Convair Advanced Designs II: Secret Fighters, Attack Aircraft, and Unique Concep

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Just saw this on Amazon. It's available for pre-order




51ZMNkeTjRL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
 
Hi Jstar,


I saw it from two weeks ago,but in side a group of book,and I thought it the first
volume.
 
I've just got my copy. After a quick glance through, it looks great. It has about 100 more pages than the previous volume. Also some nice photos of the 'Skate' seaplane. The version with the v-tail on a boom makes me think of the Senior Peg image that is floating around. Nice few pages on the Model 48 COIN plane as well.
 
Just got mine on Friday! Very nice. Definitely well worth the price. Only thing missing is a chapter on the Super Hustler.
 
Got mine a few days ago. Good stuff.
 
XP67_Moonbat said:
Just got mine on Friday! Very nice. Definitely well worth the price. Only thing missing is a chapter on the Super Hustler.
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I'd hoped for more on the Model 200 but it's still a good book.
 
What I found particularly interesting were the aircraft which lost competitions to what ultimately became the OV-10, F-14, AH-56, S-3 and A-10.
 
Yippee! Finally received my copy today and I'm thrilled by it.

Although the Secret Projects buffs probably know about each of the projects described in the book, there is enough new material to make this book worth its while. I am not in the least disappointed!

To me, it's everything I expect from such a book: a very good mix of sketches, photos, original paintings, blueprints and desktop models... even a bit of color here and there. I know some people have expressed regret as to the small size of the plans, but I think the purpose of the book doesn't justify it, really.

The design of the book is even better than that of the first volume, and I wish there could be more such books that combine a wealth of information with a reasonable price — and at £18.00 (about $30.93 or €22.67) — cost included — from an online British store, it's even better!

Highly recommended.
 
Stargazer said:
Although the Secret Projects buffs probably know about each of the projects described in the book, there is enough new material to make this book worth its while. I am not in the least disappointed!
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Just a little addendum: After taking a much closer look to the book there are actually several projects I'd never seen or heard of before, even on the forum, so I'd say there is room for discovery! ;)
 
Any chance to send Index, for start the imagination and true inspiration
Thanks in advance
 
Table of Contents for Volume II:
 

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Received my copy yesterday. It's true that there are less unbuilt projects than Volume I but:

1. The total amount of unbuilt projects from both volumes combined is amazing.
2. Even better known designs like F-102/106 show unbuilt versions and unpublished details
3. Only Pre-1945 designs worths every cent you pay for the book
4. Contemporary artwork reproduced in colour is gorgeus
5. Extremely interesting chapters about post-1945 aircraft
6. Probably you have seen some of the unbuilt projects in the forum or other books but here's a comprehensive story with exhaustive detail.

Just a particular complain: a pity to see the story ending in 1945.
A general complain: a pity not to see more books like this about the rest of American aerospace manufacturers.
 
pometablava said:
.
2. Even better known designs like F-102/106 show unbuilt versions and unpublished details
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I'm curious about the one line mentioning a "GE X-256 45,000lb thrust turbojet" for the F-106. :eek:
 
pometablava said:
Extremely interesting chapters about post-1945 aircraft
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pometablava said:
Just a particular complain: a pity to see the story ending in 1945.
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I don't understand what you're saying here... It goes all the way up to 1973! Even you said the post-1945 chapters are interesting!

pometablava said:
A general complain: a pity not to see more books like this about the rest of American aerospace manufacturers.
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Oh, how much I agree with you!
 
pometablava said:
A general complain: a pity not to see more books like this about the rest of American aerospace manufacturers.
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This is sadly due to the fact that few American manufacturers have surviving archives of any great value, much less staff, much less staff that actually care about projects and want to write books about 'em. The SDAM archive for Convair is fairly amazing... especially considering what happened to it in 1978.
 
Orionblamblam said:
This is sadly due to the fact that few American manufacturers have surviving archives of any great value, much less staff, much less staff that actually care about projects and want to write books about 'em. The SDAM archive for Convair is fairly amazing... especially considering what happened to it in 1978.
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Absolutely. And also I believe that whenever some great stuff shows up on the web or elsewhere, it's because some employees who had a great love for their company chose to safekeep some of the stuff that they'd been ordered to dump...
 
