BSP: Hypersonics, Ramjets, & Missiles-no HOTOL??

[AeroplaneDriver]

This past week I ordered 'British Secret Projects-Hypersonics, Ramjets, & Missiles and was a bit surprised that there is no info on the BAe HOTOL project (at least not according to the index or my brief look through the book).  It's a great book, like all the others in the series and heartbreaking to an even greater degree than the Fighters and Bombers volumes.  Some of the projects in the works in the 50s 60s and 70s are truly incredible, if financially unachievable (Mach 7 Rapid Reaction Troop Transports!), but why no HOTOL I wondered?  I've always been very interested in HOTOL, does anyone know of a book that does include it?

[puddingwrestler]

What is this HOTOL of which you speak? I'm going to assume it's not a mis spelled for of accomodation cooupled with a caps lock error. Forgive the ignorance of a young SF geek...

[Weaver]

HOTOL:

http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/6133/hotol.html

BSP-4 is a book of two halves, and my impression is that, while the Missiles section comes more or less up to the present day, the Hypersonics section has a cut-off point somewhere around 1980, which excludes HOTOL. IIRC (I havn't got it in front of me), it does mention HOTOL, SKYLON etc... in the afterward.

[Thorvic]

I know Chris had to edit it back somewhat to fit within Midland Counties expectations, its quite possible the space based subjects were removed and intergrated into Bill Rose's Military Space Secret Projects which came out after BSP IV.

Geoff

[Sentinel Chicken]

I have all of the BSP series of books save one and love 'em all. It's quite clear that if there is a pair of brass ones in the aeronautical world, they have a British accent.

[AeroplaneDriver]

Thanks for the expanation of the split between missiles and hypersonics.  I couldnt figure out why it would have StormShadow and reference to the 2003 Iraq war but no mention of HOTOL.  Nevertheless, it is still an excellent book and well worth the money.  The only downside to this whole series is thinking of what might have been.  I love the little unmanned intercepton in the book with a single SkyFlash on top of the fuselage and a pair of ASRAAM on the wingtips.  In the plan view it looks an awful lot like a Gripen, so I think a 1/72 Gripen could become this early UCAV concept in 1/48 pretty easily. 

Still, the highlight of the book for me are the supersonic/hypersonic designs that either show a distinct Concorde lineage or that look like the curent NASA experimental designs. 

[Mossie]

I know Chris had to edit it back somewhat to fit within Midland Counties expectations, its quite possible the space based subjects were removed and intergrated into Bill Rose's Military Space Secret Projects which came out after BSP IV.

Geoff

Yeah, HOTOL is definatley in the Military Space Technology book, it gets about five pages, including Interim HOTOL that would have been launched from a An-225.  There's a chapter dedicated to British space projects.  It's brought up to date with the inclusion of Skylon & Lapcat (the latter would be more appropriate in the Hypersonics book, but I'm being picky).  The MUSTARD concept gets a good airing too.  Well worth a look.