Taylorcraft L-2

The Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper was an observation and liaison aeroplane built by Taylorcraft for the United States Army Air Forces in the Second World War, developed from the tandem-seat civil Model D. Four were ordered for evaluation as the YO-57 and tested in 1941 manoeuvres in Louisiana and Texas, where General Innis Swift is credited with the Grasshopper nickname after a bumpy landing. Production aircraft were first designated O-57 and became L-2 in March 1942, with the L-2A, L-2B and L-2M among the main versions, the last with close-fitting cowls and wing spoilers. Most served in a training role inside the United States, with a few overseas, and the type also gave rise to the TG-6 training glider. Postwar some were converted for civil use as the DCO-65, and several are still airworthy.