I don't understand what you're saying here... It goes all the way up to 1973! Even you said the post-1945 chapters are interesting!
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I'm sorry, I wanted to say 1973 ;)
 
pometablava said:
I don't understand what you're saying here... It goes all the way up to 1973! Even you said the post-1945 chapters are interesting!
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I'm sorry, I wanted to say 1973 ;)
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Oh, okay! But I guess after 1973 it's all General Dynamics. The name "Convair Division" pretty much disappeared after the Convair 200/201 projects, didn't it?
 
You're right again.

I remember a book in the Putnam series that was General Dynamics and predecessors

http://www.amazon.com/General-Dynamics-Aircraft-Predecessors-Aviation/dp/0870212338

where the story continued...

I was thinking it would be great to have a 3rd volume with General Dynamics designs.


A XXI Century updated Putnam should be entitled "Lockheed Martin and predecessors"?. Just going too much off-topic.
 
pometablava said:
I remember a book in the Putnam series that was General Dynamics and predecessors where the story continued...

A XXI Century updated Putnam should be entitled "Lockheed Martin and predecessors"?. Just going too much off-topic.
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I did not very much like the McDonnell Douglas books and the General Dynamics book in this series because they were attempting to cover too much. I would have prefered smaller volumes devoted to each separate entity.
 
Stargazer said:
pometablava said:
I remember a book in the Putnam series that was General Dynamics and predecessors where the story continued...

A XXI Century updated Putnam should be entitled "Lockheed Martin and predecessors"?. Just going too much off-topic.
Click to expand...

I did not very much like the McDonnell Douglas books and the General Dynamics book in this series because they were attempting to cover too much. I would have prefered smaller volumes devoted to each separate entity.
Click to expand...
I didn't mind the MDD books, since at least they split it up into two books and didn't try to stuff it all into one. I didn't like the GD book because I simply did not like Putnam's late format with the larger page size and, particularly, their use of three columns. I wish they had stuck with their "short, fat" layout that had served them well for many years.
 
Convair Vol. II is a great book -- in my opinion -- especially if you already have Vol. I. What I found the most fascinating are projects like the Model 49 (which I was familiar with) and the LAAS Study, which I discovered in the book, along with a number of others.

In today's climate of risk-averse, shareholder-focused and lawyer-infested aerospace industry, it is a revelation to find that such bold and unorthodox designs actually found their way up to the Pentagon, despite coming from a large, publicly-traded defense contractor like Consolidated-Vultee.

While this vibrant era is likely gone forever, the fact that Convair funded engineering studies, mockups and proposals shows these were very serious contenders, despite their sci-fi appearance. These designs are a testament to the confidence and forward-thinking character that once existed in every department head -- not just at Convair, but industry-wide.

There's a lot of great material in Convair Vol. II. The whole book is superb and well put together, for the price of a one-martini lunch.
 
gatoraptor said:
I didn't like the GD book because I simply did not like Putnam's late format with the larger page size and, particularly, their use of three columns. I wish they had stuck with their "short, fat" layout that had served them well for many years.
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I must say that I do also prefer the older smaller format layout, but if one wants to combine readability and plenty of text per page on 20 cm or so wide page it is best to have 3-4 columns.
 
Forgot to say that would anyone in possession of the book care to scan one sample page? Any page would do as long as it shows how the text is laid out.
 
I finally got around to ordering this book and it arrived last week and I've spent my spare time this Queen's Birthday weekend absorbing it. It is a great book. Very much a secret projects interested person's ideal book. Lots and lots of new and interesting information, some of which I will bring up in a few other threads for discussion (might stimulate a few more orders). I wish we had books like this and the Part 1 covering all the major aviation companies' projects.

One slight layout error I noticed in case anyone is working on a second edition. On page 108 the caption for the 1961 ground attack F-102 proposal is illustrated by the inboard profile of the 1956 upgraded F-102 proposal. And vice versa on page 109.
 
Great book, I'd just hoped he'd have had more on the Convair 200. (Though that picture of the forward fuselage mockup is nice.) Also, I'm curious about the one line mentioning a "GE X-256 45,000lb thrust turbojet" for the F-106. It's in one of the pictures of one of the concepts. I'd never heard of a 45,000lb thrust turbojet from any US manufacturer. As far as I knew it jumped from the 30k J58/J93 to the 60k JT17/GE4, which I've always thought was odd.
 
circle-5 said:
Convair Vol. II is a great book -- in my opinion -- especially if you already have Vol. I. What I found the most fascinating are projects like the Model 49 (which I was familiar with) and the LAAS Study, which I discovered in the book, along with a number of others.
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What was exactly this LAAS (Localization And Attack System) study/program and, except Convair, who were the eventual other contender(s)?
 

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