Boeing 757-200 blank illustration templates (plus freighter / cargo variants)

The Boeing 757-200 has always been (and always will be) my favorite commercial airliner. It’s big enough to be considered a “heavy,” but small enough to be nimble in difficult conditions. At least that’s what pilots have told me. They could be lying to me, and I’d never know…

This collection of blank illustration templates for the Boeing 757-200 covers the most significant variants of this magnificent bird. And there’s been quite a few of them over the years.

In addition to the passenger configuration (which came with Pratt & Whitney and Rolls Royce engine options), there were also several different cargo and freighter configurations. I’ll illustrate them all eventually, but the following is what I’ve completed so far:

Blank side view templates of the Boeing 757-200 (passenger configuration)

Designed to be the successor to the legendary Boeing 727, the 757-200 eventually became one of the best selling aircraft of all time (1049 airframes were ordered and delivered). It was extremely versatile, and performed well on both long and short routes. Transcontinental flights across the US were a breeze for the 757-200, and in the early 2000s, the airlines even began deploying it on east coast (US) to western European routes. It was arguably one of the most versatile aircraft ever built.

Pratt & Whitney engines variant

The 757-200 with Pratt & Whitney engines is the best looking 757 ever built in my opinion. These engines feature a fairly large-diameter inlet, which accentuates the long and sleek lines of the fuselage. Here are the blank side view templates of that version, with and without winglets:

Rolls-Royce engines variant

Boeing 757-200s with Rolls-Royce engines are easy to spot. The engines are thin and slightly cone-shaped, and they extend further beneath the wing then the Pratt and Whitney engines do. 757s with a Rolls-Royce engines always looked weak to me, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth. It was actually the Rolls-Royce option that was more popular with the airlines than the Pratt & Whitney option. Here are the templates for that version with and without winglets:

Blank side view templates of the Boeing 757-200SF/PF/PCF (cargo and freighter configuration)

Once the 757-200 was starting to be phased out by the airlines, cargo operators jumped on the opportunity to add these versatile aircraft to their fleets. Boeing, well aware of this need, designed and developed the first factory-built 757 freighter in 1987. It was officially known as the 757-200PF.

Because of the fact that demand was so high (and Boeing couldn’t keep up with orders), there were a number of third-party companies who took on the challenge of converting retired passenger 757-200s into freighter configuration.

In the end, there were four main variants of the 757 freighter:

• SF – retired passenger 757-200’s converted into freighter configuration by Boeing
• PF – the original factory (Boeing) built 757 freighter
• PCF – “passenger converted freighter” built by Precision Conversions
• M – a “combi” design, which allowed passengers and freight to be carried simultaneously

The SF, PF, and PCF are illustrated below (I haven’t yet done the M model). Note: Since the PF and the PCF are nearly visually identical, I’ve grouped those into a single illustration.

757-200SF freighter configuration

The Boeing 757-200SF is the most visually similar to a passenger-configured 757-200 – which makes sense, because these aircraft were converted into freighters (from retired 757-200s) by Boeing. Although most of the doors and windows had been plugged (and a large upward swinging cargo door installed just ahead of the wing), the main boarding door nearest to the cockpit windows remained intact.

Here are the blank side view templates for the 757-200SF (with both Pratt & Whitney and Rolls Royce engines):

757-200PF/PCF freighter configuration

At first glance, the 757-200 PF and PCF look very similar to the SF variant. The large cargo door just a head of the wing is nearly identical, but the door configuration is slightly different.

In place of the forward boarding door, a smaller door for the pilots was added near the cockpit windows. The main boarding door was then completely plugged.

Here are the blank side view templates for the 757-200PF and PCF (with both Pratt & Whitney and Rolls Royce engines):