Aircraft make brilliant blueprints. They're full of structure, panel lines and moving parts, and drawn as a technical sheet they look precise and calm in a way a photograph of a jet never quite manages. The tricky part is placement. A helicopter and a fighter jet are very different shapes, and the way the drawing sits on the page changes where it looks best.
Below is how I think about helicopters, jets and where each one wants to go.
What's on the sheet
All of the aviation prints in our range are portrait sheets. Each one stacks several views of the aircraft on one page, usually a side view, a top view and a front view, with dimension lines and a small table of specifications. That matters for hanging, because a portrait sheet behaves differently from a single wide drawing.
The helicopter prints come in two finishes. Some are classic white line on blue. Others, like the Black Hawk, Merlin and Chinook, are dark line on a white sheet, closer to the old diazo prints that replaced true blueprints in drawing offices. The white ones are lighter on the wall and easier to fit into a pale room.
Helicopters: long machines, so give them width
A helicopter is a long, horizontal machine. On these sheets the side view runs right across the top of the page, with the tail boom stretching out behind and the rotors drawn above or in plan below. That long side view is what your eye goes to first, so I like to hang helicopters where there's horizontal space around them: above a desk, above a low sideboard, or along a hallway.
The CH-47 Chinook blueprint is the most horizontal machine of the lot, with a rotor at each end, and the plan view in the middle of the sheet shows both rotors spread out like two stars. It's on a white sheet, which makes it a good fit for a bright study or a boot room.
The AW101 Merlin helicopter blueprint is another white-sheet print and a good fit for an office. It reads as engineering more than combat, and if you know someone who served with the Royal Navy it's an obvious choice. The UH-60 Black Hawk blueprint is in the same style, a classic utility helicopter outline that most people recognise straight away.
If you want the deep blue, the AH-64 Apache blueprint is white line on navy, with a big plan view of the rotors filling the top half of the sheet. It's slimmer and more angular than the transport helicopters, and it has more edge on the wall.
Hanging a helicopter print
Because the sheets are portrait, one helicopter on its own above a wide desk can look a bit narrow. Above a desk I'd hang two side by side, so together they cover roughly two-thirds of the desk's width. In a hallway, a single print works well if you give it at least an arm's length of empty wall on each side, with the centre around 145 to 150 cm from the floor. Squeezed between a door frame and a radiator, it will look cramped.
Jets work best in pairs or trios
The jet prints have a big top view in the middle of the sheet, a side view underneath and a front view at the bottom. A fighter seen from above is compact and roughly triangular, so a single one on a big wall can look a bit lost. Jets come into their own in a set.
A pair works well either side of a window, a bed or a doorway. A row of three is my favourite above a sofa or a long console. Keep the frames identical and the gaps equal (around 5 to 8 cm), and line up the tops of the frames. The repetition is what makes it look like a collection.
A good trio mixes nations or eras so each print earns its place. The F-15 Eagle blueprint is the big, twin-tailed fighter. The JAS 39 Gripen blueprint is the neat Swedish delta with canards at the front. The Rafale blueprint completes the set with another European delta. They're all on the same deep blue, so three different outlines look surprisingly coherent side by side.
If you only have room for one jet, put it somewhere small and personal, like above a bedside table or on a narrow wall in a study. A portrait sheet suits a narrow wall.
Which room?
A study or office suits one helicopter or a pair above the desk, or one jet on a side wall. A slim black or oak frame with a white mount keeps it calm. I've written more about this in blueprint art for a home office.
On a hallway or landing wall, a helicopter works well because people walk past it every day and that long side view reads quickly.
A teenager's bedroom is where a trio of jets really works. It's grown-up enough that they won't want to take it down in two years, which is more than you can say for most posters.
A games room or garage can take more, maybe a helicopter above the door and a pair of jets on the long wall. Even here I'd keep the frames consistent so it doesn't tip into clutter.
A gift for pilots, veterans and air cadets
Aviation blueprints make very good presents, mainly because they're personal without being sentimental. A few ideas:
- For a veteran, pick the aircraft they flew, crewed, maintained or worked alongside. It means more than any general "military" print, and they'll probably tell you stories about it.
- For a private or commercial pilot, a civil aircraft is often a better fit than a fighter. The Challenger 3500 business jet blueprint is a nice choice for someone who flies corporate.
- For an air cadet, a single jet for their bedroom wall is a lovely way to mark a first flight or a promotion. If they've got a favourite aircraft, start there.
Whoever it's for, I'd always give it framed so it goes straight on the wall.
A note on the drawings
These prints are illustrated technical drawings made for display, not official manufacturer or military documents. None of the manufacturers or armed forces mentioned is connected with Spade22 or endorses these prints. The model names are there so you can find the aircraft you want.
If you'd like to know why blueprints were white on blue in the first place, read why blueprints are blue. Prints start at £9.99, and there are ready-framed options in the framed prints collection, with more to browse in posters and prints.
