'i;;

. :~ ,':11 I had to lose an engin~ . ~over a, lore9t at night ,in a ,single, I think

I'd waht to do it in' a' Stinson.",

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I.

Like so m~ OtM( aviation lor1.ifl;. Extemilly, 1I can be d~ Intfilot paneling 01 poIillled mlhog-'companle$, ~ venerlble SllnIon· tingul.ned Irom the -2 by Its huQe,' ~ Wll"OItfIr. The rlar HaI'1 .truc:ture, ~.

con~m tool< part in lhe big gene.al- s~eplng Wlrlieal ta~, which con- willie upho1s~ted Ind vinyl coYeled,Ivlltion ~ Imm'dialllly Itt,u tributes 10 It>t ,irJ!lIM', terr'!'c lta- i' bI,'cally I Clnv~1 sling; someWorld Wit n. Before Ind during blilly bul cln be something 01 I. lind II I,Incomfortlble, Iltl'lol,lgh I per·u.. war,lhl conClrn'hld prodl,lced lilbllity In I Itlll crosswind, Two 10001ily find thl Stjnl<)n'. rear leat.Ius:h Impre..~ I'telilt IS t!le b~rIY, ,,1..lonl!JI till 106-3 Wlrl offered: lmong !he most comt~rlab\e I'vegu inged ..~ll.I!nr' and Its mWlary the buM; ~VOYlglr" InC! Ihl delWle riQdln In. The VIflefi sidl panel.der tivef, (AIr Pt'OfIten, Match, "Flying Station Wagon." curve IWIY Irom \he seats J..I1971); .-, ihey lSe<:rdlll 10 tum to For Ihi$ tl'pOft, we contacted ahead 01 tI>e backs for morl hlpIOfnIWllaI _tier and mo" alfold- Geotge Deshler, an le.onllllicil In- _, A roomy bIgogage arll t*l1nd

1~~,rr~~u~tW~ht;;'~d~e~~:'.::'~ ~t~~:'G:tl;:1;;;,01: ~~~ :- t':.I~;gl~t 1,~essi:l~h:'I.;~Pl~:~·':series of Ilror"t thlt co~ld III be Wlgo~lthoughhe', currently sell•. in the Station Wagon, Ihe bul~h'~d ~.Il,Imped I,Ind,rlhe"l06"des;gnltlon, ing II, ,Incl he doesn't fly enough between II Ind the Interior can be,. 'II~htNi.ewerl,clullly_..1 to Ju$lily i1--wtlich hebougtlflltal re<novedlo.earryingbulkyobjec:1I..IftOdeIs:theorlglnalloe.""1(l8-2,"'tnlnglollylnlsoaaoothellke. "nler1ora'rI~tsu~uded,the two rrooo:s.b 01 the improved The IKIng price is In the $6,000 the,.·. virt....,1y no djllefence be­.-enion,thelAi....hlchlol,lnd anlctla rlnge;l.imllarStationW.g«IwtUch tween the VO)'I>larI.nd!he StationdUring !hi Kor.an War Ind $Oldiefl I used 10 Ily sold tor $5,000 In 1975. Wagon.6olh.haletheSlme~

on lorlay ,!,Ilh CAP squld,ona, (Adm;nedlylhlmarket ha,chllnged; running 165 hp frl"klin 6-cyllnd.rTho. basic '08 design wlS I com- so I called the owner of th"t plr- engTne: and Ih' alrlt.mn .re lden· ~"< •

blnltlon 01 than_curtanl Ilghtplane· Ilcl'llr Stinson 10 conlirm tho. price, tlclt. MOSI currenlty-seen StinlOl'l'Iechnology--l.e. fabrlc-eovered 1111- arld III lold me thlt III te<:enlly hlv, metal prop,; orlglne.l equipmenldl'agg11_11h lhe lifl' efIorta to turtlld down S7SllO lor till airplane oftetllncluded .. "!OOden propeller,-"e Iiilhlplann ~morl like cari" and I. cu"",1Iy Installing I couple Ind GeorgI'. Station WI90A has I '"ar>dusiertolly.Towlrdlhi$laller of gre.nd worth 01 IFRgear III the now-l"lO()CCUpMod hole Inthe~end, the setl•• Included $\,ICh ... Slinson inslead 01 tladinO up.I malttec(lorl prop control, so .0ffl,1

.1irw:metllS IS' le;Kfing-eclge .lIb TIte Sl.lionW~n dilf"!S Irom till SOf1 01 con1rolll"bte or conallnt-sp"dIhl.d 01 Ihe Ilteron. 10 ensure roll Voyager prlm.rlly In Its Intlrlor struc- propetler-poulble .1' Aeromltlo- ".cotlttolthrough Ihe .lItt, as welt as lura: the rllr lloor arll i. beeled ml,lll have bean ;ns1altad al 'Otlll~;>

Itle\evalor-lllplnte'~nect;onthat,uptOlltow·IOldsOII,lPt0600lb'.polnlln the altplatle',career: •.' 'i"~'Iimiled up-alavllor IrlWlI unll!Sllhe 10 be carried !he!e, IIld the 'ear -- Th... are lew maln1eNlnCfl pilflillIlapa ...,. axtepded. Power ...... $l!lla lie ql,llckly _and eesily ,. lwailing the SlirIson purehNer; IIo'fIl'. _ ~

