Aircraft cutaways

[u-boat]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 14 July 2023 at 15:14

[Simpo Two]

I love those. Always wondered how on earth the artists did them.

[GliderRider]

Frank Munger, who drew many of Flight International's cutaways, created a stir when his detailed drawings of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter caused the Americans to think he had access to classified information.

Frank Munger - Flight International Cutaway Artist - Obituary in The Guardian

[dr_gn]

Simpo Two said:

I love those. Always wondered how on earth the artists did them.

About 10 years’ training and experience of being a technical illustrator, a deep knowledge of aircraft design, and a step ladder. They would visit factories and do detail sketches of everything they needed, sometimes supplemented by photographs. Often they had access to drawings and technical publications. When they couldn’t get access, they would use their knowledge of how aircraft were built to make informed decisions about how things were under the skin (e.g. the F-104 and Canberra, the drawing of the latter apparently caused some awkward questions in the House of Commons at the time). The illustrators could be given access to all but the more classified information, and the final drawings were reviewed by the relevant authorities who would then obscure any sensitive detail (e.g. the initial drawing of the Buccaneer’s rotating bomb-bay).

They would sketch the outer structure, then either detail specific cutaway parts, or generate a ‘ghost’ image where the entire outer skin was depicted as being semi-transparent.

From the ‘90s, things gradually moved to CAD information from manufacturers, and digitally generated drawings.