Are detailed blueprints or CAD drawings of aircraft available?

apestate

Quite Involved in Discussions
Hello all, here comes a real shot in the dark.

I am working on a project that might require measuring the landing gear of a helicopter aircraft in the field to gather data for engineering a new product.

Two questions. Are detailed drawings, blueprints, CAD models or anything like that available in the public domain for, let's say, a military helicopter?

Is there anything available through some sort of subscription service like Jane's Information Group?

We have also recently been accepted into the GIDEP program. Is there any way I could use an Urgent Data Request to get a drawing of the landing skids, or even little specifics that would be useful to me, like what's the diameter of the tubing so I can design a gage to measure this thing...

YES! I'm asking if there's any way to reach out there and grab a blueprint or CAD drawing of a military aircraft... LEGALLY?

The customer for this project is actually the maker of the aircraft. It would seem that's the easiest path to getting the data we need without having to reverse engineer the thing in the field. It would seem. If we can't get the drawings from the customer for whatever reason.. is there any other legal way to see them?

Posted in this forum because FAA Design Approvals is the only reason I can think of the design blueprints being out there, even if I am dreaming.
 
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BadgerMan

It is unlikely that the landing gear of a military aircraft would hold an FAA design approval. If there is an FAA design approval, I would doubt that the approved design data is "public domain".

It would seem to me that your customer should supply you with the required inputs to the D and D process whether those are existing design data or an actual part(s) for reverse engineering.
 

apestate

Quite Involved in Discussions
Just out of curiosity, how are the artwork and 3D gaming models produced? It seems that the gorgeous cutaways produced by Flight International could only be possible if the artists were given access to everything.

http://www.flightglobal.com/airspac.../northrop-grumman-mq-8b-firescout-cutaway.jpg

So I'm assuming the 3D models in video games and movies are created based on such promotional artwork and photographs, probably mainly based on Guiseppe Picarella's cutaways.
 

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Wes Bucey

Prophet of Profit
FWIW:
When I was Quality Manager of an international aerospace company, we routinely received pertinent engineering drawings of segments or of entire aircraft directly from manufacturers like Boeing, Cessna, Gulf, Bombardier, etc. even of aircraft still in the design stage, not yet certified by FAA. We didn't work on military craft, but one of our sometime collaborators did mostly military work and I don't recall them ever commenting on difficulties with obtaining pertinent drawings or specs (but they had a very high security clearance.)

:topic:
Back during WWII, one of my uncles was a design engineer for a "pick up hook" to be added on a war plane (to snatch gliders full of men or materiel off the ground.) He famously told the story that they asked for drawings, but received full scale drawings of the entire aircraft loaded on to a truck, which they had to unroll in the parking lot and then cut out ONLY the frame sections they needed while Army Air Force MPs stood watch, then ceremoniously burned the remaining sections (and stirred the ashes!)
 
A

andygr

Wes
The days of inspection to Mylars. Ah the good old days- only so because my mind is shot from the dope applied to canvase stretched over balsa wood and I can not remember what they are realy like or is that feathers attached to wax ? :bonk:.
With ITAR real technical data on military product should not be available in any public domain.

If your customer does not suport you with the required technical data (prints or digital files and such) how do you assure that you will know when they change something? You could wind up putting a lot of work into something that suddenly will not fit or work as expected.

:2cents:
 

Wes Bucey

Prophet of Profit
Wes
The days of inspection to Mylars. Ah the good old days- only so because my mind is shot from the dope applied to canvase stretched over balsa wood and I can not remember what they are realy like or is that feathers attached to wax ? :bonk:.
With ITAR real technical data on military product should not be available in any public domain.

If your customer does not suport you with the required technical data (prints or digital files and such) how do you assure that you will know when they change something? You could wind up putting a lot of work into something that suddenly will not fit or work as expected.

:2cents:
I GOT A BUZZ FROM THE FLUID IN THE BLUEPRINT MACHINE IN THE DRAFTING ROOM ACROSS THE HALL FROM MY OFFICE!

(Is that why the engineers and draftsmen always seemed kind of loopy?)

When I was in high school, the brown noses who ran copies for teachers on the spirit duplicator in the tiny supply room used to "float" through the rest of the day.
 
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tomvehoski

The customer for this project is actually the maker of the aircraft. It would seem that's the easiest path to getting the data we need without having to reverse engineer the thing in the field. It would seem. If we can't get the drawings from the customer for whatever reason.. is there any other legal way to see them?

Why wouldn't the maker of the aircraft be able to come up with their own drawings for their own project? I highly doubt any aircraft manufacturer, especially military, would put detailed design info into the public domain.
 

apestate

Quite Involved in Discussions
Sorry about the silly question.

It turns out that we actually have 2D CAD of the landing skids for this helicopter, sent over specifically for this project!

Thanks for the confirmation about drawings, something I should have known. Thanks for the stories too, they're always good to read.

I was given the task of designing some means of measuring a 3D segment of the skids that isn't available in the 2D CAD. The customer probably has this data but we might end up taking a trip to do reverse engineering anyway.

Wish I had a ROMER arm!
 
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