CUTAWAY ILLUSTRATIONS - An "Inside Look" at Aircraft Structure from the Golden Age of Technical Art
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- čas přidán 3. 08. 2024
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One thing that separates your channel from others is the fact that I simply MUST WATCH each episode. Meaning: many other channels are also historical/documentary types, but I don't need to see everything that is presented on the screen.
Your channel is simply a cut above the rest in visual regards.
And it's appreciated.
Thank you.
Wow, thank you!
A wonderful episode that brings back memories. I was a science illustrator several decades ago at the beginning of my career. I still have my Rapidograph pen set and drawing templates not far from where I'm sitting. I think the last time I used them was 40 years ago. It was a special skill to use these pens and not ruin your artwork. The full set was a huge investment for me, but a critical tool as an illustrator. I also used the Leroy lettering scribe sets, and later used Letraset dry transfer lettering. People have no idea how many days of work would go into these precision, hand-drawn illustrations. Thanks, Mike!
"Airplanes and Helicopters" by Frank Ronan was my first airplane book I bought at school, through Scholastic Book Services. I think I was in second or third grade. You spoke about some of your childhood books before and it reminded me about this long-forgotten book. I couldn't remember the exact title so it was difficult to pin down! I bought a very yellowed copy on ebay just for the memories.
When I was in school in the late 60s, an author named C.B. Colby had a series of books on military subjects that fascinated me. Used to get them when the Bookmobile came around!
I had one called Aircraft, Aircraft, or family was stationed in East Anglia in the early 70's. That and Airfix models catalogues (Roy Cross), gave me the appreciation for aviation art.
Cut-a-way art video, Yes !! Who doesn't enjoy look past the skin of a aircraft and seeing what underneath.?. Your first cut-a-way was a nice addition.
Another technique I found was a cut away book that used overlay pages to show different cut away views of the same plane. I have a book from 1943 called " The Inside Story of the Flying Fortress" by Jim Ray. This book uses that technique. Because the plane is shown on ,multiple pages, each page showing a different cutaway detail, so much more can be shown.
Another technique is drawing cut away on clear plastic, such that multiple pages of cut away can be stacked, all lining up. As you turn the clear plastic page, another layer of detailed interior is exposed.
Yes, I've seen those overlay books - fabulous watching the finished airplane "come together" by turning the pages!
I bet I'm not the only one who kept pausing the video to look at the cutaways in detail! 😀 Great video!
Yes, other viewers have mentioned that. Thanks for watching!
In the mid/late 1970s, I bought several issues of "Air International" magazine, because of the excellent cutaway/x-ray drawings of aircraft. I also have many aviation books in my private library having these drawings.
Every single aircraft training program I went through used cutaway art extensively: military (T-37, T-38, B-52) and civil (Falcon 50 & 900, Swearingen Merlin, Hawker 700 & 800XP, Gulfstream IV). We were given a large binder (USAF “dash-one” or FSI “blue book”) with dozens of drawings of every kind of aircraft system imaginable. These detailed illustrations were absolutely essential for us to visualize how things worked. My thanks to the amazing artists who did this work! I cannot imagine how we’d have accomplished our training without them. It was fascinating to hear one of these professionals explain their craft.
THANK YOU FOR A GREAT VIDEO SIR,AS A KID OF THE 50S.I LOVE GOING TO THE STORES AND GO THROUGH THE MAGAZINE RACKS LOOKING AT ALL THE MAGS.THE CUT AWAYS PICTURES OF PLANES ,CARS, SHIPS AND MILITARY VEHICLES BACK THEN.THE CUT AWAYS ALSO HELPED IN SCHOOL PROJECTS AND BOOK REPORTS.TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS
Not an engineer or an artist but I can look at cutaways, diagrams and maps all day. Something satisfying looking under the surface and seeing how things are built. Thanks for the video.
