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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 1101.PDF
APRIL 29TH, 1943 heir Characteristic PIPER L-59A FIXED, FAIRED UNDERCARRIACE SNUB NOSE RECTANCUIAR fUSELACE=IAC Q(6>^g 5TRU1 FIXED UNDERCARRIACE DIMENSIONS Span Length .. Height .. Wing area 35ft. 2J/n. 22ft. 6in. 6ft. 8in. 178 sq. ft. STRAICHT PARALLEL EDCES VERY similar to the Taylorcraft as produced inAmerica, the Piper L-59A is another of the newGrasshopper class now extensively used by the U.S. Army for liaison, many of which, are to be seen in this country. The type was at first designated by the letter O, but this was changed to L when the term "liaison" was introduced into the U.S. Army Air Force classifications to differentiate between the Grasshoppers and the full-sized observation types such as the Curtiss Owl (0-52). Incidentally the similarity between the Piper and the Taylorcraft is not very surprising when one remembers that the Piper Aircraft Corporation sprang from a reorganisa-. tion, in 1937, of the original Taylor Aircraft Co. The L159A is a development of the Piper Cub J-3 trainer, and its two seats are arranged in tandem. The Cub has been extensively used in America's Civil Pilot Training Programme and it was the excellent performance of this little machine during the U.S. Army manoeuvres in 1941 which resulted in the firm's receiving large orders for the type; the L-59A has been in service since early in 1942. It differs from the Cub in having an extended cockpit aft of the trailing-edge of the wing, giving better visibility for the observer who, in one version, can swivel his seat round to sit back-to-back with the pilot and work as a radio operator. Either a% Lycoming or Continental '' flat-four '' air-cooled engine of 65 h.p. is fitted and, like all Grass hoppers, the L-59A can " hop " in and out of almost any small meadow, while the average road provides a ready- made runway. - The externally braced high wings of the Piper are built up of spruce spars and aluminium-alloy ribs with fabric covering. The fuselage is a welded steel tube structure, also fabric covered, and so is the tail unit. Top speed is 92 m.p.h., cruising speed about So m.p.h., service ceiling 12,000ft., and range 260 miles. Like all Grasshoppers, its landing speed is a mere 35 m.p.h. The Pipe 59A may be distinguished most readily from the Taylorcraft L-57 by its elliptical tailplane and by the fact that on the Piper the base of the ' V " struts meets the fuselage aft of the undercarriage fairing.
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