Crecy plans for forthcoming revised editions of Secret Projects series books

hesham

hesham

ACCESS: USAP
Senior Member
Joined
26 May 2006
Messages
33,621
Reaction score
13,761
For my dear Mr. Tony Buttler,


I like your marvelous books about Secret Projects series,and I suggest that,you can make
a revised editions to this series,specially it came after we discovered many unknown projects
in that forum.


Of course not all of them,but can pick one or two books,maybe more,and you will specific
according to the new mount of new materials,for example if you find 3 or 4 projects discover
more than your book,axiomatically you never make a revised one,but when you find 20 to
25 or more,then you can do it.


Also I suggest anther 3 new books,


-USA Secret Projects : Civil & Military Transport and Cargo Aircraft
-USA Secret Projects : Civil & Military Helicopters
-Europe Secret Projects : Civil & Military Helicopters
 
I had also two suggestions:

-USA Secret Projects : Civil & Military Training Aircraft before or/and after 1945
-USA Secret Projects : Observation/Recce Aircraft before or/and after 1945
 
Message from Tony Buttler

Morning Everyone. Many thanks to Hesham for your request - in fact you have hit our plans spot on! The Secret Projects Series is now owned by Crecy Publishing and the plan is to re-issue most of my titles over I guess the next 4-5 years. In fact I had not realised that the British Secret Projects (BSP) series had been out of print for so long. There is quite a lot of new information which can go into these books, but it varies from volume to volume. BSP1: Jet Fighters can be added to considerably - possibly 25-30% of new materials and projects and so a proper 2nd Edition. For BSP: Bombers and WW2 rather less so - I would guess no more than 10% new (though we would add/replace as many new photos as possible), so maybe just a 'revised reprint'. Cannot really say at this stage. For American Secret Projects: Jet Fighters, here of course several chapters were added to to produce 'Early US Jet Fighters' from Hikoki (Crecy), which at the time I thought would be a one-off. But there is enough left over from ASP1 to produce a new volume and I have acquired quite a lot more on US jet fighter projects, Long Range Interceptors for example. ASP: Jet Bombers has only recently gone out of print, but I know of some new projects for this as well though how much is hard to tell at this stage. I would like to do that one with Alan if he is keen. Our ASP: WW2 volume goes into design shortly and I have to make some additions this week for spec C-104. As regards the other title suggestions. Please remember that my area is combat aircraft - I know hardly anything about civil aeroplanes at all! For US transports, all I can say is that there are possibilities (not from me), but they are at a very very early stage and by not by any means certain. For helicopters, I'm afraid books on this subject rarely sell well, so it is just not on for me to travel from the UK to the US to undertake research at huge cost for a book that might not work. But that does leave the door for anyone based in the US who might like to have a go. Finally trainers - I know some work is being done for a book in the US but whether that will cover projects I just do not know. If we do all of the revised Secret Projects volumes as planned I will then be in my 60s. I might have had enough by then! Who knows!! Once again, thanks to Hesham for his very kind comments, and to you all for your terrific support. Very best wishes, Tony.
Click to expand...
 
Good to hear that Tony continues to find new material for his books, I look forward to seeing the results.

Of course if forum members have specific areas of interest then a better solution than inventing titles and hoping to see an established author produce them is to have a go at carrying out the research themselves. There are plenty of people here who could pool their knowledge and research to provide the basis of a book, or so it appears to me.
Perhaps Hesham or Maveric would like to take the lead and post a proposal, with scope, timescale and so on, and see if they can pull together a team of like-minded people. If not then it may suggest that the perceived market for the suggested book does not actually exist; if you cannot interest people here you are unlikely to interest others. It does, of course, assume that there actually are sufficient 'secret projects' to make this worthwhile, it may not always be the case.

Cheers
 
Absolutely agree. From my experience, its not hard to get access to things if you have time to spend. Such projects just need someone who is a big fan of e.g. civil aircraft, trainers, helicopters to lead it.

Regarding Tony's books, don't forget he has self-imposed restrictions on what he includes, concentrating on final proposals not on "back of a napkin" initial designs. Many (most?) of the designs posted here would not meet those criteria.
 
Thank you my dears Tony Buttler and PaulMM,


I understand that point,and I wish to see a more Secret Projects books,really it
is fantastic work.
 
Hi All!


Thank you my dears Tony Buttler and PaulMM!



I agree with hesham!

I had also one suggestions:

USA Secret Projects: Military and Space: Missiles/Rockets, Launch Vehicles and Aerospaceplanes.
 
There is demand for a reprint at least - they are quite hard to get hold of now. The BSP Fighters book in particular is no longer as complete as it was at the time, so a new edition is worthwhile rather than reprinting the old version.


For the BSP Bombers volume, covering AEW studies and Maritime Patrol Aircraft better might be fruitful though it would duplicate Nimrod's Genesis and the ProjectTech AEW books somewhat. As trainers and strike projects overlap somewhat you could also potentially include trainers in this volume.
 
