XF-88 Pilot’s Flight Operating Instructions

A copy of the McDonnell Aircraft company produced  XF-88 Preliminary Pilot’s Flight Operating Instructions for the XF-88 aircraft. Report 1032. Dated 16 December 1948.

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Some Missile Info

Facts and figures on many world wide missiles.

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Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak News Releases

Official Douglas company news releases from 1953 for the D-558-1 Skystreak aircraft.

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Additional Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak info here

The Sea Eagle: How America's F-15 Fighter Almost Became a Aircraft Carrier Jet

  An excellent article on the F-15 proposal to become a carrier jet! Written by Michael Peck for the National Interest web magazine.

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Additional info here

Cam Ranh Bay Article

A good article by Jan-Van-Waarde on on the Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam base air operations. Dated 2008.

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Northrop Grumman Pegasus User Guide - 2020

Pegasus is an air-launched launch vehicle developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) and now built and launched by Northrop Grumman. Pegasus is the world's first privately developed orbital launch vehicle. Capable of carrying small payloads of up to 443 kg (977 lb) into low Earth orbit,

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Orbital Sciences Pegasus User Guide - 2010

Pegasus XL is a category 3 NASA-certified vehicle. Developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC). Pegasus is the world's first privately developed orbital launch vehicle. Capable of carrying small payloads of up to 443 kg (977 lb) into low Earth orbit,

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McDonnell Douglas Lithographs–Part V

220 scans of McDonnell Douglas Lithographs. McDonnell issued a lot of lithographs for publicity and for handouts. Enjoy!

Download  here or here or here (1.3 Gig) Note: Large file!

Other Lithographs here

James Crow German WWII Photos

James Crow photos are unique as he had spent years going to German WWII pilots and widows and copying their personal photos!

Download here or here or here (41.6 Megs)

James Crow German Me-109 Booklet here

F-18A Structural Arrangement Body Group

Sheet 1 and 2 of the F-18A Structural Arrangement Body Group drawing 74J008508. Dated 29 December 1980.

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Mitsubishi J8M (Shusui) Photos and Drawings

A set of very good photos and drawings for the Mitsubishi J8M (Shusui) aircraft.

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NATO aircraft over the Atlantic

New photos from the 1970s - 1980s of NATO aircraft over the Atlantic, taken by pilots of the 409th Heavy Bomber Regiment of the USSR Long-Range Aviation. Credit: Konstantin Strelbitsky

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North American F-86 Article

A very nice article on the North American F-86 aircraft. From the Aerei Modellismo 1981 magazine. Altho written in Italian, it is nostly photos and drawings.

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Northrop Tacit Blue Walk Around Photos

Sixty four photos of the Northrop Tacit Blue at the National Museum of the USAF. Credit: John Heck, Vladimir Yakubov

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McDonnell FH-1 Phantom Photos and Drawings

Over 200 photos and drawings for the McDonnell FH-1 Phantom aircraft.

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Other photos here

Boeing XB-47 General Arrangement Drawings

Four drawings for the General Arrangement of the Boeing XB-47 aircraft. From Boeing report D-8005.

Download here or here or here  (10.3 Megs)

British Aerospace Harrier Photos

One hundred and twenty seven British Aerospace Harrier photos.

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F/A-18F Super Hornet Photos

One hundred  F/A-18F Super Hornet Photos from my archives.

Download here or here or here (51 Megs)

Grumman TBM-3 British Avenger III Pilot’s Manual

A copy of the Navy Pilot’s Handbook AN 01-190EB-1 for the Grumman TBM-3 British Avenger aircraft, dated 15 June 1945.

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Aurora 7 Mercury Space Flight of Scott Carpenter

A very nice book on Scott Carpenter’s life and his Aurora 7 Mercury Space Flight in May 1962. Dated 15 September 2015.

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Sputnik/Explorer 1: The Race to Conquer Space

An excellent booklet on Sputnik and Explorer 1 history: The Race to Conquer Space. Written by Samual Willard Crompton. Part of the Milestones in American History Series. Dated January 1, 2007.

“Bolstered by biographical sketches, extensive photographs, excerpts from primary source documents, and first-person narratives, each title in this history series presents a three-dimensional look at a particular event and those people who not only played an integral part in making it significant but also those who were ultimately affected by its consequences.”

