Anudder new guy with more questions than answers

[WayneB]

Hey y'all, my first post as well and with a slightly different situation that has some owners scratching their head.

They have finished the ground-up rebuild of an L2 with the STC'd o-200, other than completing the paperwork. It's all new fabric, glass, paint, totally disassembled, inspected and rebuilt from tubing out.

The guys did a great job, and along the way they discovered that it could have some B parts as well as some M parts (wings and spoilers) and some documentation for each.

They think (but aren't sure) that it might be possible to select which model they use for registration purposes when the paperwork is completed if they comply with the TCDS requirements for spoiler removal.

They have owned it for 30+ years and at this point don't know how long it will stay in the families, nor do they know whether the value is significantly different if it's a B (that qualifies as LSA) or as a M (with operable spoilers but over the weight limit for LSA.) They like the spoilers but don't know if the non-LSA status makes them financially burdensome if they have a choice.

I figured you guys would know a lot more about it than I do. Any thoughts about desirability or value that would influence the decision?

PS: I've flown it in the past and am looking forward to doing so with the new engine and rigging. But it's been in pieces for at least 10 years and after looking it over I'm pretty sure that they somehow managed to shrink the size of the door during the rebuild, since it looked a lot bigger back in the day.

[barnstmr]

Re: Anudder new guy with more questions than answers

Is this the L2 that was restored in Chuck Wilson's shop at Aero Country Airport in McKinney?

Regarding your questions... What really determines the "FAA official" model designation is the Airworthiness Certificate. Most of the L-2B's and L-2M's had those (military) designations removed and re-designated as "DCO-65" on the airworthiness certificate whenever they were put into the civilian market by the CAA. So on paper, BOTH L2M and L2B would now be designated as a "DCO-65", regardless of whats stamped on the data plate. But check the Airworthiness certificate to see what it says for the SPECIFIC airplane.

As far as the data plate goes, there would have been two originally. One Taylorcraft data plate and one US Army Air Corps data plate. Some of the USAAC were removed.



If this specific airplane still has the USAAC data plate, then I would imagine that any prospective and knowledgeable buyer would expect the parts on the plane to match the "M" or "B" designation as it would have been equipped in the military. But I know of a few out there that are designated on paper as DCO-65 that have been pieced together from various models.

[M Towsley]

Re: Anudder new guy with more questions than answers

Look at the serial number on the back of the throttle handle. I would think that would be indicative of whether it would be an M or B, and you may have to go by that. I am sure others will comment.

[n6346m]

Re: Anudder new guy with more questions than answers

The serial number on the airplane's (civilian) data plate will determine whether the airplane was manufactured as an L2,A,B, or M. The big difference that I can see is that the L2-M is not LSA legal. The FAA can issue you a new C of A if you have a data plate, but I don't think they can issue you a new manufacturer's data plate if all you have is an old C of A.