I know this is an old thread, but the photos are great. Thank you.
I'm in the process of trying to figure out how to animate the wing fold in AC3D to use on an X-Plane Hellcat model. I've studied still photos and videos but still haven't quite got it clear in my mind how to animate this wing fold, which seems kind of like some sort of cam operation, folding two ways at once?
(EDIT: After making this post, I was continuing my search and came across a description that said the action is an example of a skewed axis. One source described it this way: "The principle upon which the Grumman folding wing depended was what engineers call a skewed axis. This axis, in essence, was a pivot set in the wing root that projected outward and backward at a certain angle into the movable portion of the wing. It is difficult to describe, but any reader with an eraser, paperclips, ingenuity, and patience can duplicate the mechanism.")
Speaking of motorized versus manual, I've seen several videos of Grumman Avengers, where the wings were folded/unfolded by the pilot in the cockpit. I suppose the Avenger was such a powerful beast that they could afford to add the weight necessary to motorize the operation.
Bill