The Stealth Fighter: the story of the F-19 and its creator

[cooks71]

Hello fellow aviation enthusiasts,
I am excited to share with you my latest book, “The Stealth Fighter”. It is a fascinating tale of how a model kit designer unwittingly challenged the US military’s most classified project during the Cold War.
The book follows the journey of John Andrews, Chief Designer of Testors, a very clever man with a knack for creativity. By the end of the '70s this guy was aware that the Skunk Works was working on a stealth plane, and he tried in a matter of seven years to design the model kit using pieces and bites of information disseminated in magazines, books and chats wit experts. He came up with the F-19, the most succesful model kit of all the times. We all know what the F-19 is, but the real story how this design was really made has always been the subject of incorrect reconstructions. The book is based on extensive research and interviews with the people involved in this remarkable story, including his son and his life long friend Jim Goodall (we all know who is this author). The book reveals the thrilling details of this cat-and-mouse game between the modeler and the military, and the incredible engineering feats that led to the creation of the F-117 and the F-19. It also explores the historical and political context of the Cold War era, and the role of stealth technology in the balance of power between the US and the Soviet Union. It is a must-read for anyone who loves aviation, history, or espionage. It is also a tribute to the power of imagination and innovation, and the spirit of adventure that drives us to explore the unknown.

If you are interested in reading this book, you can order it online from Amazon.com / Amazon.co.uk
I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. I would love to hear your feedback and opinions on this fascinating topic. Feel free to leave a comment and i will be more than happy to share with you my knowledge about this topic.
Thank you for your attention and happy reading!
Here's the book cover (made by Mads Bangsø)


Amazon.com link: https://www.amazon.com/Stealth-Figh...5a-4227189d9d55&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m



The late John Andrews in his office in San Diego

 

[Sprues]

I'll have to check this out. Seen the story covered in brief in Stealth by Westwick. Glad to see that someone expanded on it.

 

[Orionblamblam]

View attachment 719974

The description reads like a history or biography, but the cover says "A novel." Which is it?

 

[cooks71]

The description reads like a history or biography, but the cover says "A novel." Which is it?

Hello,
I had to use the term "novel" for two reasons: most of the people that actually were involved in the F-19 design have died a long before this writing Project started, so Is based on second hand interviews (sons or younger people that were present on those days). Second reason: there Is a degree of fiction in the second part of the book to Justify a long believed Legend around the F-19. Why the soviets never developed their own Stealth Fighter if they were aware that the US was working on It? And the F-19 Is involved in this? So, in this book you have actual information about the F-19 design was developed, especially by the Italian side of Italeri that made the molds, a lot of information about John Andrews. There's a certain degree of fiction only in the final portion of the book, because It has to entertain, but in a very realistic way. All these things are clearly stated in the First Pages of the book (Kindle users.may download the First 40 Pages for free), but It Is all based on actual information. Think of It as a screenplay for a movie biopic, but more accurate than most movie biopic about a real Person. I Hope this explanation could be useful and i apologize for my english. The book was translated by a London based professional agency, so It has far Better english than this post.

 

[TsrJoe]

Are there any concept illustrations of designs leading up to the model itself ?

 

[cooks71]

Are there any concept illustrations of designs leading up to the model itself ?

Hello,
There are no available preparatory sketches of the F-19 from 1985, but in the book Is explained why the F-19 has its distinctive drop shape and source of this. All the illustrations on the appendix are from the original patent request for the design.

 

[Antonio]

Today Kindle version is on sale for less than USD/Euro 3 so I bought it.
First impression: that's a novel or novelisation in style. Personally my preference is always for pure descriptive text, but must read it before more comments.

 

[cooks71]

Today Kindle version is on sale for less than USD/Euro 3 so I bought it.
First impression: that's a novel or novelisation in style. Personally my preference is always for pure descriptive text, but must read it before more comments.

Thank you.
Yes, the style Is novelisation because i'm a novelist and i think with that style the book could also be enjoyed by people that are not very familiar with the subject. Just like a biopic movie: Is designed for "everyone", but experts could enjoy some of the information and details in It that a non-expert could not grasp. It was a definitive writing choice. I Hope the readers could enjoy It.

