The Little World

I am not a naturally suspicious man. I allow people to control my computer frequently and am always sending out my credit card details. I’ve invested frequently in Nigerian investments. But I now look upon any Czech model aircraft instruction sheets with the same trust that I would give a 500Kg German bomb that was ticking and fizzing.

The latest encounter was with the landing gear section of the Sword instructions for the Cougar. Here’s the page with some orange arrows.

The landing gear legs in this diagram have the scissor struts at the rear of the legs. The wheels are mounted facing outboard with the wheel doors apparently sealing them off. It all looks plausible.

However, it would be a source of some surprise to three parties:

a. Grumman.

b. The moulding shop at Sword.

c. Me.

I checked on the net. A current example of this aircraft is on display on USS MIDWAY. The wheels face inward. The doors attach to outside of the gear legs. The scissors struts face forward.

Fortunately the moulding shop at Sword had done the correct parts, and I decided that The US Navy probably had not switched the gear to fool the visitors. Hence I built it to look like theirs.

I can only hope that the instruction sheet artist in Prague had his beer cut off at lunch time.