B-2 Advanced Technology Bomber (ATB) in mass culture, kits, art and advertising before unveiling

flateric

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Nostalgie look from 80s...numerous Popular Science artists' attempts to imagine real look of ATB. Most charming is impression of B-2 as semi-faceted design - already after DoD disclosure of B-2 drawing in 1988.
 

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http://www.wfb4.com/HondaStealth.html

From Wikipedia.com:
From 1989 to 2004, the South Dakota Air and Space Museum located on the grounds of Ellsworth Air Force Base displayed a 10-ton, 3/5 scale "Honda Stealth," a mock-up of a stealth bomber built by North American Honda in 1988 for a national automobile campaign. The mockup is not an actual replica of a B-2, but was close enough to create a stir that Honda had cracked national security, as the B-2 project was still officially classified in 1988.[8] Honda donated the model to the Museum in 1989, with the stipulation the model be destroyed if it was replaced with a different aircraft. The Honda Stealth was dismantled and replaced with a B-1 Lancer aircraft in 2005.
 
Discover magazine also ran a cover story on what they thought it might look like- I think it was in the mid-80s or so. They depicted a triangular planform with four cutouts in the trailing edge for the engine exhausts. The cockpit was flush and there were no rudders in their depiction. Anyone have that magazine or picture?
 
Obviously, at the time, the B-2 was still classified but the 'official' artist concept had been released. ISTR reading that Honda used the landing gear from a Convair 580.


fightingirish said:
http://www.wfb4.com/HondaStealth.html

From Wikipedia.com:
From 1989 to 2004, the South Dakota Air and Space Museum located on the grounds of Ellsworth Air Force Base displayed a 10-ton, 3/5 scale "Honda Stealth," a mock-up of a stealth bomber built by North American Honda in 1988 for a national automobile campaign. The mockup is not an actual replica of a B-2, but was close enough to create a stir that Honda had cracked national security, as the B-2 project was still officially classified in 1988.[8] Honda donated the model to the Museum in 1989, with the stipulation the model be destroyed if it was replaced with a different aircraft. The Honda Stealth was dismantled and replaced with a B-1 Lancer aircraft in 2005.
 
Then, there's the one from an early-1980s issue of National Geographic. I'll post that one from home. For that matter, there's the early picture Northrop put out that didn't show the engine exhausts.
 
Of course, we must mention Revell's 1988 giant B-2 Advanced Technology Bomber kit in 1/72
 

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Here's the one from National Geographic plus a close up of the three-view.
 

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Cutaways god Mike Badrocke's and Bill Sweetman's collective impressions of a 'stealth bomber. It was 1986 on the backyard.
(Bill Sweetman 'Stealth Aircraft: Secrets of Future Airpower', Motorbooks International, 1986) Note that PopSci ilustrations above are based on these ones.
 

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Er, gentlemen, ATB stands for Advanced TECHNOLOGY Bomber.... ;)
 
Sorry, Skybolt...fixed. Was reading too much Stevenson book on Advanced TACTICAL Aircraft (A-12 Avenger II) lately :)
 
Discover magazine also ran a cover story on what they thought it might look like- I think it was in the mid-80s or so. They depicted a triangular planform with four cutouts in the trailing edge for the engine exhausts. The cockpit was flush and there were no rudders in their depiction. Anyone have that magazine or picture?

I think I have a book with a very similar design in it. I'll see if I can find it.

RP1
 
befx1jf2.jpg

Skilled craftsmanship and a lot of special effects wizardry were employed in the design of the B-3 Stealth Bomber,an imaginary extension of the current Stealth model bomber, the B-2, modified by Gross to look even more sleek and mean on film.
Since the Stealth is ultra-secret, the production received minimal cooperation from the military.
Instead, Gross and visual effects supervisor Don Baker used their considerable skills and imagination to design a one-sixth scale miniature, measuring eighteen-feet long and fourteen-feet wide.
Source: http://www.foxhome.com/brokenarrow/html/efx1.htm
 
Matej said:
Dont worry. The same chaos as Advanced Tactical Fighter (F-16XL/F-15E) and Advanced Technology Fighter (F22/YF-23).