Thanks Mike - a big dose of memory lane for us in today's post! We used to have a weekly comic in the UK (I think they were called The Funny Papers in the US?) that was famous, amongst the tales of derring-do in its pages, for its beautifully detailed cutaway drawings of the many technical wonders of the age (50's and 60's). It was called "The Eagle" and those illustrations remain a touchstone to another time for many British children growing up then.
I've still got some of those tucked away! Theynweere fantastic.
My father called them the editorial section.
"The Eagle" really was a high quality publication. Every week it would feature a highly informative cutaway view of some fascinating piece of technology. For some reason or other (probably because I adored the plane so much) the piece on the Hawker Hunter Mk 6 really sticks in my mind. I wish I still had a few copies of 'The Eagle' - remember 'Dan Dare'? Definitely the thinking man's comic- my dad used to read it after I had finished with each edition.
Good to see the copies of The Observer's Book of Aircraft, I used to receive the latest edition every year as a Christmas gift from my parents. My first book on aeroplanes was 'The Dumpy Book of Airforces of the World' This was followed up by two further Dumpy publications. I still have them all.
Thank you, Mike, for one more highly informative, yet thoroughly enjoyable video!
@@promerops Yep - me too - the coloured cutaway of the Liberator in this video was very much in the style of those in the Eagle. I also remember a fabulous three page fold-out cutaway of Concorde from, I think, Flight Magazine in about 1969 which our maths teacher had pinned on the classroom wall and which I decided to....err......"liberate" after school one day, only to be caught in the act! Oh dear. I have several books of aviation art, including one of "box art" for Airfix plastic construction kits. Happy days!!
I still treasure my Air Progress magazine issues from the 1950's that always featured a number of cutaways. And a shout out to the prolific Douglas Rolfe who filled these editions with his work including cutaways.
There have been very few cutaway models that I can recall. Monogram's Phantom Mustang, Phantom Huey and a cutaway version of their 1/48 B-17. I always thought it would be neat to see cutaway models of aircraft like the C-5 with vehicles inside to show off its load capacity; or an AWACS, Shackleton, Orion,etc to show off crew workstations; or the inside of a Chinook or Pave Low showing gunner stations, cargo/troop areas, etc. I guess they can be done with 'normal' kits (seen a Shackleton done that way), but it would sure be a project!
My dad worked on the Apollo program and brought home some of the material. I used to rifle through it all and suck up whatever knowledge I could. I had a few books that were chuck full of cutaways. Ended up spending my adult years working on those aircraft and sifting through tens of thousands of pages of technical manuals. Some poor souls had to sit in front of a drafting board drawing each and every one of those drawings. Believe me, they were not exciting. Thanks for sharing the exciting ones.
Great video Mike, I love looking under the skin of air craft. cut - a -way art yes!
Hello and good evening Mike. I have to thank you for your channel and the work that you do producing subject matter that subjectively speaking is both visually interesting and informative. I’m a bit North of 70 yrs and spent several years of my childhood literally living right across the street from an Air Force base. My interest in aviation General and military really started in the twilight years of internal combustion recips and propellors. Any books about WWII fighter aces like Bong, Kepford, Boyington or, MacGuire Were voraciously devoured and became the impetus for what quickly became a large collection of various 1/72 scale Airfix or 1/48 scale Revell and Monogram WWII fighters and bombers with a few transports . Bicycle trips to the local public library and much time spent pouring over reference books containing camouflage schemes and squadron markings. Jaynes Military Aircraft books and, many Testor’s paint kits in gloss or mat color paints. This of course paid for by morning and evening news paper route money. Remember those big 26” ‘ballon’ tired Schwinn bicycles with the springer 15:59 front end and luggage rack? (My stead of choice) and summer time lawn mowing. Those jobs afforded me a nice collection. Ah! Those were the days. The Vietnam conflict came along and I enlisted in the Navy. Aviation Ordinance was my rate and F-4 Phantoms, A-4 Skyhawks, A-6 Intruders to name a few were in the fleet inventory. I’ve shared all this to say that what you do here means something to me and I’m sure many others who share the interest in or love of aviation. I’ll share the story soon of round trip flights on a DC-3 and Convair 240 between Tampa FL and Marathon in FL keys. Oh! The joy of flying in one of those old airliners.