Sometimes these types of books are slow-burners with the market building steadily as word-of-mouth and good reviews raises their profile. So if sales of the first editions have proven good then a reprint does make sense. In addition new information is constantly being located through targeted research, improvements in the cataloguing of archives and the release of documents, so revisions and additions are also worthwhile for some volumes. I think I bought the White Album three times, so buying revamped volumes from Tony is a distinct possibility :)

If we are still playing the game of fantasy library then I want to see : Secret Projects: All the 1930s British Aircraft I don't know about yet. I'm sure somebody would like to write that.
 
Can I just say that BSP1 Fighters and bombers 1935 to 50 is (IMHO) the book that most needs to be reissued as an expanded multi volume set. As the first in the series it obviously tested the water for the concept but now the concept has been shown to be successful I would hope to see a greatly enlarged 2 or 3 volume re-issue.
 
I would gladly buy the reissues. In a heartbeat.


If I can also play fantasy library, I'd like to see BSP 1935-50 stretched a little at the low end to include the genesis of all the major projects that saw service in World War 2, some of which didn't make it in except as asides because their specifications (or much of their development work) had been completed before the cutoff dates.


I suspect there may be a niche market for BSP: 1919-1935, as I wouldn't at all mind seeing Tony's take on the development of lesser-known aircraft like the HP Harrow, Bristol Bombay, Boulton-Paul *strand bombers, etc., but I accept that what he does is ultimately his call and I would be quite content with a reissue and updating of the existing books as intended.


By the time the reissue is complete, my kids will be old enough to be trusted with the originals! ;D
 
pathology_doc said:
I suspect there may be a niche market for BSP: 1919-1935,
Click to expand...

YES!

pathology_doc said:
I wouldn't at all mind seeing Tony's take on the development of lesser-known aircraft like the HP Harrow, Bristol Bombay, Boulton-Paul *strand bombers, etc., but I accept that what he does is ultimately his call
Click to expand...

What? I thought Tony was a wholly owned subsidiary of this board. ;)
 
I can see him doing the math now - "X secret projects members at so and so much per book equals... hmm..."
 
Could someone please supply a note explaining to the old duck that I will need to buy them all again! Put your foot down I can hear being shouted, show her who's boss! I did, and after a fortnight of cold shoulder and tongue for tea, now I just do as I'm told. Get the behind me satan
 
The Military Space Technology book could use an update. It was great. But you have recent developments like the cancellation of Blackswift and the flight testing of the X-37B and X-51 that I think needs mentioning.

Probably one of the bigger updates, I think, would be the the information we dug up four years ago on Project ISINGLASS. The last edition offered up images of the IGV and other McDonnell hypersonics as speculation on ISINGLASS. But we now we know the actual configuration.
 
Any plans for the re-publication of the Soviet Secret Project books as I missed them first time round?
 
FighterJock said:
Any plans for the re-publication of the Soviet Secret Project books as I missed them first time round?
Click to expand...
Good question, which I follow... ;)
 
That is a question for Crecy and Yefim Gordon, not Tony, I'm afraid. However I believe the recent Unflown Wings book is effectively what you want, with a few drawbacks (no index or unifying narrative, just a list of projects).
 
It is disappointing to hear that the "Civilain & Military Helicopters" book is a non-runner. This is one title I would love to see published as I am sure there is a huge number of very interesting rotorcraft projects that existed in some form or another. It sadly appears to be a trend in aviation publishing now that helicopter books are seen as not being worth considering.
500 Fan.
 
Historically they have never sold well, this would indicate there really isn't a big market for them. unless all previous helicopter books were rubbish. There could be something in the ProjectTech line of course, which has done AEW and transport types. British Helicopter Projects. Anyone want to give it a go?
 
If somebody pitches a book proposal on helicopters, I'll try and read it without falling asleep within five minutes (which is what I do in a helicopter).

Seriously, books on civil airliners and particularly civil helicopters just don't sell. Oddly enough neither do books on military transports and military helicopters, but hopefully that will change soon. I champion odd, niche subjects, but at the end of the day they need to pay their way. In my 'plane porn' collection I have possibly five books on airliners (VC10, BAC One-Eleven, Britannia, Stuck on the Drawing board and....make that four. I have more books on warships than on airliners.

I think the problem is that civvie books are mainly of the Reggie Spotter style and apart from the superb Scoval books, tend to end up as checklists and colour schemes. I have watched a 'definitive' book on an airliner languish on the same shelf in Waterstones for over a year. Been well thumbed (probably by me) but not bought.

All this might change given the right approach and material. I hope it does.

Of course, you can always write one, but I fear books on civvie stuff would end up as reg lists and scans of flight manuals. Not my cup of tea at all (even for military stuff) as that's what the web is for.

Chris

PS book five! Trident!
 
Its unfair, but this is what springs to mind regarding airliner design.

In Boeing's advanced project office, an engineer sits down at drawing board.


