AOP
In Remembrance 2023
Ken Schmitt sent me a disc of L-4 photos from the Archives and one of them was this one. I couldn't post it before because I couldn't get it small enough to fit on the site, but John Scott came to the rescue and shrunk it for me and you! There is a lot to see here. First of all, the way they mounted the antenna and the place they mounted it. Then the fact that they put the radio under the desk, not to mention that its not a BC-659, it's a BC-620 which is exclusively a tank radio. The caption identifies the airplane as being from the 67th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, which is an artillery outfit in a tank division. So somebody wanted one of the artillery birds to be able to talk to the tanks in a column and not the artillery FDC.
Also notice the end piece for the bellcrank cover. We had a drawing of the cover, and of the end piece, but we didn't know how they went from a flat end to a round cover because pictures of the rear seat are just non-existent. Looks like they just mashed it over any old way and stuck on a couple of screws. I just finished making and installing one on mine. The drawings aren't real clear, but it starts out as a piece of .025 aluminum 3 inches square. The top dimensions are clear on my copy, if you need help reading it get back to me. For the holes, I marked the location off the seat cleats. I recommend you do the same because they may be a bit off from the drawings after all these years. Then just bend the top over the cleat and whack it down onto the cover as best you can and screw it in place. It is critical that the cover extend no more or less than 7 1/2 inches above the floor if you're going to get it to work.
Again, thanks to John Scott for helping me get this onto the site, and Ken Schmitt for coming up with the photos.
PS, if you can get enough resolution out of the photo, you can even see the rivets and tinnermans used to secure the windows. If you can't see it, PM me with your email and I'll send you the full shot.
Also notice the end piece for the bellcrank cover. We had a drawing of the cover, and of the end piece, but we didn't know how they went from a flat end to a round cover because pictures of the rear seat are just non-existent. Looks like they just mashed it over any old way and stuck on a couple of screws. I just finished making and installing one on mine. The drawings aren't real clear, but it starts out as a piece of .025 aluminum 3 inches square. The top dimensions are clear on my copy, if you need help reading it get back to me. For the holes, I marked the location off the seat cleats. I recommend you do the same because they may be a bit off from the drawings after all these years. Then just bend the top over the cleat and whack it down onto the cover as best you can and screw it in place. It is critical that the cover extend no more or less than 7 1/2 inches above the floor if you're going to get it to work.
Again, thanks to John Scott for helping me get this onto the site, and Ken Schmitt for coming up with the photos.
PS, if you can get enough resolution out of the photo, you can even see the rivets and tinnermans used to secure the windows. If you can't see it, PM me with your email and I'll send you the full shot.
