"Le Chaud Lapin" wrote in message
ps.com...
I'd like to design a small model aircraft, about one meter in length.
Even though it's small, it's still complex. There are many mechanical
pieces.

Finally, I prefer cheap over expensive.

If your model plane doesn't require very organic shapes, then Alibre might
be a good choice and is cheaper than SolidWorks. If you need more organic
shapes and smooth transitions, SolidWorks would be a better choice, but it
can take a lot of work to get it right and the models will be less robust.
(You'll change a parameter and some feature far away may break.) If you need
really nice shapes, and don't have the time or patience to mess around, you
might need to go to the expensive guys, like CATIA and UGS. Jumping into
them from a non-CAD background would be really scary.

Jerry Steiger