Great comment, thanks!
Cutaway illustrations have always fascinated me. Especially the multi layered ones done on transparencies.
And while I was still working I made daily use of cutaway and exploded drawing when repairing and rebuilding rotating assemblies for industrial centrifuges. One sheet to check off the required parts needed. Plus marking with highlighter for damaged parts. And another to check off parts as installed and fasteners to proper torque setting.
I love Aircraft cutaway art! Thank you for sharing!
The very best of cutaway art is simply breathtaking. It imparts an omniscience in the viewer that would not be experienced any other way. I have pored over technical cutaways for hours and am just now incorporating the style in my CAD drawings.
Nice to see that you didn't miss the all important lunch window and lunch bag in your first cut away! It's great that you still have your childhood books and art.
That he still has a lot or all of this probably says great things about his mother. Not moms would have "cleaned up" for him.
I been drawing airliners for years since I was 7 back in 77 & to see this video, it really inspires me even more !
My favorite cutaways are of the old Pan Am flying boats like the Boeing 314. I love their multiple decks, spacious lounges and cozy bedrooms with blankets turned invitingly down. That Curtiss Condor image is a splendid example of elegant travel!
Appreciate the comment, thanks!
The drawing at 2.50 'one stroke at a time' is magnificent.
That is a very wonderful presentation of the internal structure. I remember when I was a young boy in the 50s and 60s it seems like to me when they had a model airplane part and not only put the number but a description of the actual part in the real airplane. I was a commercial pilot for 40 years and a lot of my knowledge of the internal structure of airplanes came from the instructions of small model aircraft and the diagrams that you describe.
This is the kinda stuff that helps when building a model
Doing research for a build…
I have a number of reference books specifically that deals with interior of aircraft
From Japanese aircraft to Russian aircraft
Personally I think this is harder to represent the aircraft than just a painting or a drawing
MIKE, this is a great episode
I enjoyed watching this
Thanks for putting this together…
CHRIS from OHIO
My favorite feature is the lunch bag stowage compartment! Awesome job!
Thank you for sharing. I really enjoyed the cut-away of the Condor. I have many books with prominent cut-away illustrations. This type of art is like peering into a Christmas ornament, or sugared Easter egg that contains a detailed interior. I received the Monogram Phantom Mustang in the early Seventies, and loved that it was the embodiment of a great cut-away.
I was always fascinated by cutaway art growing up and always wondered about how they were made.
Mike, some of the cutaway's you showed were so complex I can't imagine the hours it took for the aircraft and the hand lettering. Thanks for keeping the history of aviation alive.....
Fascinating video and fascinating career! The thumbnail is of course a B-24 which my father flew as a gunner on missions in 1944 until having to bail out over Papa Hungary when the aircraft was rendered unable to fly after being hit by flak. He survived the jump and his period as POW. He was always fascinated by the plane and being a goldsmith by profession he was also a talented artist. One day he said he was going to make a model of one which he did using mahogany from an old TV cabinet. It’s absolutely beautiful. Back in 2014 while home visiting relatives I saw that there was going to be a WWII air show with B-24 which I could book a ride for 450 dollars. I jumped on that as a tribute to my father having the best ride of my life flying out and over Jones Beach. When building the model dad had various cutaways and blueprints.
Another great one Mike.
Man! That was great....a lost art for sure these days it's all digital. You had a wonderful career . Only a handful of such talented people got to have a career like you did. Thanks again for sharing it with us.
From way back in high school, I've been fascinated by cutaway drawings like these. They helped greatly my understanding of aircraft structures and construction. Later I worked as an A&P mechanic and draftsman/technical illustrator, and did some of my own.
