a (MFS)_v_bw_o_n (1966 press photo, from an unnumbered Bell Aerosystems Co. photo)
“MOON BASED MOBILITY
Looking ahead to the day astronaut-scientists explore the surface of the moon, American aerospace industries are devising vehicles that will make spacemen more mobile. This flying chair idea has been suggested by Bell Aero Systems. Other firms have come up with concepts for wheeled vehicles with wide treads that will support a heavy load on a weak surface.”
7” x 9”.
This is the first dual-occupant Lunar Flying Vehicle (LFV) design I’ve seen in which the passenger/scientist-astronaut maybe, faces aft…with some sort of instrument/display panel at his disposal, which the pilot does NOT have. Interesting and a little odd. Possibly considered to have been a potential distraction?
Or…maybe that guy’s the Radar Intercept Officer (RIO), with the instrument laden foreground LFV scanning for & transmitting the locations of fragmentation mines (banned by UN charter), previously released by intentionally radioactive Soviet impactors. So, we may be looking at a DoD requested configuration for a hostile lunar environment, hence its rarity.
Sophomoric, maybe even juvenile? Shit yeah! Tongue-in-cheek? Maybe/maybe not. Future possibility? Probably at least a 50/50 chance.
Whatever is actually depicted, military or scientific, the two vehicles do appear to be conducting complimentary/coordinated operations.
Or…maybe it’s just Bell’s promotional depiction of the sedan & roadster (shown with XLE scientific package) versions of their 1966 model year LFV.
Whatever is going on, unless there’s an Astronaut, on standby, at a fixed location within a reasonable distance, this is quite risky. Which supports this merely featuring proposed configurations.
In the following linked document, the vehicle is referred to - by Bell Aerosystems I assume - as a/the Manned Flying System (MFS):
documents.theblackvault.com/documents/aviation/ADA175379.pdf
Credit: "THE BLACK VAULT" website
In all seriousness, this is really really nice artwork, beautifully detailed. By Bell Aerosystems artist F. J. Miller. I’d never heard of Mr. Miller…
and on that note, a bittersweet and sad “win”. A win only in that Mr. Miller has been ‘revealed’, to even include a photograph of him! Look at the man’s incredible range/diversity of works…I mean damn!!! However, I’m extremely saddened that some/most/all? of his creations seemed to have been liquidated – possibly by his son – over the course of several years, culminating in a final? offering of his paintings in 2017, prior to the sale of his home. Maybe, hopefully, I’m wrong, it’s not really clear to me what was going with his legacy. If it was just nonchalantly sold off, I sort of get it, but “AAAAARGH!” nonetheless:
www.facebook.com/pages/category/Arts---Humanities-Website...
Credit: Meta/Facebook
Also:
www.astronautix.com/l/lfvbell.html
Credit: Astronautix website
Figure 6 would appear to be a loosely similar depiction of vehicles, by Bell Aerosystems artist J. J. Carr:
ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19680023965/downloads/1968002...
a (MFS)_v_bw_o_n (1966 press photo, from an unnumbered Bell Aerosystems Co. photo)
“MOON BASED MOBILITY
Looking ahead to the day astronaut-scientists explore the surface of the moon, American aerospace industries are devising vehicles that will make spacemen more mobile. This flying chair idea has been suggested by Bell Aero Systems. Other firms have come up with concepts for wheeled vehicles with wide treads that will support a heavy load on a weak surface.”
7” x 9”.
This is the first dual-occupant Lunar Flying Vehicle (LFV) design I’ve seen in which the passenger/scientist-astronaut maybe, faces aft…with some sort of instrument/display panel at his disposal, which the pilot does NOT have. Interesting and a little odd. Possibly considered to have been a potential distraction?
Or…maybe that guy’s the Radar Intercept Officer (RIO), with the instrument laden foreground LFV scanning for & transmitting the locations of fragmentation mines (banned by UN charter), previously released by intentionally radioactive Soviet impactors. So, we may be looking at a DoD requested configuration for a hostile lunar environment, hence its rarity.
Sophomoric, maybe even juvenile? Shit yeah! Tongue-in-cheek? Maybe/maybe not. Future possibility? Probably at least a 50/50 chance.
Whatever is actually depicted, military or scientific, the two vehicles do appear to be conducting complimentary/coordinated operations.
Or…maybe it’s just Bell’s promotional depiction of the sedan & roadster (shown with XLE scientific package) versions of their 1966 model year LFV.
Whatever is going on, unless there’s an Astronaut, on standby, at a fixed location within a reasonable distance, this is quite risky. Which supports this merely featuring proposed configurations.
In the following linked document, the vehicle is referred to - by Bell Aerosystems I assume - as a/the Manned Flying System (MFS):
documents.theblackvault.com/documents/aviation/ADA175379.pdf
Credit: "THE BLACK VAULT" website
In all seriousness, this is really really nice artwork, beautifully detailed. By Bell Aerosystems artist F. J. Miller. I’d never heard of Mr. Miller…
and on that note, a bittersweet and sad “win”. A win only in that Mr. Miller has been ‘revealed’, to even include a photograph of him! Look at the man’s incredible range/diversity of works…I mean damn!!! However, I’m extremely saddened that some/most/all? of his creations seemed to have been liquidated – possibly by his son – over the course of several years, culminating in a final? offering of his paintings in 2017, prior to the sale of his home. Maybe, hopefully, I’m wrong, it’s not really clear to me what was going with his legacy. If it was just nonchalantly sold off, I sort of get it, but “AAAAARGH!” nonetheless:
www.facebook.com/pages/category/Arts---Humanities-Website...
Credit: Meta/Facebook
Also:
www.astronautix.com/l/lfvbell.html
Credit: Astronautix website
Figure 6 would appear to be a loosely similar depiction of vehicles, by Bell Aerosystems artist J. J. Carr:
ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19680023965/downloads/1968002...