A WWII-era Taylorcraft L-2M Grasshopper liaison aircraft that spent 20 years in storage was ferried to the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover AFB, Del., for permanent display, the museum announced. “It was used to train glider pilots who were being groomed to fly cargo gliders,” like the WACO CG-4A already on display, museum director Mike Leister said in a release. Student glider pilots were taught to land an unpowered aircraft by taking the L-2 aloft, shutting down the engine, and landing deadstick, giving the Grasshopper an airlift connection. “We stick very closely to our mission” covering air mobility and Dover-specific history, Leister noted. The aircraft was flown on Nov. 13 aboard a C-17 Globemaster III from Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, where it had been stored. The National Museum of the United States Air Force there received an airworthy L-2 in 2011 and decided to permanently loan its second Grasshopper to Dover, where it will hang on display once minor restoration is completed.
As the Air Force readied for its June 21-22 strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the service was also putting its Agile Combat Employment strategy into action, dispersing combat aircraft and Airmen from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in preparation for a possible Iranian retaliatory attack. Some defense experts say…
