Welcome to the WWII Forums! Log in or Sign up to interact with the community.

1943 Aeronca L3B

Discussion in 'Military Vehicle Restoration' started by Biak, Dec 7, 2009.

  1. Biak

    Biak Boy from Illinois Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2009
    Messages:
    9,077
    Likes Received:
    2,473
    A friend of mine helped restore this many years ago. This is a 1943 Aeronca L3B artillery spotter from WWII. It has been fully restored to its former glory complete with Squadron Insignia. The "Grasshopper" nickname came from a general who remarked as he watched the new air-cadets bouncing, hopping and finally landing that they looked like a bunch of grasshoppers and the nickname stuck !
     

    Attached Files:

  2. colletorww2

    colletorww2 Ace

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2008
    Messages:
    1,412
    Likes Received:
    85
    WOW! What a great job restoring it! Keep up the good work!
     
  3. dgmitchell

    dgmitchell Ace

    Joined:
    May 9, 2008
    Messages:
    3,268
    Likes Received:
    315
    Wow! This is awesome! Do you fly it yourself?
     
  4. Biak

    Biak Boy from Illinois Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2009
    Messages:
    9,077
    Likes Received:
    2,473
    Oops, I just posted the picture showing the restoration but I would give anything to BE the owner. When we went over to take the pictures one of the two co-owners was there and they pulled it out of the hanger to afford a better view. The same friend who told me about this had a 1941 Cessna trainer that he and another guy had restored. As luck would have it he sold it before I could get a "hop" in it also. I did help replace a cable pin and patch the fabric on the wing though. Seems I am always a day late and dollar short. Here's another shot.
     

    Attached Files:

  5. 107thcav

    107thcav Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2009
    Messages:
    422
    Likes Received:
    40
    Beautiful job, looks like a lot of tender loving care was given to it.
     
  6. texson66

    texson66 Ace

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2008
    Messages:
    3,095
    Likes Received:
    592
    Those Aeroncas are sweet planes. Great restoration! Thanks for sharing!

    I was fortunate enough to fly a Stinson L-5 back at Troy Skypark in Ohio as a flight instructor there in the late 70s. Both the Aeronca and Stinson planes were used almost identically in WW2.

    My boss let me take it up every other week to keep "the juices flowing" and to help me remember that there were other planes besides Cessna 150s and Cherokees!

    [​IMG]

    L-5 Sentinel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
     
  7. colletorww2

    colletorww2 Ace

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2008
    Messages:
    1,412
    Likes Received:
    85
    WoW Texson. I didn't see this the first time around, i am so jealous of you now :D
     
  8. Biak

    Biak Boy from Illinois Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2009
    Messages:
    9,077
    Likes Received:
    2,473
    Okay, now I'm jealous ! One of my greatest dreams was to fly but things just never seemed to work out. At least I got to see the Aeronca and touch a piece of history. I do have about 40 minutes logged in a Cessna 172? though.
     

Share This Page