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I dunno what the reason for it, clearance or protection, but it does not seem equivalent to a spring. Forget to fold it over and it will break or bend at the hinge. I had to fix mine once after forgetting to fold it driving into a garage. The ears on the hinge bent open enough that the antenna would not fully seat back down into the base. There's a little roll pin in the hinge that I drifted out, put the antenna in a vise to squeeze the two hinge ears back parallel. Getting that little tiny roll pin back in was a major pain. That sucker can't be anymore than a 1.5mm x 8mm roll pin, it tried my patience but eventually it went back in without me throwing something. Maybe other Comets or brands hinges are different, but the hinge on my Challenger C767 (discontinued) is most definitely not a substitute for a shock spring. It will break.gary in ohio said:The fold over feature isnt really designed to fold over for casual clearance issues, but will allow the antenna to fold over in case you forget and go into a low clearance location.