1~ lip Fr.nltlin. " _btl. IAorao'tt!r, where.the In- 1VOf. both Ge:orga and tI>e owner 01 ¥

TlMmostpopullrlftOdetwQl1II tlflor 01 Ihe Voyager Ie done In 'linyl, ~$lI.lionWagonlusedtol1ycon­

108-3, which appea'edln tPe lata the S11110n Wagon sports elegan' cur UtI! tI>e pllol~lic aystem Ia',

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p.ont to collect waler and ""nlaml_ In eacll door are lalched with nice a lot of vertical tin area, not muchnlUon. The.e are two drain plugs little cast Ind mlchlnotlttings. Even of il is .udder, Ind I needed a bitbetlind Ille instrument panel, Ind Ille headline., lastelully eJi:eculed In ot brake to keep Illingsslfaighldur­when we went 1o fly George·s air- I tort of mauve mouse-fuu fsbric, tl ing the Intial part of tha Iakeoffplana tor Ihil "port we g<>t quit. "minisunl of 1950s automobiles. roll. GeorQ$'. alrp\ane setuned a b~

a decent trickle 01 very dirty water Appropriate lwislings and prod- ""il-helvier lhen I recalled, end iII.om each of them. buI 1o no avail-- .dings Ileving brought \he Franklin took qulle a heelllly$hove 10 get Illethe ai.speed indicetor behevM in 10 lite, we headed for lhe active. tail up while I recan thaI it usedextremely e/fOlleo... lashion th.ough- Ground handling lin' bad as tall- to .iM more or In, of its ownoulll'oeleslS,endtekeoflsandllind- draQllere 00, depending on the eocord. Either way, IhoIIg/I, It be-­iI>g' had to be made st/iclly S.O.P. tHak"' 'llite ol tpOIIlllness, Ind vi.. Iloovea the Stinson pilot to fNke a(Mal.ol·pantsJ.TheGoodyearbrakes lbililyllfalrtydecentevenoverthe point ot applying I bit 01 fOfWardcftlleSlinson lus.ecllOlt)" remained nose.I'lufl<lprevnlsthatoneerea press.uredurln9lhelakeolfroll,sirlceIn my memory as very soli and in which the Stinson tells short 01 otherwise lhere'a a tendency 10 1111spongy, and were the same In Its later competitor Is soundproof- off InlO • mushing climb in nearlyGeo.gt', 'hlp; numerous OWfle~ i"ll: headsete o. earplugs lire a th.....poinl attilude. Willl 3 aboardh_ chafl9tld 10 Clevelands. Al least alfle qua _. One notch (01 an avajl- and lull lUll al a den51t)' altJtu<»they'.enolhellbreke'. Ible twoJ of naps can be used lor Iroulld 3SOO leeton a very """"id,

II the.e', one word 10 sum up my lakeotl, and even if I nO-fliP takeoff muggy day, we rocketed skyward a110talimpre!llonoliheStinson,both i,contemplated,II's a good idea 10 alloI3SOlpm-lIl1hough,olCOllrH,On Ihe grOUnd a!'d In Ihe IIlr, ii', momenlarlly lower the Ilaps 10 check our ellort' to malntllin besl-ral..m­solidity, All Ih. cabin linings and the lUll elevator lrevel is available climb ~peed were thwarted by theallj)Olnlments rellecl on an era in wilh Illal down, while the last couple recalcllrllnt alrtpeed Indicator.Which things were buill to last; the 01 Inches ere r"trlcted with them Still, aithol.lllh the performance~pholstery In George" ship is orig_ up, (Thl, interconnect, by the WilY, may' lea~e something ta be desired,inal 1948 and in tine shape. Elevator mak.. fla bit more dllllcuitto make the handling doesn'!. The Stinsonand ,...dder trim are celllng·mounted a really good three-pointer wltllout 108-3 has 10 be one 01 the smooth­and are ~ helty chromed crank and a flaps-thefe'a iust not quite enoulllI ell end mOlt docile slngl,,-enginebeau1l1utly machined knob, (espec- elevato,1 a~aHsble.) ships ever 10 roll 011 the assembiylively-none of lhese plastic wheels, Takeo" In a crosswind reveals one tine. True, Its .atller lighl wing load­tllank you-and the sliding wlndows of Ille 511",on'a qulrh: while thare', Inll .makea It mOil auscepllble 10

turbulenCII than a Iliad $1110' like. eight bucks worth of luel and 01131(1, but &$ fer as Ib own mannllrs per hour; uslngthllold rulil 01 thumbare concerned, it's impeccablll, Thll ot IIQualing the tuel cost fOl main­there's atmost no edverse yaw; thlly tenance end oVllrhaul rllserve wouldare also nice and light. as is ,the still leave a comfortable margin otrudder, while the elevator is a bit $4 per hour for fixed costs, Thus,heavie,_ The rudder trim Is handy $20 per hour overall would be alor climb, and in smooth air the realislic, If not conservative figure­airplane can be trimmed for hands- not at ali un'easonable lor a fou'·off flight and left alone for minutes place airplane,at a time What with our static-system prot..

