Search and rescue L-5's

Seafury1 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 14, 2011 10:31 am

Need more of these; Particularly L-5E's;

If anyone has any more photo's of L-5's in the following schemes, please post.

mh53eflyguy · **Joined:** Thu Dec 10, 2009 3:30 pm **Posts:** 98

I have to admit, I was hoping for the pictures of L-5's landing on the treetops/canopy's on the plank runways out in the Pacific jungles. I've heard about it, but I've never seen proof!
Sweet pictures! If I could buy a warbird, I think and L-5 would be it for a lot of reasons.

Matt Sharkey · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 2:27 pm **Posts:** 223

I like the P-61s in the background best!

JohnB · **Posted:** Tue Jun 14, 2011 3:57 pm

The silver ARS L-5 (wouldn't that make it a SL-5?) is the same one in the photo with the SB-17 you find in several books. From that photo's angle (taken from above, likely a control tower view) it looks like someone misread the TO and got carried away with yellow on the wings (it should be yellow "...a distance equal to seven percent of the wingspan..." with a six-inch border). That photo makes it look like the wings have silver tips, they a broad yellow band then silver at the root.
This angle makes it look like it may have been done correctly, but I don't think so if you compare with yellow fuseage band with the broad band on the right wing outside the "RESCUE" letters.

Still it's a neat scheme. If I had an L-5, I'd really consider that scheme, but I'd do it correctly.

BTW: Any one have a shot of the AF Academy U-19, a L-5 they bought in 1957 to act as a glider tug?

Russ Blow · **Posted:** Tue Jun 14, 2011 6:46 pm

Here are a couple color pics from the late 40's or early 50's from EAA Chapter 673's web site. Note the CBI blood chit on the person leaning into the plane. Also note the wider yellow stripe on the right flap to the wing stripe.

Seafury1 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 14, 2011 8:30 pm

JohnB wrote:

The silver ARS L-5 (wouldn't that make it a SL-5?) is the same one in the photo with the SB-17 you find in several books. From that photo's angle (taken from above, likely a control tower view) it looks like someone misread the TO and got carried away with yellow on the wings (it should be yellow "...a distance equal to seven percent of the wingspan..." with a six-inch border). That photo makes it look like the wings have silver tips, they a broad yellow band then silver at the root.
This angle makes it look like it may have been done correctly, but I don't think so if you compare with yellow fuseage band with the broad band on the right wing outside the "RESCUE" letters.

Still it's a neat scheme. If I had an L-5, I'd really consider that scheme, but I'd do it correctly.

BTW: Any one have a shot of the AF Academy U-19, a L-5 they bought in 1957 to act as a glider tug?

I need a copy of that TO. I know the navy had different standards for marking their aircraft with the yellow. But the silver L-5 was taken at Hamilton. It was probably taken sometime after the B-17 photo as the number on the cowl changed from "LD572" to "ARU8 FLT A" in the later. Also, the LD572 under the wing in the following photo was non-standard but none the less, it existed painted that way, at Hamilton AFB.

Still would like to find an "E" with the silver paint.

(Courtesy of Bill Larkins)

And the B-17 for comparison

JohnB · **Posted:** Tue Jun 14, 2011 8:52 pm

Seafury1 wrote:

I need a copy of that TO.

The part I quoted was from the hard to find Detail & Scale Vol 11: "B-17 Flying Fortress Part 2, Derivatives from 1983.
They give (abridged and probably paraphrased) a few paragraphs of the TO to describe the SB-17 color scheme.

From the photo in the book it looks like the L-5 has it wrong, but looking at at a much better quality photo you posted, it looks like the L-5 is marked correctly (i.e. yellow wing tips, then silver, then yellow roots).

Taylor Stevenson · **Posted:** Tue Jun 14, 2011 10:49 pm

Sheesh... you don't want to paint your E-Model like that :wink:

... If you were truly dedicated you might give it a good ol' Korean War house paintbrush camo scheme,

(Stinson L-5E 44-17615)

Or... you could paint it both ways!

(Notice SAR style band on the fuselage of the L-5E 44-17863 in the back ground covered over in the paintbrush camo)

If I were to do an E, then I would paint it that way... Then again, I'd only ever consider touching a G model

On a serious note, I have some original photos of L-5s in SAR markings, however they are mostly observers... I'll see if I can't find them and scan them in.

Taylor

RyanShort1 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 14, 2011 11:13 pm

I don't remember where I grabbed this shot from... so it may disappear later.

Ryan

Seafury1 · **Posted:** Wed Jun 15, 2011 7:38 am

me109me109 wrote:

Sheesh... you don't want to paint your E-Model like that :wink:

... If you were truly dedicated you might give it a good ol' Korean War house paintbrush camo scheme,

Ha! Actually, I was now thinking of tying a brush to my puppies tail and letting him go at it! Those are cool shots. I also need to go find some mud! love the bottom of the wings! I really haven't decided on a paint job yet. I just decided to start researching this one because you can't find much info on the ARS units L-5's. www.pbyrescue.com has some cool observer stuff and info about the 2nd ERS. that site also lists an L-5E belonging to that unit. I think that would be paint job number 3!

Invader26 · **Joined:** Wed Aug 11, 2010 7:56 am **Posts:** 843

Nice indeed. I brought five L-5's out of India years ago. All in Australia now.

Like the Rescue B-17 scheme. Note it has no red stripe on the wing insignia!

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