This might be of interest to some of you. Here you can download aircraft manuals and pilot's notes on different types -some military, some civil. From, let's say, the P-39 to the Stratocruiser. They are previews for the high-res examples which are for sale on CD, but they make for some interesting reading.
http://www.tailwheel.nl/manualsad/index.html
Tillerman.