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F-15C Background and History

A very good history of the F-15C aircraft. It gives the origin and backstory of the aircraft very well. Credit: Digital Combat Simulator

Download here or here or here (9.8 Megs)

Boeing XPBB-1 Sea Ranger Pilot’s Handbook

A copy of the Pilot’s Notes (Report No. D-3910) for the Boeing XPBB-1 Sea Ranger aircraft. Dated May 1950.

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Hawker Sea Fury 10 and 11 Pilot’s Notes

A copy of the Pilot’s Notes (AP 4018A,B.) for the Hawker Sea Fury 10 and 11 aircraft. Dated May 1950.

Download here or here or here or here (7 Megs)

Fairchild Republic A-10A Aircraft Flight Manual

A copy of the Fairchild Republic A-10A Aircraft Flight Manual [T.O. 1A-10A-1]. Dated 15 March 1988.

Download here or here or here or here (26.3 Megs)

Convair F-106A Illustrated Parts Breakdown Manual

  A copy  of the T.O. 1F-106A-4 Illustrated Parts Breakdown Manual for the Convair F-106A aircraft. Dated 1 January 1988.

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CIA Mikoyan-Gurevich Mig-21FL Flight Manual

An unusual copy of the American CIA Mikoyan-Gurevich Mig-21FL Flight Manual. A truely horrible copy; but, it is all I have! Dated January 1966.

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Supermarine Spitfire I Pilot’s Notes

A copy of AP-1565A, the Supermarine Spitfire I Pilot’s Notes with the Merlin II and III engine. Dated  May 1940.

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North American T-28B/C and AT-28D Trojan Flight Manual

A copy  of the North American T-28B/C and AT-28D Trojan Flight Manual (TO 1T-28-1). Dated 15 January 1974.

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Douglas SBD-5 and A-24B Flight Manual

A copy of the Douglas company produced flight manual for the SBD-5 and A-24B aircraft. Credit: Anymouse Collection

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Boeing XB-47 Flight Handbook

A copy of the Boeing company produced flight handbook (D-8005) for the XB-47 aircraft. Dated October 1 1947. Credit: Anymouse Collection

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Martin XP6M-1 Utility Flight Manual

A copy of the Utility Flight Handbook for the Martin XP6M-1 model, Bu No 138822. Report CSR035 dated May 1 1956. Credit: Anymouse Collection

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Redeveloping the F-4 Phantom II into a Mach 3+ Fighter/Spy Plane

A very good article by Ian D'Costa in the TacAirNet.com online magazine on the Isreali attemp at Redeveloping the F-4 Phantom II into a Mach 3+ Fighter/Spy Plane.

Download here or here or here or here (0.3 Meg)

QF-86 Aircraft and Ramp Photos (Reblog)

Forty two ramp photos I took for the below QF-86 target drone aircraft article.

Download here or here or here (37.2 Megs)

QF-86E Target Drones (ReBlog)

QF-86E Army Sabres article by Ron Downey.

In the summer of 1981, I took a tour of the F-86 conversions at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico which turned them into QF-86 unmanned target drones. I was a guest of Flight Systems, Inc of Mojave Ca, the managers of the program.

I first published a short article in “Crazed Plastic” (See below) and then a revised and larger article in “Radom Thoughts” (RT) in 1982. RT is the IPMS Canada’s publication. Here is that article.

The very distinctive Orange color used on these birds is called Omaha Orange from the  Dupont Centari No. 31AH collection. A close match for Omaha Orange is FS 12473. The sample in this article was painted with the actual Dupont color.

Click here to see color

"Thumper" was destroyed on a NOLO mission in August 1981. It had survived at least 9 missile shots!

For further info on the Qf-86 Target drones, get Duncan Curtis's wonderful book "North American QF-86E/F/H/Sabre". It is Number 58 of Steve Ginter's "Naval Fighter" series. Click here to purchase book

Update: Click here to see the Duncan Curtis article on Flight System Sabres

 

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F-15 Aerei Modellismo Article

  A very nice article on the F-15 aircraft. Lot’s of drawings and info. From the 1981 issue of the Aerei Modellismo magazine.

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CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder

Eighty six photos of the CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder aircraft.

The CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder, or FC-1 Xiaolong ), is a lightweight, single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC). It was designed to replace the A-5C, F-7P/PG, Mirage III, and Mirage V combat aircraft in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The JF-17 can be used for multiple roles, including interception, ground attack, anti-ship, and aerial reconnaissance. The Pakistani designation "JF-17" stands for "Joint Fighter-17", with the "-17" denoting that, in the PAF's vision, it is the successor to the F-16. The Chinese designation "FC-1" stands for "Fighter China-1". From Wikipedia.

