If this has been discussed before...I've missed it, and "search" has only gotten some oblique references to the venerable Bird Dog.

Have any of you used an L-19 as a backcountry plane? Have any put it on amphib floats?

It would seem to me to be a decent plane for the purpose, as it was used off relatively short/rough strips in SE Asia.

Only downsides I see are:
-engine is less common (similar to E- series Continental)
-fuel burn is higher than SuperCub, etc
-smaller tanks (proportionate to fuel burn)
-foldable rear pedals, which are difficult to instruct with (ask me how I know...)


Upsides:
-significantly fun to fly
-roomier for the, (ahem), "larger" pilot
-nice control harmony
-metal surfaces (tolerate outdoors better when tied down?)


comments, thoughts, please.

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You forgot to mention wing stores for mounting 2.75" folding fin aerial rocket pods.

Here’s a nice bird dog with a Pponk O-470-50 at HSF a few years ago.

The L-19 was equipped with straight floats by the military. I doubt it was ever mounted on amphibious floats.

That said, I have a friend who got an STC to mount his Cessna Airmaster on amphibious floats. Required the services of a DER, but done in four months.

MTV

dogpilot wrote: Collectable airplane, do not want to ding it,

They are kind of museum pieces.

Well, if we count the Italian version of them (SIAI Marchetti 1019 with Allison turboprop), there is one fewer copy extant as of a few weeks ago. It had a very long takeoff run, pitched up, rolled sharply left, left wing contacted water first. Pilot and passenger OK.

It appears that the de-rated (400 to 317 HP) turbine was an underwhelming performer in this setup, per the owner/pilot I spoke with just prior to this accident. It was on Edo's.

Pierre

There's an outfitter in the Yukon using an L-19 I believe. He bought it from a guy I know in the NWT who said it would go pretty much anywhere his Helio would go. Sounded to me like a good option for a bush plane.

snotcicles wrote:There's an outfitter in the Yukon using an L-19 I believe. He bought it from a guy I know in the NWT who said it would go pretty much anywhere his Helio would go. Sounded to me like a good option for a bush plane.

Yup, Jim really likes his L-19. He was hoping to upgrade it to a Helio this summer but that hasn't panned out yet last I talked to him. He takes it all over the place up there, that and a 180HP 170B.

The green L-19 in the picture is a very unique aircraft. The current owner and I happened to camp next to one another at last years high sierra fly-in and I had the chance to hear about a lot of the work done to it. Unfortunately most of the modifications were done under field approval so it's unlikely it could be replicated today.

Other than being a bit short of rudder authority (when paired with the 520) he said the performance was outstanding. He also indicated that he was interested in putting it on amphibs but there was no way to do it currently without going to exhibition category or something similar.

If I remember correctly he was based at the Camarillo airport and had a business there as well. Real friendly guy and I would think he'd be a good source of information if someone were to want to modify an L-19.

Thanks...all good info.

I have a very nice L-19, still really original. Has a O-470-15 (constant speed) and does pretty good, but to make it a good "back country plane" I would need to pull a bunch of old heavy radios out, put big tires on, and probably would end up not being as nice now. All other things being equal I'd like to keep this one as a "warbird" and play with the warbird guys with it.


Considering another Husky (previously had an A1) vs a Super Cub. (btw, appreciate the help from those on the forum who have helped me look...)


stan

This is a friends L-19 that lives next to me. I really only like the ones with Johnson bar flaps. The electric ones are terrible.

Noyes Enterprises in Millinoket Maine has several STC’s for the Dogs including the SuperDog II conversion that puts a 540 on the nose with a 185 tail and some fuel system mods that can remove the pressure carb and switch over to a 1/2 inch system..

Brian


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Aryana wrote:This is a friends L-19 that lives next to me. I really only like the ones with Johnson bar flaps. The electric ones are terrible.

That one's a beauty!
I wasn't aware that they made any with manual flaps, thought they were all electric.

I seem to recall that Ector or Air Repair (aka Bird Dog Aviation) offered a ready-to-fly version with a 540--
on paper anyway, dunno if many or any were ever actually built and sold.

When you want to immediately raise 60 degrees of flaps, having that Johnson bar in hand is critical. I'm too frightful to use 60 degrees with the electric actuation which is S L O W.

I'll have to look at it tomorrow, but I think the L-19A model had the Johnson bar or maybe it's the other way around. [emoji2371]

Unfortunately, the majority of Bird Dogs have the electric flaps. (we have 5 Dogs on our field, none have manual flaps).

Most of my "Bird Dog Acquaintances" don't do 'challenging' strips...fly off of long/wide runways. So, any contact info for people who have experience with an L-19 in a more-or-less backcountry environment would be appreciated. (also...since I do some instruction in the Dog, anyone with experience with those folding rudder pedals/instructing....I'd appreciate any comments there, as well).

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Dogpilot, you know if any have been converted back to manual?

(please keep posting info/history/experiences about the Dog. I fly several of them, supposed to get to fly a "TL-19" after fire season, with a panel in the back. I have a copy of the "Loveable One-Niner" book at home, will have to look some of this up when I get there)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV4bHVKS9Aw
You can get an idea from this how short an L-19 can land

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Cool Dogpilot, finally a "warbird" I can afford thanks