On Wed, 24 Sep 2014 23:02:16 -0400, Orval Fairbairn <orfairbairn@earthlink.net>
wrote:
>In article <ll762apkc5e7udmqngmm4ugab0j19q2p1g@4ax.com>,
> Charles Lindbergh <spirit@stlouis.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 24 Sep 2014 14:18:26 +0200, "Claus Gustafsen" <claus@gustafsen.nu>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >Notice the hinges on the acces panels, they look more like they belong on a
>> >cubbord door in my opinion, and not present on many models.
>> >Claus Gustafsen
>> >Strandby
>> >
>>
>> Great example of Russian "Boiler Plate" construction. Looks like it was made
>> from steel! Imagine the performance if it had been made with aluminum!
>
>About 20 years ago I had the privilege of touring the MASM Garber
>Restoration Facility at Silver Hill. Among the projects was an IL-2
>undergoing restoration.
>
>The workmanship was truly peasant! Rivet lines were not straight nor
>evenly-spaced -- nut even deburred! Fit was cursory, at best.
>
>Of course, the Russians turned out 30,000 of those beasts, which had, at
>best, an expected combat life of 300 hours, so they really didn't have
>to use much finesse in manufacture. Someone else commented on the
>furniture-quality hinges, which is in keeping with the LASQAD (Loose-And
>Simple, Rough-And Dirty) design/manufacturing philosophy under wartime
>conditions.
>
>Those planes were nothing but aeronautical cannon fodder, but they got
>the job done with overwhelming numbers.
It is interesting to note the Soviets continued this boilerplate construction
philosophy well past the end of WWII. Even the MiG-25 was built of nickel alloy
and utilized vacuum-tube technology for avionics.
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