I think you will find the YF-22 vs YF-23 competition was for the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) requirement - the F-15E vs F-16XL competition was for the so-called Dual Role Fighter (DRF) requirement
 
stealth_1.jpg


Source:

Lt Col DMO Miller, Col WV Kennedy, J Jordan, D Richardson,The Balance of Military Power, Salamander Books Limited 1981

-RP1
 
Justo, this is an *artist impression*
 
It's also the design that Revell's late- '80s 1/72 ATB Stealth Bomber model model is based on.


Justo Miranda said:
OK , thanks Flateric , no project , just an *artist impression*
 
First has appeared in IAC in 1986 as Bill Sweetman /cutaway god Mike Badrocke reconstruction of how stealth bomber/stealth fighter would look like. These were the days...I had much longer hairs then...


As I remember, God have punished Revell in his style - ATB kit sales were much lover than Testor's F-19 ones.
Meanwhile, why didn't Bill S. sued Revell - it would be good add-on to crappy aerospace journalist's income.
 
Re: Northrop stealth bomber project

Ah. Heard of that one, but never knew it to be a Naughty Word Needing Redacting. Reminds me of when some Britainlanders I knew of went all monkeycrap when Bush used the contraction "Paki." In the US, "Paki" ain't a problem, any more than "Yank," "Brit," "Russ," "ChiCom," "Reb," "Dem" or "Rep" are. I hear tell that "Ami" is a common enough term for "Americans" in Germany. But oddly, the usual contraction of "Japanese" or "Nippionese" will cause people to go buggo.
 
And P.I.G.S.
Financial Times, Sun 31 August 2008

Exciting countries get exciting acronyms, at least in financial circles. Fast-growing Brazil, Russia, India and China, for example, are called Brics, the very initials implying solid growth. Other countries are less fortunate. Take Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain, sometimes described as the Pigs. It is a pejorative moniker but one with much truth.
:D
 
"I hear tell that "Ami" is a common enough term for "Americans" in Germany"

If you are called an "Ami" here, you should be careful ! It still has a negative
connotation and is remembered in conjunction with "Ami Go Home !" . Not very
different to "Tommies" for the brits, "Japs" for the japanese, or "Itaker" for the
italians. Or "Krauts" for the germans ... ::)
 
Jemiba said:
"I hear tell that "Ami" is a common enough term for "Americans" in Germany"

If you are called an "Ami" here, you should be careful ! It still has a negative
connotation ...

Whether someone is offended by what they're called is usually up to that someone. Since I don't find "Paki" or "Brit" offensive, I can't get offended at "Ami."
 
Gentlemen,

I think we should consider opening a dedicated topic about Linguistics in the Bar. I see that is one of the prefered subjects amongst us when we go off-topic in this forum. ;)
 
pometablava said:
Gentlemen,

I think we should consider opening a dedicated topic about Linguistics in the Bar. I see that is one of the prefered subjects amongst us when we go off-topic in this forum. ;)

Well, sure! We are all either employed in Aerospace, or very interested in Aerospace; as a consequence, we all have an interest in learning every expletive (in every language) we can, because we know we'll get so much use out of 'em.
 
Funny. I just started a new job and one guy asks me today "do you swear?" Like it was a requirement for the job. :D
 
sferrin said:
Funny. I just started a new job and one guy asks me today "do you swear?" Like it was a requirement for the job. :D

I had a four-year-old ask me if I cursed once. I said "No, it isn't polite." He grinned and me and went "Asssssss..."

That was the same trip where I almost got buzzed by a Jaguar on a low-level run while cycling out in the country. I hear there was a Northrop stealth bomber around, but y'know, it was invisible...
 
As it was just mentioned in the What-if-forum, there was also a mixed media kit "B-2 Stealth Bomber" from a company called Model Technologies (never heard her before and later again)

Cheers, Deino
 

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Welk, looks again like the Broken Arrow's B-3...
 
flateric said:
Welk, looks again like the Broken Arrow's B-3...

Yes, but in comparison to Scott's model this one is in 1/72 and much larger ...

By the way are there any news about the availability of Scott's model ?? ???

Deino
 
the "Honda B-2"
 

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It was also in an early 1983 issue of Popular Science or Popular Mechanics, the latter I think. I think it's also been in one of Bill Gunston's books.
 
PopSci, Feb 1983
Soviet magazines never were humble while grabbing stuff from Western editions
literally, 'Krilya Rodiny' picture caption in Russian clearly says that 'This is how stealth bomber is imagined by Popular Science magazine'
 

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