Contrary to my normal practice I am posting these by registration rather than by serial number.

Aeronca 65-C Chief N22456, C-3739. These May 28, 1939 photos show Thomas “Tommy” H. Smith, of Los Angeles, just before he took off from Old Orchard Beach, ME, for London, England. He had optimistically named his aircraft, “Baby Clipper.”

Note the tape around the landing gear to fuselage area and elsewhere for drag reduction. Smith had three suction venturis on the aircraft, for his gyros which appear to be mounted up on top of the instrument panel..

Info at http://www.geo-met.com/tommysmith/ says that “He was on what he referred to as a ‘research flight’ to prove that small, well-equipped aircraft like his could make the ocean crossing.” They say that Smith had 160-gallons of fuel instead of the normal 12-gallons. His takeoff weight was #1965 as compared to the normal #1150, making him 70% over gross. That would have been an interesting departure to watch! I’ve often flown “heavy” in spray operations, but never close to that! Interesting comments from the Press of the day!

Aeronca 65-C Chief N23586, C-5509, as seen at EAA Oshkosh 1977. (slide)

This is the best overall shot I could get of Aeronca 65-C Chief N23999 as it sat in the corner of a hangar that was not well lite. It is such a treasure that I made an attempt to shoot it anyway. It is C-6719 and is in nicely restored condition. The cowling is very different from N23971 and I suspect it is of a later variety. Here is the aft section with just a tad of trim on the rudder.

Here's the panel and the carpeted area above it, behind the fuel tank. Note the control sticks in place of wheels, the mechanism below the panel (heel brakes on the pilot's side); the aileron cables running overhead; and the panel from the left side with a big tach and oil temp/pressure. Nice!

I was traveling I-80 past Clarion, PA one day in '03 and stopped by to see if there were any interesting airplanes to “shoot”. This old Aeronca qualified! N24286 is a 1940, Aeronca 65-LA Chief, with a 65-HP, O-145-B Lycoming. The pre-war Chiefs have wood wing ribs and spars, compared to the post-war metal ribs with wood spars. This old gem still has the cable operated, mechanical brakes. It has a skylight, too, which the later Chiefs don’t have.

The familial resemblance is obvious, but the 65-LA is somewhat different from the post-war 11AC and later Chief’s. Note the “tunnel cowling”, as it is referred to in FAA TCDS A-702. It appears that air moves over the engine,  through a “tunnel” and out the sides of the cowl. Interesting! N24286 was sold after this and the new owner had some photos on his blog. He did some work on it including straightening the cowl, and has since sold it.

Aeronca 65-LB Chief N33702, CA-12731, baffles me. An "LB" would have a Lycoming engine and a SN starting with L. My 1963 FAA Register shows it as serial number 12731, and "65 Series." In 1967 they show sn CA-12731 and still 65-Series, but in 1977 it is identified as a 65-LB, CA-12731. Any sn starting with a "C" would be Continental powered, and further, I don't see "CA" serial numbers as being eligible in the FAA specs. My guess is that if it was actually a 65-LB, that the sn would have been L-12731 and that they messed up when they put a letter in front of it between 1963 and 1967. Oh - - none of that matters because it's no longer on the register! It was seen at EAA Oshkosh 1972. Last register I see it in is 1977, with owner Joseph A. Simandl, West Allis, WI (Slide)

An old airplane and a brand new pilot! The owner lives near the Gordonsville, VA airport, (GVE) and decided that it is time to learn to fly. And why not start in an old taildragger!? This Lycoming O-145-B powered, 1941 Aeronca 65-LB Chief, N33756, LB-13401, fit the bill just right! Elaine and I spent a couple of days there in Nov. 2012 and his enthusiasm was refreshing. The vertical fin looks more like a later Chief.