United States Army

Fixed Wing Aircraft

Vigilant

{ L-1A }

VULTEE L-1A "VIGILANT"


The L-1 liaison aircraft, originally designated O-49, was the miltary version of the
civilian Stinson Model 74. It marked the transition between heavier and larger
observation aircraft used by the Air Corps in the 1930s and the lighter liaison
"grasshopper" type aircraft represented by the L-series during WW II. Between
1939 and 1941, the Army Air Corps ordered 142 L-1s and 182 L-1As with a
13-inch longer fuselage. Equipped with full-span automatic slats on the leading
edge of the wings and pilot-operated slotted flaps on the trailing edge, Vigilants
were well suited for operations from short fields.

Due to its versatility, the Vigilant was used for a variety of missions both in the
U.S. and overseas during WW II, including towing training gliders, artillery
spotting, liaison duty, emergency rescue, transporting supplies, special espionage
missions behind Japanese lines and even for dropping light bombs. Some
Vigilants were converted as ambulance aircraft, sometimes fitted with skis or with
floats for water take-offs and landings.

This L-1A, painted as an ambulance conversion, was donated by Mrs. Lawrence
Flahart, Anchorage, Alaska, in memory of her husband who began rebuilding it but
died before finishing it. Restoration was completed for the USAF Museum by the
Department of Aviation Technology, Purdue University; it went on display in 1979.

SPECIFICATIONS
Span: 50 ft. 11 in.
Length: 34 ft. 3 in.
Height: 9 ft. 10 in.
Weight: 3,385 lbs.
Armament: None
Engine: Lycoming R-680 of 295 hp.
Cost: $21,000
Serial Number: 41-19039

PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed: 122 mph.
Cruising speed: 109 mph.
Range: 280 miles
Service Ceiling: 18,000 ft.