1968 Nolan Ryan RC Fake or Cut Long?

[steve B]

Don't feel bad.

I worked on a project thirdhand for NASA. They sent a drawing based on my prototypes that included a dimension shown as radius when it should have been diameter. Or if not, the correct radius.
Every time we exchanged drawings and comments I mentioned the discrepancy. To my knowledge they never corrected it.

Long bizarre story follows

It's possible they were protecting a supplier they liked working with from competition. A few times I'd bid government work, only to see my exact information supplied come back to me as a request for quote from another supplier who bid low then refiled partway through to get approval for cost overruns. They NEVER did any of the actual engineering, just had a friend pass along other places quotes.

I solved that one!
I translated all units into obscure obsolete units, and not necessarily from the same system (Like old imperial French weights per square cubit for pressures- especially fun as those units of mass varied between cities.. ) . And described US standard fittings by their DIN or ISO numbers...

Pre internet that was pure conversion hell. Their guy called me very upset that I had done that and demanded that I provide a translation so they could complete the contract they had low bid under me. (I have doubts that the bid process was "sealed bid" for all bidders .)
I told him I would supply that for about what I'd quoted for the job.
He had some expensive engineers figuring it out and had the govt purchasing agents boss lean on me. he wasn't happy when I told him I'd deliberately used those units and specs because I kept losing to one place that always seemed to have my exact numbers and exact design on every quote he beat me on.
That boss was NOT happy...
And since the other guy never paid me he paid his engineers making at least double what I made somewhere around three weeks work to look it all up.
And when he didn't look up the parts specs... He got quoted on those items as if they were "special" items... Like 4x list price.

Never had a problem competing honestly for those government jobs after that.