File talk:NC35469.jpg

Identity of Pictured Airplane

A list of Flitfires identities provided by the National Air and Space Museum does not include an aircraft registered as "NC35469". However, the list does include a J3L-65 with the registration "NC35964" (c/n 6678), raising the possibility that this is the pictured aircraft with the last three digits transposed.

However, while according to the FAA database NC35469 was indeed a J3F-65, its construction number was 6373, meaning it was built well before not only the 48 later Flitfires, but also before even the original "prototype" Flitfire (NC1776, c/n 6600).

To confuse things even further, a different list found online claims that a J3C-65 not found on the NASM list and registered as "NC35946" (c/n 6664) is a Flitfire. If the claimed construction number is correct, it would be much more reasonable, since it would place the airplane only two spots earlier than the first "production" Flitfire on the NASM list, NC35959 (c/n 6666). However, the accuracy of this second list is unconfirmed and, although the registrations were not assigned entirely sequentially, no other aircraft on either list are in the "NC3594x" range. (On the other hand, the NASM list mistakenly includes 50 – not 49 – airframes, so confusion on the subject seems to abound.)

Nevertheless, the pictured aircraft is missing the "R.A.F. Benevolent Fund" titles seen on other Flitfires. Finally, the shadow effect used for the "Flitfire" name on the cowling does not seem to appear on any other examples.

Taken as a whole, this suggests that the pictured airplane is likely not an actual Flitfire, but instead a regular Cub painted to look like one. –Noha307 (talk) 21:55, 4 June 2020 (UTC)

A quick correction to the above: Cross referencing the NASM production list with an aerial photograph of Flitfires outside the Piper factory reveals that there were actually a total of 51 Flitfires built, not 48, 49 or 50. This is supported by factory records, as noted in a magazine article. The confusion arises from the fact that apparently only 48 were flown to New York City. –Noha307 (talk) 20:28, 16 December 2021 (UTC)