Bell D188A (XF-109/XF3L) VTOL Fighter

[jzichek]

A new post is up at RetroMechanix.com presenting a Bell "XF-109" brochure and mock-up inspection program dating from February 1959:



This is the last article in our series on this ill-fated supersonic VTOL fighter; the profusely illustrated color brochure focuses exclusively on the Air Force variant, while the program provides an interesting overview of the mock-up inspection process and the state of Bell facilities in 1959. The article features 72 images reproducing both documents in full.

-Jared   

[Weaver]

I just got the Scott Lowther US Supersonic Bomber Projects 2 book which has some 1/72nd scale drawings of the D188A in it.

If anyone's interested in making something approximating to it, I can now confirm that 1/144th scale B-1B engine pods are a near-perfect match for the D188A's wingtip pods.

An F-5E's rear fuselage and intakes would probably also be useful (it is powered by two J-85s after all) although they're by no means as perfect a match.