In Britain, in the 1950s and 1960s, there was the Eagle. This was a weekly comic for boys. On the cover was Dan Dare - Pilot of the Future, but in the centre of each issue was a full-colour cut-away drawing. Everything from aircraft and spaceships, to trains, cars, ships, and buildings. There have been a few volumes of re-prints, with a selection of the cut-aways. Beautiful artwork.
Cut-away models are also very impressive. You once saw these in travel agents and the like, but they seem to have totally disappeared. Perhaps a subject for another video ? Thank you for this one.
All the magazines and books I used to read being from the UK had loads of drawings by Mike Badrocke. I absolutely loved those drawings. Probably partly what inspired me to be an aircraft engineer. Great video as usual Mike.
Wonderful episode (again) Mike. I always loved the cutaways in magazines such as Flight International. Seeing the hidden art of the aircraft structure was (and is) fascinating. Its probably why I was drawn (pun intended) to aircraft stressing when I started working in aviation - way back in 1977. I must say the B-24 Liberator cut-away literally took my breathe away. Mike, you make Mondays special.
Another excellent program.
A good friend of mine did that at Lockheed-Georgia. They closed his department and he ended up teaching art at a college!
Great video and insights! Cutaway illustrations were what first got me interested in aviation as a kid. I'm an illustrator now but the meticulous level of detail in these technical diagrams will always blow my mind!
I believe the first cutaway I ever saw was a B-25J in an early issue of Wings, Airpower, or perhaps Air Classics. I was amazed by such details. Cutaway illustrations are still among my favorite forms of aviation art.
Splendid collection! I’ve always loved cutaway drawings. Aside from those in various aviation books, I have a small collection of cutaways of nuclear power plant designs from my career in that industry. I greatly admire the artists that could find the right perspective to show as much internal detail as possible.
This is wonderful! I wish magazines or manufacturing companies today do cutaway drawings, they are such awesome art pieces visually. I wish I could do this as a job lol... My favorite piece of cutaway was A. Bowbeer's 727 drawing from flight international. Those drawings are full of energy and looks so organic, nowadays 3d or digital cutaway drawings doesn't have that quality to it :(
Thank you for all the videos you make and post, sir. Your series should be added to the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Better aircraft history lessons than most regular documentaries have.
An excellent episode, Mike, and a wonderful subject!
Awesome!
That B-24 looks amazing!
Excellent video as usual Mike! I imagine how complicated and time consuming must had been to draw and paint such detailed drawings, concerning scale to the real airplane, structure mainly! Keep up the good work and greetings from Brazil!
I very much enjoy cutaway views. I have three cutaway books on WWII a/c. Thanks for this, Mike!
Great episode Mike! I was surprised to see that Harley Earl also did aviation interior design as seen in the ad for the Golden Falcon.
0:55 I still have my beloved Golden Books from childhood although none on aviation. For aviation, as I type I'm staring at your beautiful "First Re-entry" and "Hey Pard You'll Get a Free Steak at Pancho's Tonight" prints, also beloved.
Appreciate your buying my prints, thanks!
Doing cutaways is just brilliant! Being able to do this is awe inspiring and mind boggling and to me, requires being able to see an airplane from the innermost detail and then adding endless layers on top. Just fantastic!
Wow you hang onto everything , Douglas built anything and everything with wings
Mike, you made this topic just fascinating. I never stopped to think how much talent it takes to create such artwork. As well as how useful these drawings would be to prospective operators. Your videos are brilliant in every way. Thank you so much.
Appreciate the comment - many thanks!
Still baffled that neither air forces nor civilian lines have picked up on must haves like lunch windows or air take outs.... They really need to start looking at those technical drawings! Unused potential just sitting in the drawers for years!
Good catch!
I’d give my left arm to have beers and stories with RG....
i always liked the detail artists put into some of these
Thanks, Mike. That was very interesting. A part of aviation that I knew nothing about.
Wow! This is just stunning the way this form of art is rendered with such precision and detail. Many of the vintage model kit instructions sheets use the "exploded view" method of illustration, which is very helpful in parts identification and assembling the model. Thanks Mike for the fun learning experience.
