subscribers.
Nov 052022
An artists rendering of the Republic A-10 circa 1971. This is very nearly the final design, but it differs in details; the cockpit canopy is a little off, for instance.
Nov 012022
The October 2022 rewards are available for APR Patrons and Subscribers. This latest package includes:
Large format art: A Bell Aerospace painting of the D188A VTOL fighter/bomber
Document: “Standard Aircraft Characteristics – Convair Class VF Seaplane Night Fighter (SKATE)” diagrams and data for seaplane jet fighter
Document: “21St Century Aerospace – The 20th Century Challenge,” General Dynamics presentation, late 80’s about hypersonics/NASP. From photographs.
Document: “Prototype X-14 VTOL Aircraft,” Bell Aerospace presentation, 1971, on the “SeaKat” operational naval VTOL. From photos, but art and diagrams were also scanned for clarity.
CAD Diagram ($5 and up): XB-70 Valkyrie forward fuselage configuration
If you would like to help fund the acquisition and preservation of such things, along with getting high quality scans for yourself, please consider signing on either for the APR Patreon or the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program. Back issues are available for purchase by patrons and subscribers.
Oct 262022
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.