"Hmm. It needs to be exactly like an 767, but bigger. This is going to be tricky. Bob - take this 767 drawing to the photocopier will you? 133% should do it."
 
Hello,

If a new edition of the secret project series is coming I would suggest that the American bomber book be split into two volumes:

ASP strategic bombers
ASP attack aircraft

like the “Luftwaffe secret projects” book.

The current volume, at 220 pages has the same page count as BSP bombers. Given the size of the US industry/military one would expect a much longer volume for the US bombers issue for a similar depth of coverage……..one that is probably beyond publisher limitations.

Aside from that I would definitely be interested in volumes about:

Reconnaissance planes.

Military / civil transports (Someone pointed out that this may be a little boring, but perhaps by stretching its contents to include perhaps unconventional configurations studied at NASA – like the spanloader – or more recent studies into BWB or stealth transports it could be made more interesting).

ASP hypersonic, ramjets and missiles (perhaps more than one volume).

Clearly this is too much for Tony alone, but what about an US based co-author?

Finally, the next editions of ASP are likely to be out around 10 years after the last one (if I interpreted correctly the previous posts). Will there be enough material for a chapter about the first steps of programs like the ATF of the B 2?

Best F_T
 
Could be useful something about french projects until 1945 and post 1945 ( two volume).
 
Nick Sumner said:
Can I just say that BSP1 Fighters and bombers 1935 to 50 is (IMHO) the book that most needs to be reissued as an expanded multi volume set. As the first in the series it obviously tested the water for the concept but now the concept has been shown to be successful I would hope to see a greatly enlarged 2 or 3 volume re-issue.
Click to expand...

Hey - I'd just be happy to see the original re-issued (even without any revisions).
 
PaulMM (Overscan) said:
Its unfair, but this is what springs to mind regarding airliner design.
In Boeing's advanced project office, an engineer sits down at drawing board.
"Hmm. It needs to be exactly like an 767, but bigger. This is going to be tricky. Bob - take this 767 drawing to the photocopier will you? 133% should do it."
Click to expand...

Just about nailed it! ;D
 
My dear Tony Buttler,

there was a tens of Russian's Fighters and Bombers discovered after your great two books,
please we hope to see a revised editions from them,if you have a time.
 
Hello Hesham.

Many thanks for your request about updating Soviet Secret Projects. However, I'm afraid you need to ask Yefim Gordon about this - my job on those books was essentially to work as the editor. Yefim did all of the research.

Since then of course he has produced 'Unflown Wings' which had some new materials, but in terms of jet-powered aircraft I am not aware of 'tens of' designs being discovered, at least not in terms of previously completely unknown designations and certainly not for fighters for the 1950s period which is my great area of interest. But I admit I have lost touch with this field a bit due to other commitments.


As an update on other Secret Projects titles, BSP2 Jet Bombers is now with Crecy, though I am unsure if the plan is to have it available by IPMS Telford this coming November.

For BSP WW2 I intend to split this into two with separate Fighter and Bomber volumes. I hope to start Fighters in March 2018 with publication later in the year. Bombers to follow, with the two American Secret Projects updates further down the line.

Very best wishes, Tony.
Click to expand...
 
For BSP WW2 I intend to split this into two with separate Fighter and Bomber volumes. I hope to start Fighters in March 2018 with publication later in the year. Bombers to follow, with the two American Secret Projects updates further down the line.
Click to expand...

Great news, thanks a lot
 
OK my dear Tony Buttler,and thanks to my dear Paul,

I understand your point,and for BSP WWII,it's fantastic news,and I want to tell you about this
idea from long time ago (two volumes),but I know the materials by earlier time was not available.

All best wishes
 
For Crecy and my dear Tony Butler,

you must consider this book in your think ;

American Secret Projects : Helicopters,Autogyros & Gyroplanes 1945 to the Present
 
Hello Hesham and Everyone.

I hope you are all keeping safe in this awful situation.

Many thanks for your request Hesham. I'm afraid I have to decline this one for the following reasons:

1. Sadly, I have never had an in-depth interest in helicopters, and I cannot justify spending a lot of money researching a subject which is outside my range.

2. With the current restrictions, it is impossible to go to America to conduct research, both from a travel point of view and because many archives are closed indefinitely.

3. In 3 years time I will be 67 and it is my plan to finish producing big books - they wear me out!! That said, interesting things keep appearing so I hope to continue to keep my hand in doing articles and smaller bits and pieces.

To that end, only yesterday I began assembling all of my materials to revise American Secret Projects: Jet Bombers, which I have to deliver at the end of January 2021.

As regards helicopters, etc - anyone else interested?

Very best wishes to you all. Take care and stay safe!

Tony.
Click to expand...
 
OK my dears Tony and Paul,

and it's a good news about ASP Jet Bombers,all best wishes,and stay well.
 
Guaranteed customer for that revised US Jet bomber book - please have my money now!
 

Similar threads

Please donate to support the forum.

Back
Top Bottom