X-15 References

A sample of this was published December 20th on Facebook: To Robert Small and others that like to think, look at, dream and build the X-15 (and I'm surprised that there isn't a larger group out there on this topic). Besides collecting and building the model, I also like to research it. I have a bit of AMS (Advanced Modeling Syndrome) following the AISC (Advanced Information Systematic Collection) that results in the IO (Information Overload). This usually ends up with WTHDISOT (Where The Hell Do I Start On This). Ah yes, usually the cockpit I'm told. I had been looking into the topic for quite a while, and actually wrote a small article on it in Crazed Plastic Publication #31 of the IPMS Gateway Group during 1986 (again - 30 years ago). Since then I have continued to research it, never tiring at looking at newly released photos or digging through old technical documents. Just a few examples of what I look at during this process:

Airpower Magazine, November 2005, Volume 35, Number 11: X-15 Pilot's in Space. Excellent article with great pictures.	Air Modeller #17 and #18 has the best continued article on how to improve on the X-15 model. Sky Model also has an excellent article on another build, but misses a few details. Model Airplane International has a quick review of the kit and a quick build. All excellent magazines. They all ask the same thing, why are there no pilot figures?
The little brochure in black on the X-15 that I received many years ago (like maybe mid 70's) that got me started. Still other magazines like Wings, and Air & Space do update pieces from time to time. Invention & Technology talks about the plane rather than the pilots, still excellent articles in each and every one of the publications.	I'm not exclusive to english magazines, I also attempt to acquire German, French, Italian and Japanese modelling magazines. Each model builder has his own style. Aircraft Monthly and Flight Journal also produced reports, and we have more of the Wings, Aviation Weekly & Space Technology, and Airpower - which included an excellent article on the carrier aircraft.
There are many magazines from the time like Airpower, and Aviation Week and Space Technology that carried up to date progress of testing, development and flying the X-15. Finescale Magazine has featured many articles over the years on building models. Surprising enough, other magazines like Flight Safety and Airforce contained details not found in mainstream publications or viewpoints that you would not normaly consider.	The best of the best in references; Hypersonic, The X-Planes, Apogee's X-15, X-15 Photo Scrapbook, Aerofax Datagraph #2 on the X-15 as well as another Wings article all provide top notch views and details not found anywhere else. At the Edge of Space - The X-15 Flight Program by Milton O. Thompson is also excellent in the telling behind the scenes with historical perspective.
Now, this is where I start to detail parts of the aircraft with measurements, dimensions, and close up inspections from color and b/w photos. I do markups on photocopies and also sketch my own details.	Even more sketches with extreme amount of detail. Rivet counting at its best.
Still more sketches. These are just a sampling of what I have.	Still more b/w with markups. Each flight had differences in the craft.
National Geographic has some excellent photos and illustrations on flying the X-15 as well as personal recounts from the pilots. The red book is NASA SP-60 Experiment Results. Covering all the experiments performed on each flight, this is a goldmine of information. I also collected articles from many older modeling magazines, like Scale Aircraft Modeler on the B-52's used in the flights. Air Enthusiast Six showed an overview of the craft and the differences between them. I also asked friends to take b/w and color shots of any in the museums for more detail (this was before there were photo galleries just brimming with information).	And this is where most do not dare go. The NASA and Contractor Technical Notes, where every conceivable test was written in the most dry, scientific manner at the time of the experiment. They contain the results in equations and graph form, but if you study them enough they make an amazing story of pushing boundaries, pilots performing flights to confirm wind tunnel results or finding out what does not work. These reports were crucial in the development of later craft like the space shuttle. These documents are the holy grail that all other publications skip over. I find them fascinating.
I've even put together a listing of other documents that I do not yet have access to, but list by author, source and subject matter. It is this listing that I provided to the engineers working on the NASP (National AeroSpace Plane) that sped up the development of their project. I also used my research in hypersonics, materials and temperature control in another IRAD (Internal Research And Development) project dealing with Fusion Reactors at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. More on this later.	Another list that I cobbled together showing every flight for the X-15, then color coding other events at the time that was either driving the program or reacting to it. Not exhaustive, but just gives an idea of the times.

Star Trek References

Before there were the resources of the internet, there were conventions and clubs. I would scour several in my area to bring home information that I would use for my references in model building in Star Trek (and other kits). I had purchased #1 of the StarFleet Assembly Manual in 1977 and #2 in 1980 with a blueprint as well. Never could find #3 until 2004 when the collected works came out with decals (thanks Paul M. Newitt). Mine is #007/100. In between I had picked up the Japanese Super-Visual collection from 1981. Then later the Bunkasha Publications of the later Star Trek Series published from 1995 to 1999. Just some of the earlier references that I have used.

