2003 Wings Publishing
All three-view drawings, regardless of who creates them, are not the final word on any aircraft. They are created as a guide in understanding the originality of the design and character of a particular design and in no way were they meant to substitute for the real article. When using three-view drawings always refer back to photographs or the original airplane for details or perhaps some small misinterpretation of the shape or size of a particular component. Myself, and all like me who produce three-views, endeavor to produce an accurate and true picture of the real aircraft and do all in our power to do so. Be aware that these items are but two dimensional representations of real three dimensional objects and should never be substituted for good photographs or dimensions from the real aircraft.
A note about photographs is in order here. Be aware that in the early days of aviation and photography, many negatives were retouched in order to bring out details that were lost in the developing and printing processes and that not all of the touchups were done by someone who knew the aircraft intimately. So naturally, a good many discrepancies came about. Also, some negatives were retouched in order to get an idea of what the final product would look like when completed and the aircraft was modified later in a manner not consistent with the proposal in the photograph.
A good example of this retouching is contained in the publication Famous Aircraft of the National Air and Space Museum. No. 5 "Bleriot XI The Story of a Classic Aircraft." On pages 18 and 19 are shown three photographs of the Bleriot VI, the lead photo on page 18 is retouched heavily although it appears to be untouched. Both vertical fins and the rudder are add-ons and did not appear on the original negative until the photographer/artist painted them in. He was a very good artist indeed for it is almost impossible to tell the retouch from the real. However, on page 19 the retouching is all too apparent, but don’t be fooled by the apparent reality of the first photograph as the third one is by far the closer to the original aircraft of the two photographs mentioned, the second photograph is untouched.
So in all one must be careful to observe these realities for as we all know a three-view is called a "general arrangement" for some very obvious reasons.
2003 Wings Publishing