Cessna O-1 Bird Dog

what is it?

The Cessna O-1 Bird Dog is a liaison and observation aircraft that first flew on December 14, 1949, and entered service in 1950 as the L-19 in the Korean War. It went on to serve in many branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, was not retired until the 1970s in a number of variants, and also served in the Vietnam War. It was also called the OE-1 and OE-2 in Navy service, flying with the Marine Corps, and in the 1960s, it was redesignated the O-1.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 11 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 185 km/htop speed
• size 1,102 kgmax take-off weight
• built 3,431made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 77 years ago, in 1949.
• 🚗Wingspan of 11 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1949-12-14

introduced

1950

retired

1974

status

still flying

number built

3,431

role

observation aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Cessna

engines

1× Continental O-470-11

length

7.9 m

wingspan

11 m

height

2.2 m

max take-off weight

1,102 kg

top speed

185 km/h

cruise speed

167 km/h

range

—

ceiling

5,639 m

wings

monoplane

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family