1977	1980
2004, the collected works came out with decals (thanks Paul M. Newitt). Mine is #007/100.	1981, Super Visual Mook, a three volume set dealing with Star Trek as the main theme. Set me back $100.00 at the time. Who knows what it is worth today?
1995, Special Compendium for the movies and series, $50.00	1997, Special Compendium for the movies and series, $50.00
1999, Special Compendium for Mechanics and Vehicles, $50.00

My A-12 Model Website

This is a website that I did over ten years ago using a program called JAlbum 6.3.2 then modified the html code manually.  You then had to use a ftp program to upload it to your alotted space.  JAlbum is now at version 13.7 and going strong.  Since then, there have been a few more model kits generated and I will update the site in the near future to include them.  Two links are now dead: A-12 Avenger II - best site and Collectaire have gone by the wayside.  I haven't seen any activity to the site in the last few years, the A-12 becoming a footnote in history.

To check out the site you can go to A-12 Models.  Leave a comment on what you think: good/bad?

X-15 Model Collection

Those that love to model the X-15 you might like to know the types of kits out there. I have a few, and always looking to fill my collection. For now the Special Hobby 1/32 scale kits have my attention, and now looking for add-on such as pilots. Please excuse the quality of the images, taken with an old cell phone.

First up, the Airmodel 1/72 Vacuform kit. A very basic kit.	And to go with it a 1/72 adapter from Frank-Modellbau, all you need would be a B-52 to modify.
Then there is a resin 1/48 kit of the Delta Winged X-15. Still looking for who made it though, it has an entirely wrong engine.	Another resin 1/48 kit is by E.C.P. Phenix from France that has white metal parts as well. Not cheap.
I also have the normal injection kits like Monogram's 1/72 for the Young Astronaut, always a good starter kit and one to add detail to.	Or the original box for the Older Astronaut?
For those that are running out of room, a rare UPC HO scale.	Or the equally rare Starfix kit from Israel? in 1/125 scale with test boom.
Many remember of course the Revell in the odd 1/64 scale Limited Production X-15.	But then came along the Special Hobby 1/48 kits with better detail (more cost but fits with my Gemini and Mercury kits).
Special Hobby also had the white version with the dummy scramjet as well.	For the older collectible there is also the Aurora 1/50? scale also with a test boom.

Crazed Plastic X-20 Articles and Models Being Discussed

This was posted on Facebook November 28, 2016 in the group Space Modeling.  I present it here because Facebook gets to losing details with all the social media that is going on daily.

For the X-20, I also remembered some older articles that we did for the Crazed Plastic Magazine published by the IPMS Gateway group here in St. Louis. Issue 31 in 1986 and Issue 35 in 1987. I can't believe that it has been 30 years now! I also did a short article on the X-15 at the time in Issue 31. The articles written by Mike Burke as well as the artwork, and front cover artwork by him in CP-31, where he detailed the vehicle itself and CP-35 covered the landing gear which most people have questions on. A few phone pics of the issues follow (not the best, but quick).

The front cover to CP Issue 31, artwork by Mike Burke.	The same details from the scale drawings could be used for the vacuform, plastic or resin kits.
What was interesting is that the article from the front cover to CP#35 on the recovery of Mercury Liberty Bell 7 by Mark Zimerman, was several years earlier than the actual recovery efforts. It was spot on. This magazine and several others from modeling clubs were the precursors to the slick magazines that we see today. (I did the front cover artwork for CP-35). I will have to show more of my line work on another page shortly.	This is what the modelers were looking for, better details and measurements. Mike Burke delivered. He used the information from his talks at the Missouri Aviation Historical Society for the basis of this article.
The articles were done by hand on a typewriter, then copied to the correct size (this was done before computers came into play), the art pasted on blue-line paper and the whole shebang taken to a professional printer.	When I acquired an 1/72 Eagles Talon kit of the X-20 (many moons ago), it went for $24.95 and included a resin propulsion module. The X-20 is a vacuform which is workable.

My Favorite Patches from Work

A visual history of just some of the projects that I have worked on at McDonnell Douglas Aviation and Astronautics, and Emerson Electronics and Space Division. I have had these pictures listed at my LinkedIn site since 2013, and later put on Facebook for those folks that are not into LinkedIn. If you haven't, do check out the other positions that I've held on my LinkedIn site.  This particular blog has better images and extra description of the types of projects. Enjoy!

1: EE&S AN/ASG-21 - An Emerson Fire Control System (FCS) tied to a M61A1 Vulcan Gatling Gun used on B - 52G/H Bomber Aircraft. This replaced the AN/ASG-15 AVCO-CROSLEY FCS which featured separate radar dishes for search and track, and carried a television camera for the B-52G series. The AN/ASG-21 was an upgrade to the aircraft where the FCS could fire, manually or automatically, Tracor AN/ADR-8 205 inch folding fin chaff rockets, as well as control the M61A1 Vulcan Gatling Gun. Further descriptions found in MIL-T-27442, with definitions in MIL-STD-196E.

