Piper L-4 photos

HI all . . .

In the FWIW column, I spent most of today at the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation at Tara Field, Clayton County, GA. That's across the street from Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, and yes the NASCAR crowd was making a bunch of noise practicing, even though the temperature today was a whopping 35 degrees.

The kind folks at AAHF handed me the keys to hangar 3, wherein a pristine (but damaged) Piper L-4B resides. The damage came from a car's front bumper, and the empennage is twisted about 15 degrees.

The AAHF L-4 is painted to represent "Janey", an L-4 which among other things supported every landing in the ETO and MTO, and which is reputed to be the only "L-Bird" to shoot down a German fighter (Bf-109).

The story goes that the 109 driver thought he'd make short work of the L-4, and found out how quickly the L-4 can turn. In the overshoot, the hapless 109 driver also found out what a smoke rocket from an L-4 can be used for besides marking targets on the ground.

Anywell.

The point of the visit was to get the sort of detail photos that aren't usually included in a photo pack, of which I have three. Details such as the latch that holds the upper window open, what the rear seat structure looks like (not at all like a J-3), how the 'greenhouse' structure is _really_ arranged, where the tail hand-lift handle is (on the right side), and how the _left_ window opens (completely different from the hinged right side window).

If anyone needs detail photos of a Piper L-4, lemme know.

I'll be in the building shed to making a dozen or so detail changes on the 1/3 scale version I _was_ about to cover . . .

Cheers, Fred McClellan The House Of Balsa Dust

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Reply to
Fred McClellan
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Fred, I would like a set of those photos as I also have that kit and intentions for it this year. I think that the local L-4 that I had intended to use has moved as it is no longer where I had seen and visited it and I have not heard of anyone bending any older planes there. Some idiot did trash a 172 or 182 a couple of years ago doing a downwind touch and go, but nothing since.

Thanks,

Jim Branaum AMA 1428

Six_O'clock_High Target snipped-for-privacy@Guns.com

Reply to
Six_O'Clock_High

.zip file enroute.

It's 154 megs, so your inbox may get stretch marks.

You might also try http://162.58.35.241/acdatabase/acmain.htmto find an L-4 in your neck of the woods. It seems there are L-4s in Rio Hondo, Beeville, and Wichita Falls, if that's any help.

Cheers, Fred McClellan The House Of Balsa Dust

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Reply to
Fred McClellan

The National D-Day Memorial (A GREAT site), close to Roanoke, VA, currently has an L-4, also. Dr.1 Driver "There's a Hun in the sun!"

Reply to
Dr1Driver

Check your inbox. Cheers, Fred McClellan The House Of Balsa Dust

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Reply to
Fred McClellan

Hey Fred!

S>>

Reply to
Dan

Not a problem, but . . .

Bashing a Cub kit into an L-4 requires _major_ surgery unless you only want stand-way-back scale.

The greenhouse on the L-4 makes it tough to hide the standard Cub innards, not the least of which are the seats (totally different), the cabin internal structure, rear windows, and luggage compartment.

If the L-4 didn't have the greenhouse the upper cabin internals wouldn't be an issue; it does and they are.

As an analogy, bashing a J-3 kit into an L-4 would be similar to bashing a two-door coupe into a station wagon - the structure isn't there.

I'm posting a few shots of the L-4 greenhouse and a J-3 rear quarter view in alt.binaries.radio-control so you can see what you're up against.

If you still want to tackle the L-4 project, lemme know. Cheers, Fred McClellan The House Of Balsa Dust

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Reply to
Fred McClellan

No .zip file, so thanks for the link. The Rio Hondo bird is closest.

Jim

Reply to
Six_O'Clock_High

No failure notice received.

Trying again using O/E; message is in 84 parts, total of 60.6 mb.

Cheers, Fred McClellan The House Of Balsa Dust

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Reply to
Fred McClellan

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