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Piper L-4A 'Grasshopper'

Description
  Manufacturer:Piper
  Base model:L-4
  Designation:L-4
  Version:A
  Nickname:Grasshopper
  Designation System:U.S. Air Force
  Designation Period:1942-1962
  Basic role:Liaison
  See Also:O-59

Specifications
  Length: 22' 6.7 m
  Height:6' 8" 2.0 m
  Wingspan: 35' 3" 10.7 m
  Wingarea: 179.0 sq ft 16.6 sq m
  Empty Weight: 730 lb 331 kg
  Gross Weight: 1,220 lb 553 kg

Propulsion
  No. of Engines: 1
  Powerplant: Continental O-170-3
  Horsepower (each): 65

Performance
  Range: 190 miles 305 km
  Cruise Speed: 75 mph 120 km/h 64 kt
  Max Speed: 85 mph 136 km/h 73 kt
  Ceiling: 9,300 ft 2,834 m

Known serial numbers
42-15159 / 42-15329, 42-36325 / 42-36824, 42-38380 / 42-38457, 43-29048 / 43-29246

Examples of this type may be found at
MuseumCityState
United States Air Force MuseumWright-PattersonOhio
United States Army Aviation MuseumOzarkAlabama

L-4A on display

United States Air Force Museum
    


 

Recent comments by our visitors
 DAVE BOSO
 BELPRE, OH
It's not an l4 it's an o 59
10/23/2007 @ 15:33 [ref: 18287]
 Mike Crawford
 , OH
The Piper J-3 Cub pictured here was donated to the Air Force Museum in the early seventies by the Civil Air Patrol of Greene County, Ohio, commanded by Major William B. Crawford (Ret). At the time of the donation, the Cub was still painted in Air Force colors (silver). The Air Force Museum agreed to paint it up in Civil Air Patrol Colors.
11/17/2006 @ 03:32 [ref: 14755]
 John Bayer
 Denver, CO
ALONE AND UNARMED is the story of a lone pilot, Staff Sergeant Ernest Kowalik, flying the military's version of the 65-hp Piper "Cub", during the Italian Campaign in WWII.

Flying without an Observer, because he was the "spare" pilot for the 88th Division Artillery HQ Battalion, Kowalik actually flew more than twice the average number of sorties and hours than the typical division Liaison Pilot, often at dangerously low altitiudes.

Artillery spotting and scouting for the 88th Infantry "Blue Devil" Division, he saw a wide variety of action, from taking out large enemy guns and rescuing supply caravans from ambush, to making possible several significant breakthroughs of enemy lines.

Join Staff Sergeant (later Lieutenant) Kowalik as he relives significant episodes of the world's struggle for freedom in that time.

"Directing artillery fire from an unarmed, unarmored light aircraft was surely one of thw most dangerous tasks performed on a daily basis during World War II. Flying from rough, unimproved airstrips, often within range of enemy shellfire, added to the perils faced by Field Artillery pilots, as did the ever present threat of bad weather. Such operations are covered in graphic detail by Ernest Kowalik, whose "Alone and Unarmed" is a welcome addition to the small number of books on a little known aspect of WWII."

- KEN WAKEFIELD, author of Lightplanes at War, The Flying Grasshoppers, and Luftwaffe Encore.

Pre-publication offer, only $19.95 plus $2.00 Media Mail shipping. Priority Mail extra.

Pay via Paypal to jrbayer3@yahoo.com, or send check or money order to:



The Glenn Curtiss Press

c/o Bayer

8501 E. Alameda Ave.

#1031

Denver, CO 80230-6891


01/24/2005 @ 23:50 [ref: 9243]

 

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