 

[F19]

I am curious about a couple of things . Do you think he did work it all out himself from the technical book he read ? You mentioned John Lear briefly , was he really connected to John Lear ?

 

[cooks71]

Andrews had a lot of insights about Have Blue program, that shaped all his ideas about the F-19. The Radar Cross Section manual probably gave him the hint to employ the bell shaped design, because the cardiod shape has a very little frontal RCS. John Lear was part of a close knitted group of people that pursued the truth about the black projects developed in Area51 with a special focus on UFO. Andrews was among that group of people.

 

[quellish]

I am curious about a couple of things . Do you think he did work it all out himself from the technical book he read ? You mentioned John Lear briefly , was he really connected to John Lear ?

Andrews was very, very connected to Lear. Andrews is the person that got Lear interested in UFOs. Lear is the person who first showed Andrews Groom Lake in person.

 

[_Del_]

Andrews was very, very connected to Lear. Andrews is the person that got Lear interested in UFOs. Lear is the person who first showed Andrews Groom Lake in person.

Curious

 

[TMA1]

John Lear and friends are a curious bunch. Every single major ufo media circus seemed to be connected to them in one way or another. From the the so-called "aviary" to "to the stars academy". Some of them are pretty strange indeed.

 

[Dagger]

Today Kindle version is on sale for less than USD/Euro 3 so I bought it.

Today the Kindle version is on sale for less than 1 USD/Euro/Pound.

 

[Dynoman]

Didn't Gary Cadish (Testor's marketing person) have a drawing of a stealth aircraft that Andrews looked at and said "I can do better" leading to Andrews design? If so, is there any drawings available of the earlier aircraft?

Someone tipped off Testor's that a stealth aircraft was flying and an artist drew what they thought that aircraft looked like before Andrews aircraft was designed. I'm curious if that drawing was faceted.

 

[cooks71]

Didn't Gary Cadish (Testor's marketing person) have a drawing of a stealth aircraft that Andrews looked at and said "I can do better" leading to Andrews design? If so, is there any drawings available of the earlier aircraft?

Someone tipped off Testor's that a stealth aircraft was flying and an artist drew what they thought that aircraft looked like before Andrews aircraft was designed. I'm curious if that drawing was faceted.

There are various versions of this episode (it depends on the source). In the book I decided to follow the following one: in 1985 Cadish shows up at Andrews' office. The latter was working on the logo of a company that produced military avionics. Cadish saw that Andrews was drawing a plane with very futuristic lines and asked him if it was the famous Stealth Fighter that everyone was talking about. Andrews replied that it was just a fantasy plane and that the real Stealth Fighter had to have a very different shape, and drew him the F-19 for the first time. Cadish was very impressed by the design of that plane and decided that it had to be produced in a model. It's all written in the book.

 

[Dynoman]

Do you discuss the details of the Andrew's design in the book, e.g. why he chose covered inlets instead of a 'screen' or s-curved ducts, why canards were used in front of the inlets, the location of, what I believe is an RWR receiver on the 2-D elevon/vectored thrust control surface, etc.?

 

[cooks71]

Do you discuss the details of the Andrew's design in the book, e.g. why he chose covered inlets instead of a 'screen' or s-curved ducts, why canards were used in front of the inlets, the location of, what I believe is an RWR receiver on the 2-D elevon/vectored thrust control surface, etc.?

In the book I explain the technical choices made by Andrews for the F-19, but it is not possible to go into much detail as some choices remain totally senseless. The canard wings for example or the total absence of control surfaces on the trailing edges of the wings. Andrews had gleaned details from Have Blue such as the tail rudders with that configuration. He also understood that the air intakes were shielded, but he lacked the detail with which engineering solution, so he independently opted for the use of NACA air intakes. However, the F-19 is technically a "lifting body", but it would not be able to fly without very heavy limitations in maneuvers and a sophisticated FCS.