Amazing video. Great examples and great explanations. Thank you!
Good morning Mike☕️
Awesome episode.
Over the years I’ve looked at a lot of illustrations in Douglas systems manuals, maintenance manuals, and ipc’s. Never thought much about them being produced by an artist until now. So cool!
I’m sure I’ve studied drawings done by Mr Smith and yourself
Thank you Mike for another wonderful episode.
Appreciate the comment, thanks!
Mike, The Flight International cutaways were a reason on their own to buy the magazine, they were a two dimensional version of the 3D cutaway models seen in Travel Agents windows in the 50s and 60s. Much time would be spent identifying every component in the illustration.
Agreed!
Very interesting subject. The photos and accompanying images are amazing.
Many thanks!
5:55 The all aluminium Blanik , I used to teach limited aerobatics over Hiller airport near Boston.
Now they are all grounded.
Ahh Mike , I first saw super detailed cutaways in a 1939 album of RAF aircraft , 2ftx1ft, which had amazing photography coupled with in depth cutaways……..unless I am making it all up, I loaned that artefact out 35 years ago when I drank too much at every opportunity. Yep, pathetic, and never got it back. Cutaway artists are genius!
Damn.
This channel just gets better with each new feature.
Good stuff, Mike - really enjoyable content.
Appreciate the comment, thanks!
What a great subject Mr Machat! I was excited when you announced this episode in your last post. I was a space cadet growing up during the Mercury program. All things astronauts! I remember drawing cut away views of the Mercury capsules as a kid in 2nd grade. I'm afraid I wasn't as talented as you are, so my art career was short lived. I did pursue a music career though. Oh well. 😊 Love the channel! God bless you and yours always. Thanks again for everything you do! Take Care always Sir!
Great video, great history. Your early school drawings are awesome.
Appreciate the comment, thanks!
Mr Mike, your videos are always fantastic, Bravo......Paul in Orlando, Florida
Many thanks!
Great video Mike! Next: cutaway models?
Beautiful illustrations Mike! Thanks for sharing these!
Thanks Mike, this was a great start to my week! I wish I had that kind of talent. I have some eye-hand un-coordination so it takes me a long time to draw or print with even mediocre results.
As a kid i was in love with sailing ships for some reason and drew clipper ships prolifically. Built a couple models. Then I fell in love with aircraft and built Revell and Monogram models mostly. Then i was introduced to "super-detailing" at the NorDel IPMS chapter. That led to a fascination with cutaway drawings. I have built up a library but I would love to have some of the color illustrations framed on my wall. So as a kid I took Technical Drawing in school and one of our textbooks had an exploded view of a B-29, which I found interesting. I was thrilled when my folks bought me a drawing board, T-square, and all the related tools. But my siblings inherited the artistic genes in my family...
I was not aware of RG Smith's cutaway illustrations. My elementary school library library had Flying mag in the sixties but i don't remember the cutaways.
Great comment, thanks!
wonderful presentation
Nice information Mike 👍🏼 like always ✈️✈️✈️ ✔️
💪🏼😎👍🏼 Greetings 👋🏼
Two.of my favorite kits were the visible Mustang and visible Huey..both by Monogram.
.
Wonderful video Mr. Machat. I always liked seeing the drawings of the inside of aircraft and military vehicles. That B-24 cutaway is astonishing. Thanks for sharing.
What an absolute joy to watch, many thanks.
Appreciate the comment, thanks!
Great stuff...from an aviation enthusiast.
Totally intimidating. Mind boggling work.
Really interesting Mike, thanks.
@Celebrating Aviation with Mike Machat >>> Great video...👍
Thank you Mike. I worked for a injection molding and packaging OEM and helped technical illustrator with engineering drawing details. Sadly the days of a technical illustrator are past but a great memory. Impressive skills for sure. Are there any video demonstrations showing the various techniques. I am especially interested in learned how an air brush drawing is made. Cheers!
Wow, more of this? Part 2 of 10 maybe?
BRAVO !!
