Aerospace Projects Review Blog – Page 71 – Unbuilt aircraft and Spacecraft Projects

AH-56 & JVX

Feb 282016

I’ve put scans of a 1968 Popular Science article on the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne attack helicopter and a Boeing-Bell brochure on the JVX tiltrotor (which became the V-22) on the APR Patreon dropbox, in the 2016-02 folder.

The Pop Sci article featured cover art by Robert McCall. Just cuz, I tinkered with the cover art, attempting to scrape off the text and restore it to just the painting. Perhaps not a 100% success, but not too bad. The JVX is not *quite* the final V-22 design; a notable difference is the inclusion of a .50 caliber gatling gun in the nose and a rocket launcher hanging off the side the cockpit.

If interested in getting these, please consider signing up for the APR Patreon. The “Extras” are available to all $4 patrons. Quite a pile of high-rez stuff is available now.

Transonic 767

jetliner, transports No Responses »

Feb 232016

In the early 1970s, after the collapse of the SST program due to, in part, the rise in energy prices, Boeing, Lockheed, General Dynamics and NASA looked at the possibility of jetliners designed to fly economically right at the edge of the sound barrier. The idea was that there is an unavoidable spike in drag at Mach 1.00, but it would theoretically be possible to fly at, say, Mach 0.98 at relatively low drag. This would make the aircraft about 100 mph faster than conventional jetliners without being much more expensive. In order to pull this off, the jetliners would need to take advantage of every imaginable aerodynamic trick in the book… most obviously, area rule designing resulting in “wasp waisted” fuselages, and almost no straight lines… all curves. The problem is that this makes aircraft heavier and more expensive to build. Thus, no transonic airliners ever got any further than wind tunnel tests.

Below is a piece of Boeing art showing one of their designs for an Advanced Technology Transport. It was a Model 767 design, dash-number unknown.

WS324A TFX

bomber, fighter, Patreon No Responses »

Feb 232016

One of an extremely large large number of designs put forward for Weapons System 324A, Tactical Fighter X, which eventually became the F-111. This particular design, circa 1962, is the WADD 46 from the Wright Air Development Center and is pretty typical… a twin engine supersonic design with sizable variable-sweep wings.

Two full-rez pages from the WS324A Characteristics Summary have been posted to the 2016-02 APR Extras Dropbox folder for all $4 and up APR Patreon patrons.

2-D B-1 Mockup

bomber No Responses »

Feb 222016

An early 1970’s photo of a “mockup” of the Rockwell B-1 bomber. Rather than building an expensive plywood mockup that accurately recreated the complex curves of the B-1, this one was vastly simpler… a “side view” diagram of the B-1 with a few interior details, with a “shadow” on the floor. If you look carefully, it looks like this photo has been censored… the bays fore and aft of the main landing gear have been blacked out. Presumably these showed the payload of SRAMs and/or cruise missiles. One engine and the wing pivot system are included as actual 3-D items, probably mockups. Note that this is not the final B-1 design as built… the nose contours are a bit off.

US Fighter Projects #1, US VTOL Projects #1 now available

fighter, rockets, US Fighter Projects, US VTOL Projects, VTOL 4 Responses »

Feb 182016

Now available… the first of two new US Aerospace Projects titles.

US Fighter Projects #1

US Fighter Projects #01 is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #01 includes:

Tremulis “Zero Fighter:” A World War II era two-stage rocket propelled, vertically launched interceptor
North American Rockwell D-541-4 “Surprise Fighter:” An early stealth fighter concept with flip-out wings
Republic TFX: An unconventionally-configured variable-sweep design, competed to become the F-111
Martin Model 302: A large four-engined supersonic interceptor loaded with missiles
Convair Nuclear Powered Interceptor Configuration II: A single-seat design with a nuclear reactor
NAF Float-Wing Interceptor: A WWII small flying boat to be carried by small ships
Martin Pursuit-Type Airplane: An early WWII-era design with a prone pilot
Boeing Model 1074-0006: A 1980’s design for a hydrogen-fueled hypersonic monster

