The Luscombe Aircraft Company made a name for itself building two-seat, all-metal sport aircraft before World War II. The most famous was the Model 8, many of which were used in the Civilian Pilot Training Program (1938-1944) to train pilots in preparation for the war.
After the war, Luscombe responded to a 1947 Air Force requirement for a new liaison aircraft to replace the L-4H Grasshopper by redesigning the Model 8 to feature tandem seating and large bubble windows for the observer. Designated XT8E, the aircraft did well in Air Force trials, but lost out to the Aeronca L-16 on the basis of price.
Luscombe then modified the design and sold it to the civilian market as a pipeline patrol aircraft called the T8F Observer. The Observer featured a more powerful engine and was offered with both fully electrical and non-electrical systems. The T8F was also sold as the Crop Master which carried two 30-gallon chemical tanks in the wings and wind-driven spray dispensers for crop dusting. Trying once again to sell the design to the military, two heavily modified T8F-L prototypes competed in 1950 for an Army liaison aircraft contract but after testing, were beaten out by the Cessna L-19/O-1 Bird Dog.
This Luscombe T8F belongs to Bruce Eames and is on loan to the Lone Star Flight Museum.
Photo credit: Moose Peterson
