Many publications report in error that the L-3C is the same as the L-3B aircraft except that the C model is not radio equipped. Today we started removing components from our L-3C to get it ready to send out to be bead blasted. The fuselage is not as clean as the L-3A which we cleaned by hand. I had always been told that that the L-3C was never equipped with any radios but today I found a wire antenna attach point on the vertical fin and the clamps for the mast antenna mount in the upper cabin. The L-3C does not have the antenna exit lug or tabs for mounting the RCA reel antenna that my L-3A has. After finding these antenna items I decided to do a little research and wanted to share it with you.
The Wt and Balance for a L-3C provides for 54 lbs of misc portable field equipment not installed at the factory, however the fixed antenna is installed at the factory. A BC-659 radio as installed without clamps and handles weighs 22 lbs, the PE 117 power supply weighs 27 lbs and the headsets and mic weigh 2.5 lbs for a total of 51.5 lbs. I went thru my stack of Army L-3 manuals and retrieved the following documents, the manual shows the L-3C with fixed antenna and installation instructions for the BC-659 radio. I also included a photo of L-3C 43-1657 at the Aeronca factory with the antenna installed but no radio yet. My L-3C is 43-1612. The fixed antenna eventually was replaced with the An-29C jeep antenna as it had better recpetion at all angles. The long wire fixed antenna suffered from bad reception at straight on angles.
So the next time someone tells you that the L-3C was not radio equipped you will have the correct facts.
Steve
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