B - 52 H Bomber Aircraft with a AN/ASG-21 tied to a M61A1 Vulcan Gatling Gun .

2: EE&S - Tactical Radar and Threat Generator (TRTG) for Air Force Deliverable, see #8 for full description.

3: EE&S - Tactical Radar and Threat Generator (TRTG) for Army Deliverable, see #8 for full description.

4: McDonnell Douglas Harpoon patch, see #13 for full description.

5: EE&S - The Army's M113 Light Armour Personnel Carrier is the basis for all the derivatives for the TOW Launchers and Anti-Tank Weapon Sets. I helped perform several configuration/data management functions to control and direct the design, development, and delivery for the client. The different M113 Versions:
· Fire Support Team Vehicle (FIST-V) – Conversion with Tube Launched Optically Tracked Wire (TOW) Guided (Missile)
· Improved TOW Vehicle (ITV)
· TOW Under Armor (TUA)
· HAMMER - Heavier Armor, with Upgraded TOW-2 and Optical Tracked Device (OTD)

6: EE&S - The Underwater Sound Surveillance System, named Calypso (Computerized Acoustic Analysis Processor) for the "SOSUS" monitoring stations at many Naval Facilites (NAVFAC). We had a Model Operating System (MOS) in place at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington State - (DECLASSIFIED ~ 1991).

7: EE&S - The AN/APQ-159 was built for the F-5 Tiger II Aircraft and replaced the AN/APQ-153. Also called The Eye of the Tiger. It is an Air-to-Air (ATA) radar sytem, which operates in 4 primary modes and 2 search modes with various ranges. It has increased off-boresight and doubles the range with enhanced reliability. It is equipped with the new Planar Phase-Array (PPA) Antenna.

8: EE&S - My second favorite patch is from Emerson Electronics and Space (EE&S) Division, would be the Tactical Radar, Threat Generator (TRTG) Army/Air Force Aviator Training System. The systems involved a modified F-5 Radar (AN/APQ-159) and an Optical Tracking Device (OTD). It has three main versions which are still in use today:
· Threat Emitter Simulator System (TESS), Reproduces SAM and AAA threats - Sticker #2 & #3.
· Tactical Radar Threat Generator (TRTG), A TESS on a mobile platform - Sticker #2 & #3.
· Ground Radar Emitter for Training Aviators, Army Simulator Equipment (GRETA/ASE) - This patch shown.

Tactical Radar Threat Generator (TRTG), A TESS on a mobile platform.

Ground Radar Emitter for Training Aviators, Army Simulator Equipment (GRETA/ASE).

9: McDonnell Douglas - Under the Design and Technology Engineering (DTE) Division, Department E451 System Integration, Design and Development (SIDD), performed duties to develop, maintain and apply the methods and systems that generate, control and document the US Navy Tomahawk Cruise Missile for successful delivery to the customer. The Tomahawk Versions:
· AGM-109H/L Medium Range Air to Surface (MRASM)
· BGM-109A Land Attack - Nuclear (TLAM-N)
· BGM-109C Land Attack - Conventional (TLAM-C)
· BGM-109D Land Attack - Dispenser (TLAM-D)
· BGM-109G Gryphon Ground Launched (GLCM)
· BGM-109S Gryphon Sea Launched (SLCM)
· BGM-109V Gryphon Vertical Launched (VLCM)
· RGM/UGM-109B Anti-Ship (TASM)
· RGM/UGM-109E Land Attack (TLAM Blk IV)

RGM/UGM-109B Anti-Ship (TASM)

BGM-109 Tomahawk Erector Launcher.

BGM-109 Tomahawk Launch Control Center.

10: McDonnell Douglas - Established and developed a Configuration/Data Management Program for the AV-8B and B-Plus Harrier/Night-Harrier for the Marines concurrent with the top secret A-12 Avenger II and T-45 Goshawk Trainer Simulator programs. Conducted under the Design and Technology Engineering (DTE) Division, Department K37C Aircrew Training Equipment (ATE), performing duties to develop, maintain and apply the methods and systems that generate, control and document the product for successful delivery to the customer.

11: McDonnell Douglas - The AV-8B is a vertical jump jet, and the AV-8B-Plus with upgraded systems that enable the Harrier to continue duties at night.