USFP #01 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4:

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US VTOL Projects #1

US VTOL Projects #01 is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #01 includes:

Ryan Model 162: A three-lift-fan ground attack plane with a minimum wing
NACA VTOL Bomber: A slim six-engined supersonic concept
Bell X-14C: A three-engine low cost close support plane
Lockheed GL-224-2: A small rescue craft that can dock in flight with a C-130
Bell D270A-900-112: A tilt-rotor that has folding props
Boeing Model 837-313: A minor design for a fighter like a Harrier with variable-sweep wings
Hughes Hot Cycle Rotor/Wing Composite Research Aircraft: Use the exhaust from a jet engine to spin up a triangular rotor blade…
Lockheed CL-1026: A civilian derivative of the AH-56, to carry passengers from city center to city center

USVP #01 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4:

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Northrop Space Station

space station No Responses »

Jan 292016

Also of unfortunate image quality. But I’ve never seen it elsewhere, so here’s a Northrop space station concept shown in 1963. No data on it apart from whatever can be gleaned from the image. it *may* be an artificial gravity station, rotating around the shorter “axle near the middle. Unclear what’s going on at the far end.

Northrop SLOMAR

Dyna Soar, hypersonic, rockets, space shuttle, spacecraft, spaceplane No Responses »

Jan 262016

As some may know, I’ve recently been on a high-rez aerospace artwork kick (as always, if you know of or have any such, let me know). And while I’ve been focusing on high quality stuff, sometimes there are low-quality images that are stuff worth of note.

One such is below, a rendering of the Northrop Corporations “SLOMAR” (Space Logistics, Maintenance and Repair) design circa 1960. Numerous companies worked on that USAF study, producing a range of lifting manned entry vehicles (see the General Dynamics version HERE). Northrop designed a vehicle virtually identical to the Boeing Dyna Soar, though a bit bigger.

US Spacecraft Projects #4, Transport Projects #5 now available

jetliner, rockets, spacecraft, spaceplane, transports, US Spacecraft Projects, US Transport Projects No Responses »

Jan 232016

USSP #04

US Spacecraft Projects #04, the Lander Special is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #04 includes:

GE Electrically Propelled Cargo Vehicle: A lunar lander with a nuclear reactor and ion engines to reduce the cost of lunar logistics
Douglas LASS: Landing an S-IVb stage on the moon
Convair PLAME: VTOL crew return with jet engines
North American Mars Excursion Module: the iconic conical Mars lander
Martin-Marietta Ballistic NIMF: A nuclear “hopper”
Early LEM: One of the first recognizable designs, by Maxime Faget
ROMBUS: probably the largest lunar lander seriously proposed
Boeing Lander Module 2: A recent Mars crew lander

USSP #04 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $5.25:

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USTP #05

US Transport Projects #05 is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #05 includes:

Boeing Model 820-100: The B-52 can haul more than bombs…
Lockheed Nuclear Tug: Want to tow two C-5s across an ocean?
Martin Super Ocean Transport: A WWII-era design for a post-war giant passenger transport
HOT EAGLE: 13 Marines to Benghazi in minutes
Sikorsky SST: An early supersonic transport concept
Lifting Body Cargo Airplane: A wartime design for a multibody design with a separate cargo module
Resource Air Carrier: A giant “flying pipeline” to haul petroleum
Boeing Model 763-165: A side-by-side New Large Airplane design

USTP #05 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4.25:

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AND don’t forget these…

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USLP 03

Issue 03 of US Launch Vehicle Projects includes:

Juno V/Titan/Nomad: A 1958 concept for a space launcher using an ICBM for upper stages
Convair ATE Nova: A 1963 idea for winged airbreathing boosters
B-70/Gemini: Using a bomber as a booster
Phase II VTOHL Orbit-On-Demand: a 1985 concept for a relatively small two stage to orbit spaceplane
NASA Lewis Saturn Ib/Centaur/Kick Stage: a high energy upper stage
NASA MSC 042B/Titan IIIL6: a straight-winged orbiter atop a large Titan derivative
Heavy Lift Titan: A large diameter Titan core with three Shuttle boosters
Escher “Unshackled”: An unconventional idea for a lunar rocket

USLP #03 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4.25:

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Large format USBP drawings, Issues 10-12

The CAD drawings created for USBP reformatted and rescaled for 11X17 collected in a separate volume. Drawings have in some cases been corrected, improved and added to.

