These are shots of the Austrian Saab J-35 Draken – the nose undercarriage and wheel well details. The main undercarriage can be found in my previous article.
I/ Strut & Wheel.
1) As seen from the left (port) side of the plane.
The camera is looking slightly backwards here, so the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) assembly is also visible. Please note the thickness of the RAT door:
The yellow and black half-circle is the RAT propeller safety cover.
Here is the upper portion of the front strut (picture above) when looking backwards. Please note two draw-bars actuating the wheel well doors (upper left corner of the picture) next to the door hinge.
Two shots of the same strut (pictures below) when looking slightly forwards:
And its upper portion in detail:
2) As seen from the right (starboard) side of the plane.
Camera is looking slightly toward the nose of the plane and up, to see inside the wheel well too. Please note the yellow and black (yellow and blue respectively) safety blocking bars with a RBF strip attached:
And closer look at the same section:
This is the nose wheel when looking slightly backwards (picture above) and slightly forwards (picture below).
4) As seen from behind
The nose gear was photographed from larger distance to see the RAT, its door & details plus the undersurface vents just behind RAT opened well. Please note: the large stepped screw behind the nose gear – it is not its component.
3) Strut attachment details
Camera is looking up and toward the backmost portion of the nose wheel well:
Two draw-bars actuating the wheel well doors (thin bars in upper third of the picture) are well visible too. Please note the RAT (lower left corner) front view.
II/ Nose wheel well.
The Draken nose wheel well is a place of high complexity – therefore potentially interesting for all modellers willing to super-detail their kits. Here you can find the sequence of photographs covering the whole well, beginning with its front wall. For better orientation, please memorize the horizontal wide-U-shaped cross-beam with two circular gauges attached atop (on the right).
1) Front wall details
The front wall when looking toward the nose of the airplane (both pictures).
Lower portion close-up (picture above)…
…and upper portion view (picture below).
2) Wheel well doors with hinges & wheel well side walls
This is the front section of the well – nose of the plane is on the right. The greenish rod (near right edge of the picture) is not an airplane part – it is the screw jack:
The middle section of the well:
The rear section of the well with nose undercarriage leg attachment area:
The following pictures are documenting the nose gear well doors & both well side walls. First one was photographed from the right side of the plane (the nose is on the right). Please note the air intake (upper right corner). The screw-jack holds Draken’s nose.
Following two photograps were shot from the left side of the plane. Please do not miss the tubing running along the side wall, door hinges & door actuator rods.
3) Wheel well – deeper inside view
And three more shots for those of you who want to know much about how the “roof” of the nose gear well looks like. Sorry for the blurred shot (second within the following sequence) – it was posted here for your better wholeover orientation despite of its low quality.
Front portion overview (upper picture).
The middle and rear section when looking more backwards (both pics).
And what about the walls of the nose-gear well? Here you are!
Please imagine you are standing under the nose gear well opening, with your head deep inside it. Well.
Firstly you are looking at the right/starboard side of a gear-well wall and the “roof” above. The front wall is on your left now:
Please note the numerous switches placed inside boxes on the side wall and also the front undercarriage hinge (bottom right portion of the photograph).
Now you will be turning your head to the right shot-by-shot. Please turn 90 degrees and stop.
You are looking backwards now – toward the nose strut and a bit up:
You are in the same direction now but in more upstanding position – your head is deeper up – very very close to the “roof”:
You are nearly exactly alligned with the airplane’s lengthwise axis and looking directly backwards. The green cylindrical object in the middle of the picture is uppermost end of the nose leg – just above the leg’s turning (attachment) hinges.
And another right-turn with your eyes… and a bit upwards. Thank you.
You are looking toward the upper rear “corner” of the wheel well now:
You completed a 180 degree turn now – looking directly at the left/port side wall (lower photograph). The front left undercarriage hinge is visible too (bottom left portion of the photograph):
So it is! Now I hope you have enough reference photographs of the nose gear for your kit :-). Do not forget to send your shots of the finished Draken kit with a jewelly super-detailed undercarriage – I am looking forward to post them here.
And finally my special thanks to Juraj Bojkovsky for his nice photographs.
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Text Copyright © 2012 by Marcel Meres.
Images Copyright © 2012 by Marcel Meres and Juraj Bojkovsky.