Piper L-4 Grasshopper

Originally built as a trainer aircraft by Piper as the J-3 Cub, the US military very quickly discovered the aircraft was well suited to a variety of forward observation missions. The Cub was re-configured and constructed in large numbers during the Second World War as the L-4 Grasshopper. Eventually 1,801 of them being built and a significant number of Cubs still exist today on the civil register in the US where the type has proved popular for bush flying in wilderness areas such as Alaska due to its impressive short field capabilities.

In US Army service, the Grasshopper was originally designated as the O-59 when it was first delivered n 1941. The Greasshopper flew in every theatre of war where the US Army fought directing artillery fire, or acting as a pilot trainer among a variety of different roles. In total over 6,000 different types of Piper served with the US Army during the war.

This year at RIAT we are marking the 80th anniversary of RAF Fairford and the D-Day landings. We are therefore very pleased to announce that the L-4 Grasshopper owned by the operators of C-47 Night Fright will be joining our static display.