Based on the sheer volume of requests I have received to illustrate the Douglas DC-3, it’s safe to say that it just may be the world’s most iconic aircraft.

I know. That’s hardly what most would consider to be scientific evidence (and/or irrefutable proof). But I’m calling it like I see it.

They were super cool when I was a kid (way back in the 1980s). They are super cool today. And I’ll bet my trusty Wacom tablet that it’s gonna stay that way for a very long time. So there.

Side view templates of the Douglas DC-3

Illustrating these old piston pounders isn’t anything like illustrating modern aircraft. I like that. It mixes things up a bit.

Side profile illustration of an all white Douglas DC-3 over a white background with and without the landing gear deployed
Seeing the DC-3 in all white like this feels wrong IMHO. At the very least, it needs a Buffalo Airways livery and some hydraulic fluid streaking down the fuselage to look like a proper piston pounder.
bare aluminum Douglas DC-3 side view
Bare aluminum works too! I don’t think there’s ever been a DC-3 that was this clean though. Not even the ones that were factory fresh.
Technical line drawing
Resisting the urge to draw every rivet and section line wasn’t all that difficult actually. If y’all want me to keep drawing airplanes, I need to draw the line somewhere (no pun intended).

Note: the source files for these illustrations (which you can purchase via the button below) are 7000 pixels wide. That’s almost 8K resolution.

Buy the Source Files (PSD and Vector)

A few words about the template creation process

I actually wasn’t looking forward to doing these illustrations. The problem with old aircraft is that reference material isn’t all that great. Sure, there are lots of photos. But most of them are small, kinda blurry, and very poorly lit.

Thankfully, there are many DC-3’s still flying today. More importantly: it’s a popular subject for photographers. 

Finding detailed reference material wasn’t difficult at all, which made the process of getting this done very easy(ish). 

Thanks to everyone who pushed (and begged) me to create these drawings. It was fun.

The most interesting DC-3 design elements

My plan to use my DC-4 template as a base for these illustrations. However, as I was doing my initial research for DC-3, I discovered that that there was very little overlap between the DC-3 and the DC-4. It was just one of many interesting discoveries:

  • Even though the main landing gear doesn’t fully retract, the exposed portion is nestled in (and protected) by the lower engine fairings. Very clever. Very stylish.
  • The way that the wing blends into the fuselage looks very ahead of its time (to me anyway). It’s a very complex / organic transition that must’ve been difficult to produce at the time.
  • The secondary door near the cockpit windows is something that not even the DC-4 had. 
  • The DC-3 was one of the last aircraft to feature square windows.
  • The use of large sidewall (“balloon”) tires was brilliant IMHO. The natural suspension provided by running lower air pressure negated the need for complex suspension components in the gear structure itself.
  • The rudder is absolutely massive compared to modern aircraft. They don’t make them like that anymore!
  • The low-hanging pitot tubes are very unique – and I can only imagine how prone they were to being taken out by birds. Which actually sounds more horrific for the birds than the pilots the more I think about it…

My name is Scott, and I graduated from the College for Creative Studies (Detroit, MI) in 1996 with a bachelors degree in Industrial Design.

I have an extensive background in both 2D and 3D illustration. These days, I spend a majority of my time creating aircraft templates and airliner art. I’m basically an airplane dork.

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