We've all asked several times for 3-views of
this or that aircraft. In this respect, I am a pack rat. I
collect links to sites offering 3-views and plans whether or not
I ultimately use them. This is a collection of my favorite
sources. I don't pretend to have "discovered" them, but
I share them with fellow hobbysists. If you have a source that is
not listed here, feel free to send me an e-mail.
Typically, I have three sources for my
collection of plans and three views:
Commercial
plan sites - These
usually cater to modellers, but a plan is a plan, and
prices tend to be reasonable.
Books
and Magazines. -
Including scale modelling, flying (r/c,
c/l, etc ) modelling, dedicated
aviation
magazines, and anthology books. Scale modelling magazines will usually have
good scale drawings, plus details on colors, etc.
Aviation magazines will usually have useful three view
line drawings. The anthology books are the best, at least
for the quantity of 3-view line drawings and other
information you can get..
NOTE: this listing is by no means
complete. Also, this page is directed towards sources of
plans and 3-views. There are many other books, sites, and
magazines that provide with excellent resources as to colors,
camouflage, and other information.
Since my aviation interests tend towards
"vintage" civilian and military aircraft so you will
find that the sources in this initial listing lean in that
direction.
http//www.aviacherteg.narod.ru-index.html -If you understand Russian, this is one of several Russian language
aircraft plan sites, covering WW1/Interwar, WW2, and modern/post WW2 military
aircraft. These sites have detailed scale plans and camouflage/colors.
Thomas Suurland's Blueprints - Aircraft plans and three views. Also vehicles (cars, tanks,
APCs, boats) Main Menu, use navigation links to "Blueprints"
The Nieuport Page - with period scale
plans of WW1 Nieuports. Also links to period drawings of other WW1 aircraft,
engines, etc.
The Plan Page - Emphasis on flying
model plans, but some of the plans/drawings are to accurate scale. Mostly
vintage aircraft
Chance Vought line drawings
- Historical site with excellent plans of Chance Vought aircraft - from it's
early days to the final A-7/F-8 series
Arsenal - scale
drawings page; Mostly modern Russian military aircraft.
Wings 2.11 -
French site, with English summaries. Wings 2.11 is a modelling
software, but this site has excellent 3-views. Navigate with the
"3-vues" button
Eduardospage
- I haven't counted them, but there appear to be several
hundred, of all types. These three views are repeated in Thomas Suurland's Blueprints site
also.
Bob's Aircraft
Documentation - The premier site, in my opinion, for
plans/drawings. Bob Banka offers both drawings and photo
paks. Downloadable catalog.
Flying Models
Magazine - This magazine dropped the excellent column "A View
from Here" that included a short history and a scale
plan of a (usually) vintage aircraft. This and other r/c magazines may include usable scale plans from time to time.
Flying Scale Models
Model Aviation - Official Publication of the Academy of
Model Aeronautics
Model Builder - Out of publication, but if you can get
some of the old copies, they're gems.
The Aeroplane
Monthly - With their "database" feature, a
specific aircraft is highlighted every month, with
history, scale drawings, photos.
AIR
International - apart from the monthly review of current events in aviaion, frequently they feature in depth feature on current airplanes, including 3-views and cutaways.
AIR Enthusiast
- Air International but for the historical enthusiast.
Flying Colors Wm Green G. Swanborough. Barnes &
Noble Reprint 1999; ISBN 0 7607 1136-4
Aircraft
Yearbook 3-View Drawings- 936
drawings of American aviation, airships, autogiros, balloons, biplanes, flying
boats, gliders, civilian light planes, civilian commercial, military - all
with orginal captions. Mail order from J W McDonald PO Box 23, Windom,
Kansas 67491 USA - US$35+US$4. shipping (US) + US$8/other.
The
Complete Book of Fighters- An illustrated encyclopedia of every fighter built and flown.
Wm Green.Gordon Swanborough; Barnes & Nobles Books; 1998. ISBN 0-0707-0904-1
Modern
Commercial Aircraft - Endres/Green/Swanborough/Mowinski Salamander Books Ltd. (London)
1998. ISBN 1 84065 022 2
Paul Matt Scale Airplane Drawings (2 Volumes)
- Available in book or CD from Aviation Heritage.
Detailed scale drawings of a wide range of aircraft. Aviation heritage also
contains other aviation books.
Squadron/Signal Publications "In Action"
and "Walk Around" Series - good source
of history, information, photographs and three views.
Jane's
"All the World's Aircraft", "Fighting
Aircraft of World War I", "Fighting Aircraft of World War 2"
- The source for things aviation. "All the World's
Aircraft" comes out yearly, it's expensive, but it's the authoritative
source. The WW1 and WW2 editions indicated are reprints, in the WW1 case of
the 1919 issue of "..World's Aircraft".
Jane's
Aircraft Recognition Guide - A
small, thick softcover book put out by Jane's It is a collection of three-views
and sparse information on current aircraft both civil and military
Flugzeugtypen - by Modellsport Verlag GmbH (Baden-Baden), 1999. I bought these
two softcover books on a trip to Germany in 2000. I wish I had bought others.
Vol.3 contains detailed scale plans of several jet fighters. Vol.4 contains
detailed scale plans of several WW2 fighters.
