Original blueprints (physical)

[humberdink]

Hi does anyone know where you can get physical original blueprints for old British aircraft? I'm not talking about downloads, physical paper and stuff.

Is it a case of just waiting and seeing if they come up on eBay or is there a reputable place that would sell them that you guys can recommend?

Thanks

 

[Sabrejet]

You'll be lucky, and wait a looooooong time. I've handled blueprints for many of the Bristol aircraft, and Concorde too; those went IIRC to the museums at Filton and Brooklands, respectively. Anyone who does still hold blueprints will most likely donate them to museums, which in my mind is the correct course of action. Bear in mind too that the term 'blueprint' encompasses a lot of things from general arrangement drawings to detail design of one single bracket and control rigging diagrams; all were generated by manufacturers back in the day.

I do have blueprints for a couple of US-built aircraft; they came up sporadically on the auction site, but that was maybe 10 to 15 years ago. That sort of stuff seems to be very rare nowadays. However I'd still keep looking - you'll have to wait, but who knows what is still out there to be discovered in grandad's belongings?

In the meantime if you want to view some really nice blueprints, try the National Archives at Kew; they have a special reading room on the second floor for such items, and hold a lot; I've photographed quite a few WW1 drawings this way.

 

[cvairwerks]

Just saw that there was a recent grant that is going to allow the Fleet Air Arm Museum to catalog and I would assume, digitize the Fairey Aircraft archive material they hold, as well as those of the RAF Museum.

 

[Aeroweanie]

These days, the distinctions have become blurred, as while I have paper drawings of aircraft like the Spitfire, they are reproductions. I prefer to have the drawings as pdfs, as they are a lot easier to store and I can then print them to whatever size I want.

Good sources are Download Aircraft Airframes Blueprints - Page 1 - Aircraft Reports - Aircraft Manuals - Aircraft Helicopter Engines Propellers Blueprints Publications and WWII Era Military Blueprints & Manuals | AirCorps Library

 

[Crimea_River]

A blue print by nature is not an original drawing. Original drawings may have been produced on "onion skin" paper, linen, or other media from which multiple prints would be taken.

 

[HP52]

Hi does anyone know where you can get physical original blueprints for old British aircraft? I'm not talking about downloads, physical paper and stuff.

Is it a case of just waiting and seeing if they come up on eBay or is there a reputable place that would sell them that you guys can recommend?

Thanks

I do have a set of blueprints for a (Jack) Clancy Skybaby