L-Birds of Norway

All three Piper L-4J's at Kjeller Airport (ENKJ) will depart for the biggest gathering of L-Birds in history since WW2! A group of enthusiasts at St. André de l'Eure (LFFD) has worked so hard for a long time to organize the event "L-Birds back to Normandy" which will take place 6 - 9 June 2019. The following press-release was sent out today, regarding the three Norwegian L-4's participating in the event. The press release is in Norwegian language..: Veteranfly fra Norge skal delta ved markeringen av D-Dagen i Frankrike Tre 75 år gamle fly skal fly fra Norge til Frankrike for å delta i den offisielle 75 årsmarkeringen av D-dagen i Normandie den 6. juni i år. Langtur  Deltakerne kommer fra hele Europa, og vi fra Norge er de som skal fly lengst. Med en hastighet på 130km/t og bensin til maksimalt 1.5 time i luften kommer den 1500 km turen til å ta minst tre dager hver vei. Flyene har ingen andre navigasjonsinstrumenter enn kompass, og er derfor avhengige a

There's a great saying among Grasshoppers enthusiasts: "Keep'em flying!". Keeping a 75 year old Piper L-4 in airworthy condition has its costs. Furthermore, as a requirement from Eurocontrol, all aircraft must be equipped with Mode S transponder as well as 8.33 kHz channel spacing VHF, in order to fly in European airspace. The avionics upgrade is something that enhances the value of the airplane, and these upgrades were carried by the owners. However, to cover the direct cost for fuel etc. we started seeking sponsors a while ago. "Grasshopper Formation" on a photoshoot for "Vi menn" magazine. Photo: Knut J. Støvne. Numerous companies were contacted. Very few replied, those who did encouraged our efforts to make the long trip and wished us all the best. Lucky for us, we did manage to get four sponsors in the end. We are very grateful to our sponsors for supporting L-Birds of Norway and enable our participation in the Normandy event. THANK Y

The organization was founded April 2019, initially to support the participation in the event L-Birds back to Normandy, June 2019. Having an organization made it possible to seek sponsorship as well as assisting each other in the planning process. After L-Birds to Normandy, we intend to expand the organization to include other L-Birds in Norway, apart from the three aircraft going to Normandy. They are all 1944 Piper L-4J "Grasshoppers": LN-SAI, LN-RAP and LN-MAV.