COBI MiG-17 NATO Code Fresco Set 5823

COBI's MiG-17 is a 1:32 model built from 568 blocks, 36 cm long with a 30 cm wingspan. The wheels move, the canopy opens for the included pilot figure, and a display stand with a nameplate and national marking is supplied. All markings are printed; no stickers.

Look at the fences on the wings

Three thin plates stand upright on each wing, running fore and aft. They are wing fences, and they solve a problem that appeared the moment aircraft designers started sweeping wings back.

On a swept wing, air does not simply flow from front to back. It also drifts outward along the span towards the wingtip, and that drifting air piles up at the tip until it separates — the outer part of the wing stalls first, while the inner part is still flying. Since the ailerons are at the tip, the pilot loses roll control exactly when he needs it, and the aircraft can pitch up and depart.

A fence is a wall. It physically blocks the outward drift and keeps the airflow moving in the direction it should. Cheap, simple, and visible from across a room — which is why the MiG-17 is identifiable at a glance.

Later aircraft solved the same problem with computers and leading-edge slats. In 1949 you solved it with a piece of sheet metal.

Service

The MiG-17 flew with the air forces of around 40 countries and was built in Poland as the Lim-5 from 1956. Armament was two 23 mm cannon and one 37 mm — a bomber-killing fit that turned out to work well against fighters too.

In the COBI range

Part of a family COBI makes at this scale: the MiG-15, the Polish Lim-1 and Lim-5, the Czechoslovak S-102, and MiG-17s in Vietnamese, East German and Soviet markings. Set 2424 is the MiG-17 of the USS Intrepid collection.

Specifications

Pieces: 568 · Figures: 1 pilot · Scale: 1:32 · Display stand and nameplate · No stickers
Model dimensions: 36 × 30 × 11 cm (14.2 × 11.8 × 4.3 in)