Yay, The F3D was from VMF(N)-531. See my icon thingy for the Grey Ghost patch. I was in VMFA-531 when they had F-4N Phantom IIs. Oh, and your choice of colors for the airliner seats, we used to call that, "gathering inspiration". Definitely not "copying".
Love it!
Very well done, thanks.
Great vlog as always! Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much!!
The Bell X1 rocket plane by Roy Cross uses a transparent "window" in the horizontal stabilizer to see through the several layers of skin of the airplane and observe the rocket engine (11:11). How clever!
After 12:36, the Skynight pilots wearing baseball caps and earphones; some of that was done, my Dad was on an ASW aircraft carrier, CVS-33, USS Kearsarge, in 1960s, and there are some photos of various multi-engine pilots wearing exactly that. Also want to say that it might have been done more in the 1950s than later.
Great comment, thanks!
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 Welcome. Also, Dad built a lot of 1/72 scale model planes in the 60s and 70s and if their crew figures had caps with bills he pretty much universally painted them red. I have borrowed that from him and for crews for my freelance sci-fi models I will often paint their spacesuit helmets red like David Scott's helmet in a classic EVA image from Apollo 9.
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 Hey Mike, update reference on the red helmets thing - after not looking at it for a couple years, pulled out my copy of Ginter Books' Naval Fighters Number Ninety-Four, Chance Vought F7U-1 Cutlass, by Tommy H. Tomason, and lo and behold, right there in glorious Kodachrome (probably) cover photo the lower F7U of a pair in Blue Angels blue has its pilot attired in a very red helmet. Foreground pilot wears either silver or grey helmet. And just the other day, a photo crossed my path of F9F pilots with gold painted helmets; a thing which I once knew was done but had forgotten about.
Nice work! Looks like an inside job to me😉!
Good one!
Hi Mike, just fascinating
I still have a few Rapidograph pens around here somewhere! Still have the same french curves and templates I've had for 40 years!
Love it!
Great job on this interesting topic.
Excellent
Love it! Great video and explanations. I always wondered how big the original drawings were made. I imagine that a drawing like that of the Fairchild would start on a 80x80 inch paper or something of that size to make it even possible to add so much beautiful, correct detail and colour.
Good question, and believe it or not, sizes for those color cutaways ranged from 20"x 30" up to 30"x 40" painted in Designers Gouache on Illustration Board. Thanks for watching!
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 wow, that is so much smaller than I would have imagined. Now I’m even more baffled. Thank you for your reply.
brilliant 👏
Many thanks!
Hey Mike, some of my Squadron Signal aircraft books feature Cutaway artwork, in addition to all of the other artwork contained within.
Thanks
Interior views of military aircraft have always fascinated me. Specifically crew locations. This was fun to see some outstanding works of technical art.
I'm curious how much time would go into something like that A-4 drawing around 2:55?
Finished art for a cutaway illustration of a fighter was generally 10 days-to-two weeks on the drawing board. Longer for airliners because of the more complicated cabin interiors. Thanks for watching!
Perhaps pop-up book art can be on your list of videos?
I have a circa 1970 pop-up book about the Moon mission, it has action scenes, pull a tab and the Astronaut moves, the Lunar Module lifts in 3D rendering from the page, or the Saturn V lifts off, all lavishly illustrated.
Published by Hallmark, the paper mechanisms and layout by Howard Lohnes.
Cool idea!
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 Well if you have an email link I can send you some photos of the pop up Apollo book, and my B17 layered cut away book. How to contact you privately? can that be done on CZcams? I assume this message is public and I am not fond of posting my email for the world to see.
Dave
There was also Douglas Rolfe whose cutaways could be seen in Air Progress magazines in the 1950 & 60's.
Yes, his drawings were outstanding!
Bet the drawing office was massive
Hand drawn cuttaways look more " human" and detailed than computer generated drawings. I can't imagine airbrushing I had a three year collection of Flight International and sometimes kick myself for selling them, but they went to a good home.