Purpose and Function of Aircraft Drawings

Drawings and prints are the link between the engineers who design an aircraft and the workers who build, maintain, and repair it. A print may be a copy of a working drawing for an aircraft part or group of parts, or for a design of a system or group of systems. They are made by placing a tracing of the drawing over a sheet of chemically treated paper and exposing it to a strong light for a short period of time. When the exposed paper is developed, it turns blue where the light has penetrated the transparent tracing. The inked lines of the tracing, having blocked out the light, show as white lines on a blue background. Other types of sensitized paper have been developed; prints may have a white background with colored lines or a colored background with white lines.

Drawings created using computers may be viewed as they appear on the computer monitor, or they may be printed out in “hard copy” by use of an ink jet or laser printer. Larger drawings may be printed by use of a plotter or large format printer. Large printers can print drawings up to 42 inches high with widths up to 600 inches by use of continuous roll paper. [Figure 2-2]

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