Tail surfaces - 109F versus 109E?

[Graham Boak]

Originally Posted by pstrany

Wow! Thanks for this! Yeah, I find builders drawings, especially German, to be a lot less than accurate.

Paul

I find this rather surprising. I've no specific knowledge of the German industry, but it is the manufacturer's drawings that go to make the jigs and tools to produce the part: if the part doesn't match it is rejected, for wouldn't do the job for which it was designed.

I can see two possible explanations.

One is that you are not referring to the maufacturing drawings, but to what in the UK are described as General Arrangement drawings (GAs). These are often based on early project assumptions, and only show the basic configuration. They act as the reference centre, from which other drawings show the major assemblies, and so on down (up?) the design tree to the smallest bracket. The drawings of these parts are indeed accurate.

I can confirm that GAs from British aircraft companies did not always reflect later changes made to the design. That's not what they were for.

The other is that the drawings belong to some earlier idea of what the part should be like, different from that finally accepted for production. I'm sure it is very difficult to determine the detailed history of the design of major aircraft parts, and to place every detailed drawing in its proper place.