BAe P.1216 book

[harrier]

New book coming soon.

See attached flyer and cover image.

It's in the final stages of production, and rests on a decade of research in archives, interviews with the engineers and experience of working on related projects.

Comments/questions welcome.

[pyro-manic]

Cool! When will it be released, and how much will it cost?

[harrier]

The release 'date' is this summer. As I do this in my spare time, it is hard to nail it down exactly.

Price is around a tenner sterling, but depends on final page count. And that depends in part on comments people make - will you pay a pound or two more for extra bits? If so, what bits?

My past life in publishing showed me how knowing your customer is key, so let me know what you want and I'll see what I can do. For e.g., I guess modellers want clear plans, colour profiles etc. But do they need them to scale (a total pain to do!).

[Thorvic]

Hi Mike

Nice to see this one lined up to be published, from a modellers point of view a decent set of plans to scale wouldn't go amiss, but after that you could see if Chris can do some Variant drawings just to highlight some of the key differences between the many variants. Including some of the original detailed parts breakdown wouldn't be bad either as those are handy drawings giving a feeling for the shape and structure of the beast.


From a whiff side of things a bit of educated speculation about armament, markings and squadrons together with possibly comment on how operational different it would be to the Harrier it was intended to replace might help bulk it out (just dont get too outlandish or some people will focus on that rather than the actual story of our intended Harrier replacement)

All the best with bringing this together.

Cheers

Geoff

(PS ever considered doing the 1154 as a follow up  )

[JayBee]

Have you spoken to "Captain Freigtdog" please, pretty please, about colaborating in a kit?

[harrier]

see if Chris can do some Variant drawings just to highlight some of the key differences between the many variants.

Have some done by Chris of weapon variants, with original GAs of variants 'side by side'.

Including some of the original detailed parts breakdown wouldn't be bad either as those are handy drawings giving a feeling for the shape and structure of the beast.

Got some of them in already, may add more.

From a whiff side of things a bit of educated speculation about armament, markings and squadrons together with possibly comment on how operational different it would be to the Harrier it was intended to replace might help bulk it out

Got some by Sentinel Chicken lined up, plus some original artwork from Brooklands (USMC variant!)

(PS ever considered doing the 1154 as a follow up  )

-it's in this book as an appendix, but not detail plans. But yes, can do another on that.

[harrier]

Have you spoken to "Captain Freigtdog" please, pretty please, about colaborating in a kit?

Martin H had a good go at a kit, which I have mentioned/shown in the book.

[Martin H]

Have you spoken to "Captain Freigtdog" please, pretty please, about colaborating in a kit?

Martin H had a good go at a kit, which I have mentioned/shown in the book.

Had being the correct word LOL...I still have the masters (done by Thorvic) but the moulds are shot and in dire need of replaceing. and the pennies are a little on the short side at this present time.

[harrier]

Final draft text, pics etc. now gone for print layout to be done. Once that is proofed then ready to print.

Table of contents:

Introduction

Acknowledgements

History

•   Background
•   Twin-boom origins
•   P.1216 for the RAF
•   P.1216 for the Royal Navy
•   P.1216 for the US and UK

Technical Description

•   P.1216-41 Description
•   Overview
•   Structure
•   Aerodynamics
•   Propulsion
•   Avionics
•   Systems
•   Weapons
•   Ownership and operations

P.1216 Data

•   P.1216-41 1985
•   Estimated Performance Data
•   Costs and Timescales

Overview and Conclusions

Appendices

•   Appendix 1 – P.1216 Variants
•   Appendix 2 – P.1216 Models Tested
•   Appendix 3 – Other Kingston Twin-boom projects
•   Appendix 4 – P.1216 Timeline

Glossary

And back cover draft blurb:

The British Aerospace (BAe) P.1216 project of the 1980s was a supersonic Advanced Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (ASTOVL) fighter, designed by the same team that originally designed the Harrier. It was the last major attempt at an independent British fighter aircraft project, and was developed through many versions over the course of the 1980s.

Had the P.1216 been fully developed the UK could have led a programme for an ASTOVL combat aircraft that would be in service around the world today, in place of the Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. The fact that it did not go ahead will have a significant impact on the aerospace industry and armed forces of the UK and other nations for many years to come.

This book tells the story of the P.1216, looking behind the political, technical and business aspects of its design and testing, using access to previously secret documents and interviews with key personnel involved in the project. It is lavishly illustrated with original technical diagrams, photographs and colour artwork.

As well as telling the story of the P.1216 it also provides a new perspective on the decades-long quest to create a supersonic 'jump jet'; in the words of Ralph Hooper, the original designer of the Harrier, "one of the last prestigious hurdles for aviation to clear", and a formidable challenge to this day. This book will be of great interest to all those with an interest in modern combat aircraft, the technical aspects of aerospace project design and the politics of weapon system acquisition.

Final cover plus internal cover mock-ups:

[Hobbes]

Excellent news, looking forward to this.

[philp]

Have you spoken to "Captain Freigtdog" please, pretty please, about colaborating in a kit?

Martin H had a good go at a kit, which I have mentioned/shown in the book.

Had being the correct word LOL...I still have the masters (done by Thorvic) but the moulds are shot and in dire need of replaceing. and the pennies are a little on the short side at this present time.

Still think you guys should hit Freightdog up to see if he could use your masters and make new molds including the extra bits.  Still bummed I missed out on this.

Book looks interesting and I love the subject matter.

[pyro-manic]

Woohoo! Please post as soon as you know the release date etc - I'll definitely be buying this.

[Mossie]

Sounds great, I'll be picking it up too.

[harrier]

Final version approved and off to print next week it seems. Should be ready for end of the month.

Final page count - 48.

Final price - £9.95

All original illustrations - colour artwork, GAs  etc.

Includes details of many variants of the P.1216 and other twin-boom projects (e.g. P.1212 - some very weird variants that didn't go much beyond a 'one afternoon wonder' but will be fun to model).

[pyro-manic]

You can put me down for one, definitely. Where will we be able to order from?