Will Your Wife Believe It Followed You Home?

by ANN Senior Correspondent Kevin R.C. "Hognose" O'Brien

I love Bird Dogs. Not bird dogs -- not that there's anything wrong with, say, an English Springer Spaniel. I'm talking about the L-19/ O-1 Bird Dog series of liaison and observation airplanes, that were used by the US Army, Marines and Air Force in the period from 1950 through the early 70s, and by many foreign services.

The Bird Dog, or Cessna Model 305, was a purpose-built liaison plane that used some parts of the Cessna 170. It's known for sturdiness and excellent STOL performance. It's a real warbird; if it had a guidon, it would be festooned with battle streamers from Korea and Vietnam. Along with the other two names, the military called it the L-19 (before 1962) and the O-1 (after).

And it has quite a war record. In Korea, they were flown as intended, as artillery spotters. In Vietnam, they served as commanders' eyes and ears in a variety of roles. Bird Dogs figured in Medals of Honor (the highest US combat decoration) in both conflicts. (And no, I'm not going to tell you. I'm going to make you Google 'em up yourself).

Here's one you may not have heard of. During the Vietnam War, special operations reconnaissance team leaders would go look their next operating areas over, flying, naturally, in a Bird Dog. Even if the areas were in Laos or Cambodia.

Then, when the small teams (six men, typically) went into harm's way, another recon team leader would ride in a Bird Dog overhead. The call sign of the Air Force unit that flew the missions, the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron, was "Covey," and the Studies and Observations Group men who flew with them were, naturally, Covey Riders, and served as the team's lifeline to support.

If you ever meet a guy who says he was a Covey Rider, now you know. Buy him one of whatever he's drinking, and I'll pay you back.

It's one of the few Army aircraft to ever make a carrier landing on live TV. A South Vietnamese Bird Dog landed on a carrier during the fall of Vietnam, in April, 1975. The plane is now in the Naval Aviation Museum; the Vietnamese family onboard was spared the horrors of "re-education.

A famous general was responsible for its name, sort of. General Mark Clark was the judge of a contest among Cessna workers and picked the name from among numerous suggestions.

So I like Bird Dogs. Which is why this average looking Bird Dog with a "For Sale" sign caught my eye at Sun-n-Fun. Something was familiar about it. It was mostly in military condition, with added civilian radio and transponder, and an added glider-towing hook.

It wasn't over-restored -- the US Air Force titles were sprayed on with stencils, just like they were back in the day. The US Stars and Bars colors were faded; but according to the seller, it served in the Japanese forces until 1981, and thereafter had a tour of duty in the US Civil Air Patrol. The machine has low engine (375 SMOH) and prop (10 SMOH) times, and has been converted to Cleveland brakes.

He's asking $78,000 but will accept an RV (Van's, not Winnebago) in trade.

Then it struck me. I've seen this plane before. In the pages of Trade- a-Plane!

Trade-a-Plane is one of our advertisers, and you all should be out there trying to buy stuff so that they know how effective our advertising is. Someone should have bought this Bird Dog.

Someone still should. So, what are you waiting for?

FMI: www.trade-a-plane.com, www.ibdaweb.com