National Aeronca Association Bulletin Board

Although I have been lurking here for a while, I have only just joined the world of Aeroncas for real - I just bought N4641V - a 0-58B, 65hp Continental.

More to the point, I bought the pieces that make up this airplane. This is your typical barn-find; The airplane has been put away and a recover begun in 1952. That's where it stayed, snug and dry in Southern California. No rust worth mentioning and the airplane was owned by a A&P, who re-gusseted all the ribs , replacing the paper things with ply.(All wood ribs on the L3). The wings were covered and stitched, but not painted but that will all come off again. The original engine plus one spare and a whole lot of spare parts too; two sets of struts, controls surfaces etc. Logs are there for both airframe and engine, though there isn't much in them.
It's very original, with hefty canvas seatbelts and three of the original white faced gauges. Cowls are pretty decent too.

All in all I am very happy with the find. I will pick it up next week and take it back to my shop to do a more thorough inventory. I won't get to work on it until I finish my single seat homebuilt, so i have something to fly while I work on the Aeronca. Should make quite a good trainer for the L3, being a high wing, flapless taildragger with an identical wing loading.

Next step is to get all the manuals and whatever drawings I can find - is there such a thing as a complete set of construction drawings for the L3?

Welcome on board!

First off, go to Todd Trainor's website located here: www.aeronca.com

Look at his drawings and tech info. He has most of the tech stuff there and what he does not, we at the NAA do. He will sell a CD with his blueprints on it. The NAA does not at this time but if you need one that Todd does not have, or his is not in good shape and ours is better, let us know.

Glad to see another pre-war being saved!

Joe A

Welcome to the NAA,
Your aircraft is one of the few Aeroncas that were produced with a 4 longeron fuselage. I completed a 65TAC a few years back and have been flying it since.
The airplane is very forgiving and stable. One of the things I fretted about was installing wing tanks. I didn't install them and have no regrets,but, if you plan to install a C85 you will need them.
The wing struts are tough to find a good set. Pete Plumb over in Bakersfield has built some in the past.
The oleo's are different from the Champ, they are a bit longer. And a correct exhaust is next to impossible to find.
The FAA has the airworthiness status of your plane as Revoked. This isn't the end of the world. Make sure you get a Bill of Sale from the last registered owner, F.L. Brannon. Submit the paperwork to the FAA as fast as you can. Once the A/W shows as Revoked the N number will be soon re-assigned.
If you haven't already, get the CD on the plane. It will have all of the records the FAA has on it.
Feel free to contact me anytime. If you get in the SF Bay Area look me up.
Paul

Thanks for all the advice so far. I am sure I will have lots more questions over the next couple of years and look froward to learning more about these airplanes.

I should pick the airplane sometime next week and will have a better idea of what exactly I got myself into. My plan is an exact restoration, as close as possible to factory standards, including the original paint scheme; it won't get butchered up into something else.

Hopefully the jointer goes with it, as you'll probably be needing it at some time during the restoration.
And hook up with Bill Pancake, and Aeronca.com.