My new L3B project

[Aerco]

Picked up the airplane yesterday from Fallbrook by U-Haul. There are advantages to rebuilding light aircraft as opposed to heavy iron - you can manhandle most of the parts and you don't even need a hoist for 65 hp Continental. Had two guys help me load,was on my own unloading, but I managed without causing any damage. I have only had the briefest of looks at what I have and so far I'm quite happy. The wings had just been covered (sometime in the 70s), and stitched, but no dope. It will all come off again, but it served to keep them nice and clean inside. I cut a couple of holes just to have a quick peek and it looks fine. Some fabric on the spare tailplanes still has "1942" stencilled on it.

Fuselage and other stuff is covered with decades of dust, but very little rust. I seem to have three sets of tailplanes, several elevators, spare ailerons, pedals and other bits and pieces. Plus one complete and one bare A-65. I don't have false hopes that these will turn out to be perfect when I open them up, but they may be ok as cores, they were stored in a dry climate at least. I once opened up a Ranger that sat outside in Maine(!) since the 40s and was surprised at how well it survivd on the inside.

Nice to start a project with a more or less complete airplane. Had to try the cockpit, of course since I never sat in an L3. Promptly crashed through the canvas sling, which was pretty brittle, but after replacing it with a board was surprised how roomy and comfortable it is, both front and back. Lots of headroom and you're not limited to size 8 shoes to operate the pedals from the back, like in a Cub. Love it.

Had a look through the logs and paperwork and found, unfortunately that the gross weight is listed at 1260 lbs, whereas I have some manuals that list it at 1300, which would be a useful thing. I'll have to look into that, see if I can get it raised.

I won't really get going with this until my homebuilt gets out of the shop, but I am making an inventory and will make a start on bits and pieces.

The more I look at this airplane the more I like it, it has definitely turned out to be my favorite model Aeronca.

[CptKelly]

Congratulations. Looks like a great project. Keep us up to date here on the forum.

Mike

[joea]

Looks good!

Where did you get it from? When did it fly last?

Joe A

[Aerco]

Looks good!

Where did you get it from? When did it fly last?

Joe A

Believe it or not I found it on "craigslist"! It just said "Airplane" and I looked into it.

It was located in Fallbrook, north of San Diego. The last log entries are from 1952. It was taken apart for a re-cover, but the owner never got around to it, and he died a few years ago.

[joea]

What a find! Glad you could save it.

Now get to work!

[Aerco]

Found some interesting stuff going through the boxes of parts I got on Tuesday:

Three USA Army Air Corps, small size data plates;

1: L3C, Serial No: 43.1608, Order No: 30123

2: L3B, Serial No: 42.36178 Order No: 24584, Date Accepted: 5.8.42

3: TG5, Serial No: 42.57285, Order No: 30103

And a pair of larger plates, different, but both for the same aircraft:

Model: G.3 (What is a G.3??)
Serial No:1582G3
MAA no:41682
TC : 9

I happen to have the Bill of sale for the TG5 glider and what appear to be some parts from it. Does anyone know if the TG5 had slightly smaller diameter tubing in its tailplane? I have three sets and one of these is identical in shape, but lighter tubing. I guess if I wanted to build an Aeronca glider, I am off to a good start!

All these are in addition to the ones that were on the airplane.

[MikeB]

Peter,
That's a dandy and well worth restoring as close to original as possible. It's amazing the plates are still there. Usually someone has 'lifted' them over the years. Looking forward to seeing the progress on your project.
MikeB

[Paul Agaliotis]

Peter,
The TG-5 is also known as a G-3.
Hang on to the extra stuff, we might be able to do some horse trading. I have a couple of TC's in the barn that need parts.
Paul

[L3CFI]

43-1608 is pretty close to my L3 - 43-1528. Have you gotten a copy of its service record yet? It would be interesting to see if they were stationed together.

[Aerco]

43-1608 is pretty close to my L3 - 43-1528. Have you gotten a copy of its service record yet? It would be interesting to see if they were stationed together.

The NA&S museum got my request, so I am just waiting to hear from them.

[Aerco]

43-1608 is pretty close to my L3 - 43-1528. Have you gotten a copy of its service record yet? It would be interesting to see if they were stationed together.

I received what little they had from the museum; the copy is not very legible, but it appears the airplane spent time in Lubbock and most of the 368 hours of its military life in Tucumcari, NM. It was then delivered to Phoenix to be sold. There is another location listed, abbreviated as "CUT CAR" - no idea what that might be yet.

[L3CFI]

My L-3 was in South Plain, TX near Lubbock in the spring of 1943. It didn't stay there long, though. Keep us posted as you begin your project.