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KAI T-50 Golden Eagle Photos

One hundred and four photos of the Korean KAI T-50 Golden Eagle aircraft.

The KAI T-50 Golden Eagle is a family of South Korean supersonic advanced jet trainers and light combat aircraft, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) with Lockheed Martin.^[1] The T-50 is South Korea's first indigenous supersonic aircraft and one of the world's few supersonic trainers.^[4] Development began in the late 1990s, and its maiden flight occurred in 2002. The aircraft entered active service with the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) in 2005. From Wikipedia.

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The Flight of “Big Joe 1”(Atlas-10D)

A copy of a very good article on the Big Joe Mercury Capsule. With info, photos and drawings. From the Sept/Oct issue of the Space Frontiers magazine.

“Big Joe 1 (Atlas-10D) launched an uncrewed boilerplate Mercury capsule from Cape Canaveral, Florida on 9 September 1959. The purposes of the Big Joe 1 were to test the Mercury spacecraft ablative heat shield, afterbody heating, reentry dynamics attitude control and recovery capability. It was also the first launch of a spacecraft in Project Mercury.” From wikipedia

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Coast Guard Colors

 

Info on the Coast Guard colors. These two chips are actual Coast Guard color chips from June 1971!

What are the Coast Guard colors?
For purposes of rendering the Coast Guard emblem in color, Coast Guard red is defined as PMS 179 C, and Coast Guard blue is PMS 307 C. When printed in black ink only, all red and blue sections shall be printed in black. The Coast Guard mark is available for commercial use with a license agreement.

Pastel red -
Description and conversion results of color Pantone 179 C It is a pastel red color having an approximate luminance of 49 %. It has a hue value of 3° indicating that this is a warm color.

Blue - Pantone / PMS 307 C / #006ba6 Hex Color Code
#006ba6 Paint ChipThe hexadecimal color code #006ba6 is a medium dark shade of cyan-blue. In the RGB color model #006ba6 is comprised of 0% red, 41.96% green and 65.1% blue. In the HSL color space #006ba6 has a hue of 201° (degrees), 100% saturation and 33% lightness.

White -Federal Standard 17877 Coast Guard White - FEDSTD595

(Zip file includes web addresses of paint chips and two manuals on Paint and Color and Coatings and Colors.)

Download here or here or here (65.8 Megs)

F-4G “Wild Weasel” Flight Manual (Newer)

A newer copy of the McDonnell Douglas F-4G “Wild Weasel” flight manual TO 1F-4G-1, dated 3 November 1993. Credit: Trevor Bodnar

Download here or here or here or here (65.5 Megs)

Older F-4G flight manual here

Other F-4G info here

Fairey Barracuda MkI and MkII Pilot’s Notes

A copy of the Pilot’s notes (A.P. 2018A&B-PN) for the Fairey Barracuda MkI and MkII aircraft. Dated 1943.

Download here or here or here or here (3.5 Megs)

Hughes AH-64A Apache Booklet

A copy of the company produced Hughes AH-64A Apache  Booklet. Lot’s of facts and figures! Hughes was a subsidiary of McDonnell Douglas at this time.

Download here or here or here or here (1.5 Megs)

Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor Photos 2

One hundred and twenty two photos of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor aircraft.

Download here or here or here (56.4 Megs)

Douglas TA-4F/4J Skyhawk Report

A copy of the McDonnell Douglas report number MDC-J4176 on the virtues of the Douglas TA-4F/4J Skyhawk aircraft. Dated 1 May 1972.

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Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor Photos 1

One hundred and three photos of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor aircraft.

Download here or here or here (54.6 Megs)

Note on Contributions

My recent computer and health problems have kept me from acknowledging your kind contributions. You know who you are; but, thanks to Steve, Andrew, Rockie, Peter, Joel, Tim, Kevin, Georg, Thompson and all the others who responeded to my call. Thanks very much!!

Unfortunately, I only received half of what you gave the first time, which held me for 18 months. So, if any of you are on the fence and have the means, please conside donating what you can. Use the PayPal button at the top right of the front page.

Thanks again,

Ron

McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender Photos

One hundred and five photos of the McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender aircraft.

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K-Type Airship Pilot's Manual

A copy of the Goodyear Aircraft Company’s United States Navy K-Type Airship Pilot’s Manual. Dated September 1943.

Download here or here or here or here (8.8 Megs)

Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) Boomerang

Forty Four photos and info on the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) Boomerang aircraft.

Download here or here or here (7.2 Megs)