CESSNA 01 BIRD DOG
Cessna 01 Bird Dog
VH-LQS
Recovered by Col Pay from South East Asia, Bird Dog VH-LQS has been a stalwart of the Pays Warbird fleet. Still a working aircraft in its own right, performing Joy Flights, Aerial Photography and Fire spotting duties.
HISTORY
Col Pay mounted several Warbird recovery operations in the early 1990’s from South East Asia including North American T-28’s from Laos, Cessna 0-1 Bird Dogs from Thailand and Vietnam and Cessna A 37 Dragonflys from Vietnam.
A number of the Cessna 305 L-19/0-1 Bird Dogs made their way on to the Australian civil register including one Col kept for his Warbird collection at Scone. This aircraft is a 305D Manufacture No 22559 USAF serial 51-12245 also identified as an L-19E/ O-1E manufactured in 1951 and saw service in Thailand and Vietnam. The aircraft was first registered on the Australian civil register on 30 July 1991 to Pays Air Service, Scone, NSW as VH-LQS.
The Cessna Bird Dog stepped in to take the place of the older Cessna 170. Jumping from 145 Hp to 213Hp, by 1962 there had been 3431 Birddogs manufactured. The US army purchased many Bird Dogs for the Vietnam War to use as observers and forward air control, a role that required them to carry target marking rockets. Bird Dogs were flown by a number of Australian pilots on secondment to the USAF and a total of 3 were actually operated by the Australian Army 161 (Indep) Recce Flt.
Pay’s Bird Dog (VH-LQS) is the D model (1956) which utilises a constant speed propeller and has been a stalwart of the Pays Warbird fleet. It is still a working aircraft in its own right performing Joy Flights, Aerial Photography and Fire spotting duties.
