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L-4's on floats were used in almost every theatre of operations in WWII
(perhaps most notable in Italy, following the Salerno landings), and their
history parallels its wheeled version in many areas. This expansion pack is
designed to complete the original L-4 package, which can be found here, although
it is also a complete stand-alone package in every regard. General L-4 History: The history of the L-4 is best summed up by Ken Wakefield, author of "The
Fighting Grasshoppers" and "Lightplanes at War", who graciously contributed the
following overview of this aircraft: "The Piper L-4 Grasshopper of WW2 was the military version of the highly
popular pre-war J3 Cub, by which name it was more widely known to service
personnel. Of the 5,500 L-4 variants produced between 1942 and 1945, some went
to liaison squadrons and of the USAAF, but the vast majority went to US Army
Ground Forces, for use as Air Observation Posts (Air OPs) with the Field
Artillery. In both air and ground forces, the L-4 was also used as a flying
Jeep, among other things carrying priority mail and personnel between HQs and
command posts. Its Continental engine produced only 65hp, yet the L-4's
excellent short field performance enabled it to operate from the smallest of
improvised airstrips, including roads, adjacent to command posts. Unlike most other combat aircraft, the L-4 was unarmed and unarmoured. It was
one of the smallest aircraft of WW2 and, with a cruising speed of only 75 mph,
it was the slowest. Nevertheless, it has been claimed that a single L-4,
directing the fire power of an entire Division, could bring a greater weight of
explosives to bear on a target then any other aircraft of that period. With the
exception of the atomic bomb carrying B-29 Superfortress, no other single
aircraft had the destructive capability of the diminutive L-4. It was most
widely used in Europe, where more than 2,700 served with the Field Artillery,
and of these nearly 900 were lost through enemy action or in accidents. Of those
that survived the war, about 150 were shipped back to the US, most of the
remainder eventually being sold to civilian purchasers in Britain, France,
Switzerland, Denmark and elsewhere in Europe. More than 60 years on many of
these are still flying with, in recent years, an increasing number being
restored to their original military configuration and markings. A truly
remarkable 'warbird', long to be remembered." So successful was the L-4 that it's military use continued on through to the
Korean War, and as recently as Vietnam. Today, hundreds still fly on as civilian
light aircraft, some as meticulously restored military aircraft and others in
colourful civilian schemes - although it is not known if any are on floats. Features: The model contains several refinements over the original L-4 release models,
including all-DXT compressed textures, for optimal performance (coming in at
approximately 1/3 the size of earlier L-4 versions).
1. Two paint schemes: WWII Italy, and 1949 Civil Air Patrol
2. Fully clickable and workable cockpit overall;
3. Luminescent gauge dials for night flying, just like the original;
4. Accurate Edo 1320 floats, with retractable and steerable water rudder;
5. Authentic flight dynamics;
6. Animated pilot;
7. All aircraft come with pop-up hand-held radio, GPS and Transponder, for ease
of use in FSX.
8. Paint Kit
Please note: The Manual and Paint Kit can be found in the "...Microsoft
Flight Simulator X/SimObjects/Airplanes/ L-4 Grasshopper Liaison - Floats"
folder.
Note: Some of the scenery in the screenshots is from the payware "Dillingham
- Hawaii", by Bill Womack.
For FSX. | 
