US Stealth Fighter Projects

Hope to pre-order soon. I'm still kicking myself over never being able to get a copy of Metz's book on the YF-23. I'm looking forward to seeing how much detail this one goes into. There is apparently one Northrop NATF design (DP500?) that kept the v-tail configuration but was too long to meet requirements. I'd love to see an image of that design but maybe it never found its way into the public domain. I'm sure there is a lot of work related to JSF that also never saw the light of day. For example, Lockheed seemed to examine a pretty wide range of different airframe configurations between their final one for CALF layout and the one they went with for JSF.
Considering how many programs preceded JSF but were directly related, it would probably take a whole even larger book for the entire story.
 
The diagram collection for US Stealth Fighters. There may be some adjustments as the layout process goes forth. While hopefully reproduced at Tantalizing-Yet-Annoyingly-Small-Scale, each box represents a full page. So the great majority are full-page illustrations.
 

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Today I was able to order the book from amazon germany (for a price of 22,23 EUR). Expected delivery date is between april 2 and april 4. Let´s see. I´m looking forward to it!!
 
I pre-ordered my copy. Perhaps we can see something of the back history going back to the 1960's? I suspect there's rather more there than is commonly suspected. For example, Dr. Ira Chart once mentioned that Northrop got interested in low-observables after finding that the Snark was quite difficult to track from certain angles.
 
Is anyone else in the UK constantly getting their pre orders bounced? Six months ago I ordered via Amazon and it got cancelled a few weeks later, so I laid another order via Waterstones which got cancelled today. And the mortons website keeps losing all data entered when trying to order direct. Any suggestions for a reliable UK stockist?
 
elmayerle said:
I pre-ordered my copy. Perhaps we can see something of the back history going back to the 1960's? I suspect there's rather more there than is commonly suspected. For example, Dr. Ira Chart once mentioned that Northrop got interested in low-observables after finding that the Snark was quite difficult to track from certain angles.
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I thought they got interested earlier than that when they discovered the same of the YB-49.
 
Hanse said:
I thought they got interested earlier than that when they discovered the same of the YB-49.
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As I understand it, they really didn't get into it until the situation with the Snark. At least, that's what Dr. Chart's lecture told us.
 
I should say, even though I've only got chance to read the introduction and first chapter, that it reads very well (I've of course flicked through the whole thing). The illustrations are clear and crisp with the finer grey detail lines being unobtrusive but informative.
 
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My copies (Accidentally ordered two) arrived yesterday and I can only echo Dew's comments. Will we see a companion volume on stealth attack and bombing aircraft?
 
elmayerle said:
My copies (Accidentally ordered two) arrived yesterday and I can only echo Dew's comments. Will we see a companion volume on stealth attack and bombing aircraft?
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Well... maybe. Hopefully this won't get me in hot water with the publisher, but the original plan was two volumes: "Fighters" and "Everything Else (strike, bombers, recon, transports, helicopters, etc.)." As work got underway on Fighters, it got split into 2 volumes: what you see, and Vol.2, which would be "stealth fighters that didn't fit into the ATF and JSF programs, including drones, recent efforts. etc." So, ok... and then the publisher got bought, and plans changed. Vol.2 and Vol.EE are back-burnered as I'm now working on 5 other projects. Everything sells well, the other stealth volumes will probably come out.

So buy lots of copies. Tell your friends. Tell your enemies. Tell climate change activists that the best way to sequester carbon is in a billion copies of "US Stealth Fighter Projects." Tell the paranoids that USSFP makes *excellent* shielding against both bullets and alpha, beta and gamma radiation, so long as you build up enough thickness. Oh, and let people know the text and diagrams are kinda nice too.
 
Orionblamblam said:
Well... maybe. Hopefully this won't get me in hot water with the publisher, but the original plan was two volumes: "Fighters" and "Everything Else (strike, bombers, recon, transports, helicopters, etc.)." As work got underway on Fighters, it got split into 2 volumes: what you see, and Vol.2, which would be "stealth fighters that didn't fit into the ATF and JSF programs, including drones, recent efforts. etc." So, ok... and then the publisher got bought, and plans changed. Vol.2 and Vol.EE are back-burnered as I'm now working on 5 other projects. Everything sells well, the other stealth volumes will probably come out.

So buy lots of copies. Tell your friends. Tell your enemies. Tell climate change activists that the best way to sequester carbon is in a billion copies of "US Stealth Fighter Projects." Tell the paranoids that USSFP makes *excellent* shielding against both bullets and alpha, beta and gamma radiation, so long as you build up enough thickness. Oh, and let people know the text and diagrams are kinda nice too.
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I'm with you here..

I'm a professionaly published author myself (1 X 320 page coffee table sized book, published in 2010, still selling on Amazon today - completed as a side hobby with two friends over a 13 year period, and relates to Special Forces). No where near your or NewsdeskDan's league, but still..

I had a very similar thing happen to me, also around the 2 volume option...

People don't understand how publishers can mess you around and miss-lead you - they often promise everything you want, however once you are commited to them and the project gets very close to print, their real intentions materialise - Like telling you to drop 40 pages of your now completed work in a face-face meeting, a week before print, and give you 15 minutes to complete it there and then, otherwise they will do such at their own discretion (20 pages during the next visit two days later). Another is to chop and change some pages and some images around under pressurised circumstances, where you end up having very little choice in the matter (and don't like the results).

There's more, however I'm sure that you get the general picture...
 
Graugrun said:
There's more, however I'm sure that you get the general picture...
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I have few complaints regarding the publisher. For the bookazine, there is an understood hard page limit, so splitting the Stealth Fighter work into two volumes was a result of getting into the project and realizing that I had far more than I could comfortably/reasonably cram into a single volume. Same thing happened with "US Supersonic Bomber Projects," which was started as a single volume, ended as two. As for getting bought by another enterprise and publishing priorities changes.... this sort of thing happens.

My only real problem is that they have so far refused to pay me that JK Rowling money. I try and try to be as politically incendiary as possible, but nooooooo, they just won't give me a billion dollars.
 
Greatly enjoy the variety of designs. Without the cockpit, the NAR D-541-4 could pass for an early iteration on what became the AGM-137A. If/when you get around to doing a write up on the AGM-137A/BGM-137B, I'll be glad to answer whatever questions I can.
 
elmayerle said:
Greatly enjoy the variety of designs. Without the cockpit, the NAR D-541-4 could pass for an early iteration on what became the AGM-137A. If/when you get around to doing a write up on the AGM-137A/BGM-137B, I'll be glad to answer whatever questions I can.
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The TSSAM version designed by Perko”s company?
 

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