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Piper L4 grasshopper


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I recently found a 1/35th scale L4 buried really deep in my stash (Bronco kit). Never knew I owned one, and was quite delighted to see it!

Anyway I've kinda put it in my "want to get on" stack. Still have not decided which one to build yet; if that matters a lot. This alone leads me into some questions

for the folks that know.

* I seem to recall that Ike had one to his disposal. Are there any decals out there for this airframe?

* The big one for me is the cockpit. Bronco could have done a better job in my book, or else the

   cockpit was rather Spartan. Most of all the dash and controls just look like something

   somebody added because he forgot to do them for the kit. Am I right, or am I wrong?

   Does anybody have a link to photos on a military cockpit? If so please post a link!

 

Otherwise, I rather like the kit

gary

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The cockpit on an J-3 or L-4 is extremely spartan. 4-6 instruments, a set of magneto controls and throttle/mixture.

Even the gas gauge is a rod with a bobber sticking out of the cowl in front of the windshield.

 

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Mawz is right. The one and only time I flew in a J-3 it was just like he describes. I remember back in the day, seeing the same type of fuel "gauge" on riding mowers of the day. The aircraft I flew in did have a VHF radio, but it looked like something out of the 1940s. The owner had put indoor/outdoor carpeting on the floor, I guess to make the interior easier to clean?

 

I just did a quick Google Image search on "Piper J-3 cockpit" and came up with this, lots of good stuff there:

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=Piper+J-3+Cub+cockpit&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJgt70oMbZAhVww1kKHU-LCFgQ_AUICigB&biw=1803&bih=889

 

 

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Having owned 4 different Piper J3 Cubs and been neck deep in various Piper cub derivatives,  I can tell you the cockpits were spartan, and mostly monochromatic.  The Bronco kit represents the last versions - the L-4H or J. Once serial production started, Piper painted everything - and I mean EVERYTHING - the same olive drab exterior color.  The interior framework, the instrument panel, the floorboards, the gas tank behind and below the instrument panel, the control sticks and the rudder pedals ALL were olive drab and most of this was a single coat after assembly of the cockpit area during production.  The easiest way to replicate this is to totally assemble the cockpit / fuselage halves, then paint everything inside olive drab.

 

The seat cushions were black leather, but many pictures I have show the front cushions missing and the pilot sitting on the canvas frame cover (this was now a dirty white color).  Instruments were black faced with white markings EXCEPT for the and oil press / temp gauge (furthest right) which was cream faced.

 

Be careful googling for references.  There are MANY restored L4's that are NOT authentic.  Period b&w pics are your best guide.  Eisenhower did NOT have a personal L4, but he did ride in L4's on numerous occasions.  There is one picture of him sitting in the rear seat of an L4.  The customary 4 stars denoting his rank are displayed in the window.  There is a large white A forward of the insignia (but you can't see the 2-digit number that would be behind the insignia).

 

Starting in mid 1944, L4's came off the production line in overall silver.

 

I hope this information is of some help.

 

C2j

Edited by Cubs2jets
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2 hours ago, Cubs2jets said:

Having owned 4 different Piper J3 Cubs and been neck deep in various Piper cub derivatives,  I can tell you the cockpits were spartan, and mostly monochromatic.  The Bronco kit represents the last versions - the L-4H or J. Once serial production started, Piper painted everything - and I mean EVERYTHING - the same olive drab exterior color.  The interior framework, the instrument panel, the floorboards, the gas tank behind and below the instrument panel, the control sticks and the rudder pedals ALL were olive drab and most of this was a single coat after assembly of the cockpit area during production.  The easiest way to replicate this is to totally assemble the cockpit / fuselage halves, then paint everything inside olive drab.

 

The seat cushions were black leather, but many pictures I have show the front cushions missing and the pilot sitting on the canvas frame cover (this was now a dirty white color).  Instruments were black faced with white markings EXCEPT for the and oil press / temp gauge (furthest right) which was cream faced.

 

Be careful googling for references.  There are MANY restored L4's that are NOT authentic.  Period b&w pics are your best guide.  Eisenhower did NOT have a personal L4, but he did ride in L4's on numerous occasions.  There is one picture of him sitting in the rear seat of an L4.  The customary 4 stars denoting his rank are displayed in the window.  There is a large white A forward of the insignia (but you can't see the 2-digit number that would be behind the insignia).

 

Starting in mid 1944, L4's came off the production line in overall silver.

 

I hope this information is of some help.

 

C2j

this is exactly what I needed. It looks like the four gauge dash is correct as well. Were the seats black canvas or leather? Looking at the Bing Images; you'll find several colors and materials in use.

gary

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As delivered, the front seat frame had an off-white, 2-piece canvas "sling" (for lack of a better word).  The back part slipped over the frame and the bottom portion laced into place.  Over these were two black leather cushions - the back slipped over the seatback and the bottom just sat on the sling.  Seating in the front is cramped and uncomfortable (even for a 1940 size man) so often the both cushions were taken out to give "just a little more room" - especially if wearing a parachute.

 

The rear seat consisted of a square black leather cushion on a full width plywood base for the bottom and a 6" wide strap for the backrest.  If I remember correctly, this is completely wrongly represented in the kit.

 

Hope this helps

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