USBP 11X17 10-12 collects the diagrams created for issues 10, 11 and 12, including:

Boeing Model 464-34-3, Republic mach 7, Lockheed CL-1301-1, Convair WS-125A, Boeing 484-415, Martin Model 223-10, Boeing Model 814-1010 Dyna Soar, Martin Model 192-5, Boeing Model 464-40, Boeing Model 701-218, Northrop Nuclear flying wing, North American D118, Martin Model 223-11, North American Model 705-00-04, Bell/Martin 464L, Boeing B-1, Boeing Big Bird BB 6800, Boeing Model464-41, Douglas MX-2091-E, Boeing Model 701-238, Martin Model 223-12, Northrop Nuclear Flying Wing, Rockwell MRCC, Lockheed CL-820-8

USBP11x17-10-12 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $11:
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Large format USBP drawings, Issues 13-15

The CAD drawings created for USBP reformatted and rescaled for 11X17 collected in a separate volume. Drawings have in some cases been corrected, improved and added to.

USBP 11X17 13-15 collects the diagrams created for issues 10, 11 and 12, including:

Ryan Model 162, Boeing Orbital bomb, Northrop Atomic Wing, Consolidated Vultee High Speed Flying Boat, Martin Model 189, Boeing Model 464-046, Curtis F-87C, Boeing Model 701-247, Lockheed WS 464L Dyna Soar, McDonnell WS 464L Dyna Soar, North American WS 464L Dyna Soar, Republic WS 464L Dyna Soar, Convair WS 464L Dyna Soar I, Convair WS 464L Dyna Soar II, Douglas WS 464L Dyna Soar, Northrop N206 WS 464L Dyna Soar, Boeing Model 814-1010 Dyna Soar II, Bell/Martin WS 464L Dyna Soar, Boeing Model 2050E Dyan Soar, Boeing Dyna Soar/ Titan IIIc, Bell D2001 TS-149, Lockheed Harvey; Convair Model 35, Rockwell D661-27, Boeing Model 464-49, Boeing Model 988-123, Boeing Manned Orbital Bomber, Boeing Model 701-251

USBP11x17-13-15 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $11:
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S-60 Passenger Pod

transports, VTOL No Responses »

Jan 212016

A piece of Sikorsky concept art from 1959 illustrating a commercial passenger pod for the S-60 flying crane helicopter. Into the 1960’s there were a lot of people thinking that commercial helicopter “airliners” would soon be a practical reality… and obviously, helicopters are perfectly functional in the role of hauling people to and fro, but the idea never really caught on. And in retrospect it’s not difficult to see why.

Compared to turbojet or turboprop passenger planes, helicopters are creakingly slow and quite short ranged. So the idea was that helicopter-liners would serve as short range feeder vehicles, transporting businessmen and the like from city centers to outlying regions. A popular goal was to fly passengers from the top of skyscrapers to distant airports, saving considerable time and trouble with ground traffic. But in the end, while helicopters could do that – as many a multi-millionaire with his own helicopter can attest – the cost was always high, and the noise of regularly scheduled very large choppers was excessive. There was also always the fear of helicopters this big zipping up and down the city streets, and building the infrastructure to support in-city commercial heliports just seemed like too much effort.

Re-engined B-52

bomber, Patreon 1 Response »

Jan 202016

I recently acquired diagrams of a B-52 with six high-bypass turbofans. Sadly, the diagram lacks data on *which* engines those were, and when the design was made. So: does this look familiar?

Could be any of several, I think.

The full diagrams have been posted into the 2016-01 folder on the APR Patron Dropbox site. If interested, this and many, many other high-rez aerospace goodies are available to all APR Patreon patrons at the $4 level and higher. So, check it out…

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