12: McDonnell Douglas - Under the Design and Technology Engineering (DTE) Division, Department E451 System Integration, Design and Development (SIDD), performed duties to develop, maintain and apply the methods and systems that generate, control and document the Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) for successful delivery to the customer. Many of the subcomponents and systems of the MDAC Tomahawk BGM-109 and the Boeing Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) AGM-86A/B were similar and I would travel between companies to help maintain that compatibility through my CM/DM duties. The Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) Versions are:
· CALCM - Conventional Air Launch (AGM-86A Block I)
· NALCM - Non-conventional Air Launch (AGM-86B Block I, Block II)

Boeing Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) AGM-86A/B

13: McDonnell Douglas - Under the Design and Technology Engineering (DTE) Division, Department E464 Product Definition Systems (PDS), performing duties to develop, maintain and apply the methods and systems that generate, control and document the Harpoon product definition database for successful delivery to the customer. The functions, being very similar to the Tomahawk program, was to accomplish this for the Harpoon Common Weapons Control System (HCWCS). The Harpoon is an Anti-Ship Missile with active radar homing with sea-skimming, over the horizon, all weather capabilities. Later models updated with Tomahawk warhead(s), Inertial Guidance System (IGS), and Global Positioning System (GPS).The Harpoon Versions covered under my duties:
· Air Launched from fixed wing aircraft with pop-up terminal dive (AGM-84A)
· Land Launched variants (AGM-84B)
· Missile Launched without pop-up terminal dive (AGM-84C)
· Missile Launched with selectable pop-up terminal dive (AGM-84D)
· Missile Launched with larger fuel tank and re-attack capability (AGM-84E)
· Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM AGM-84E)
· Sub Launched with solid booster (UGM-84)
· Ship Launched with solid booster (RGM-84)
· Harpoon Canister Launcher (HCL)
· Armored Box Launcher (ABL)
· Associated Launch Control Centers (LCC)
· Coastal Defense Batteries (CDB)

As a side note to show how nerdy I was, I still have the Harpoon Pocket Protector that we wore on project.

14: McDonnell Douglas - Under the Design and Technology Engineering (DTE) Division, Department E451 System Integration, Design and Development (SIDD), performed duties to develop, maintain and apply the methods and systems that generate, control and document the Common Weapons Control System (CWCS) and Cruise Missile Guidance Systems (this sticker) for successful delivery to the customer.

15: McDonnell Douglas - Electrophoresis in Outer Space Project (EOS). Charles Walker, then with McDonnell Douglas Astronautics, operated a continuous flow electrophoresis system aboard the Space Shuttle in the early 1980s. Plans were to upscale the process with a larger independant orbiting facility. Although electrophoresis in space showed great promise, it was overtaken by genetic engineering.

And here we see Charlie Walker (mustache) with the other crewmates on STS-41 Discovery, September 1984.

The sticker for that particular flight that was presented to me from Charlie Walker.

16 & 17: McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics - The most prized patch and sticker would be the A-12 Avenger II top secret stealth attack aircraft to replace the aging A-6 fleet for the Navy, F-111 for the Airforce, and considerations for other modifications for other services. A very large project in excess of 10,000 engineers. I established and developed a Configuration/Data Management Program for the A-12 Avenger II Aircrew Training Equipment (ATE) concurrent with the AV-8A Harrier, AV-8B Night-Harrier, and T-45 Goshawk Trainer Simulator programs. Under the K37C Engineering CM/DM ATE title, conducted all the activities for over ten months by myself until budget was approved for my crew of ten to be added.

And my card (raised lettering).

A-12 Mockup.  I was one of the fortunate few that was able to sit in the cockpit and do a MANPRINT - Human Factores Engineering/System safety/Health Hazards Specification.
.

My duties for the Aircrew Training Equipment (ATE) started off with team setup for the projects. Concurrent Enginerring (CE) performed between multiple companies and their subcontractors. Provided Threat and Counter-Threat (TCT) details for programmed simulations. System requirements developed for the construction of Aircrew Training Equipment (ATE - WST/AST). Hardware Configuration Item subsystems managed for Weapon Systems Training (WST) and Armament Systems Training (AST) were broken down to eleven basic areas common for simulators:

1 - Trainee Station (TS)
2 - Instructor/Operator Station (IOS)
3 - Communication System (CS)
4 - Visual System (VS)
5 - G-Cue System - Crew Escape/Ejection (GCS) (CEE)
6 - Aural Cue System (ACS)
7 - Radar System (RS)
8 - Digital Comcat Simulator (DCS) System
9 - Data Communications Equipment (DCE) System
10 - Power System (PS)
11 - Brief/De-Brief System (BDS)

Other items involved with the ATE:

1a - Crew Stations Furnishings (CSF)
2a - Interactive Control Console (ICC)
3a - Lesson Plan Studio (LPS)
4a - Instructor Led Classes (ILC)

Also coordinated with Systems Engineering and integrated with Structures Support (Dome, Crew Station Visuals, MTE Supports).

Achievement: Design and Technology Engineering (DTE) Managers remarked that I had put together a team and managed a really difficult secret project in record time while conducting my duties with other simulators.