Stalls - such as they are - are lilms, we were, 01 cou'se, unable toequally unexciting. With power olt, perform accurale cruise ai,speedIhe yoke can gradually be milked checks. Looking over my log, how­back 01'10 the stop and held the'e 'elier, I found Ihat I consistenllytrvedand the airplane wlll.slmply ,settle out at 128 to 135 mph (dependingin a leliel atlitude, either With or on load and altitude) In the StationwitOOUI flaps, With power on, it can Wagon I used to fly.be pulled up to the point that it A sound Stinson 10a can be ex·t!<J.es break, but Ihe ailerons remain cellent transportation for Ihe money.effective IhrouGhout. If I had to lose A check among owners revealed thatan engine ove, a lorest at nighl parts for the Franklin arenota p,ob­In a single, t think I'd w~nt ,to do lem, despite the lact that the enGineIt In a Stinson; the comb,nat,on' 01 isno longer In production; as a mat·rugged steel·lube structure and the ter of facl, now Ihat Franklins areability to descend ala forward speed Going to go back Into production InOf libout 40 mph, at maybe 850fpm, Poland (no jokes, please). the partsis one I could walk away' f,om, situation may even impro~e. A good

Landings can be made eitherlhree· seiection of airframe parts is stillpoiI'I or on Ihe main.s; If.flaps aren't available, and t.he airplane's simpleused, a wheei tending IS probably lube-and·ra~ const,uction makes Ita good bet because ot lhe elevator quile easy to lal}ricate any parIsleslriction.Smooththree·pointersare not on hand.easy with One Or two nolches of Uap, In fact. an Interesting course ofand crosswind handling somehow action lor a pilot with a pri~ale tickelseems easier on landing Ihan on bent on gelling the inslrument andtakeoff. The landing gear has a fairly commercial, as well as having a10fl9s1,oketosmoothou\lhoseless· Good transportalion airplane, would

:~~~!~~::%aZ~~~~'fe~~~~~:raf;'ne; ~:u~e~~!~:~~:~~~~I~~~I}~~i~~O~~~ ~~~~:;~~Z~~~~~'~~~~~~i~~n;;~:on-Cosls lor us, and the milial figure have an airplane with performance (PhOlobyPeterlo'I).was a 'ather bieak $38.47 per, es good as, if nol better than, ahour. Close' examination, however, 172, about 400 sm range, and withb,ought several mitigating laclo's to the stability that would make it the

li9~lefamOn9 these was George's ihe:I~~~/::~;~~t g~la:~r'::,; n:~:low utifizallon: only about 85 hours airplanes pull out all the fancy radiosper year. This, of course, means that and move them into your next shipfixltd costs-insurance: tax~s, lie- Wilh careful management Ihe cost of

::~~i~.n~~lo~~~~~:~~~:~~~~~i~~I~~h~!yhs:~r;~En;~~:il~~::i,~~~;id~~;~a lop overhaul, a few other engine Incidentally, while the 108·3 (andglitcl>es, a gyro o~erhaul, new lires, the L-5, a 2'ptace milifary versionand so fOr1h for a total maintenance withhigh_lifldeliiceS,a195hpFrank_bile of $2708,92 for Ihe two years lin: and the capabilily to carry ahe owned tl>e blrd-quite a bit higher st,etcher patient as well as the pilot)than average. were the iast airplanes buill and

He al.o added a new radio, el sold as Stinsons, they certainiywere$755, and a new winglip-the reo not exactly the last of the Stinson.suit 01 a groundioop on takeo!f- Even as fhe 108 line Closed down,at $418.03. the factory waS putting the IinishinG

I musl say Ihal iI's refleshlng, if touches on the Twin S'lnson-a low·sobering, 10 lind an owner who's this winger that was bought by Piper andhoneSI aboul 'he ,eal,cost 01 owning produced virtually unchanged as theand flying a cherished eirplane. Look- PA·23 , Apache, ~nd ~hose Az~ec

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,;-------------------

PERFORMANCEM..hnum spud 158 "!ph (do not exceed-normal c.legoryl

g;~;:: ~:~~~I(~~~i~~';;~r:;a~~~~~~iis~~e~ @l7~~ @~o:~~"'rl~. IpprO'.400 S.M.

.•......•••..•....•.••..... ~ m~

..................... &I.5mptt..•..... e1.Srnph

.•... __ .. 59 mp~

..•.••.. Il6 mp~.................................. ~m"MAINTENANCE DATA LiST

.. Sl~oyflnd.r. Woool'd,ltOfllont.llyopp,,,~165hp- Franklin engine

..•.......•......•.....• 9qua<11. __ ···50aIll1on.(25p&rlonkj

.~ C:I~~::~.::~.I~.~~.~... 27610'

OO~~".,............••. , .. , .. , ..• , ••.•••..••...•.•.•• , ..• 1'.'B•••d on emplyw.lghl of 1300 lb•. CIleCkwitnAl,plant'ligMIII.."."sl