Stinson 108 opinions

drizzt76

drizzt76

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Scott M.
A buddy of mine (ok I should just say it's me :))is looking at some Stinson 108's. The prices seem reasonable. I never flown one or even seen one up close. What can someone expect the cruise speed and fuel burn? Any issues with the Franklin engine? General advice?
 
drizzt76 said:
A buddy of mine (ok I should just say it's me :))is looking at some Stinson 108's. The prices seem reasonable. I never flown one or even seen one up close. What can someone expect the cruise speed and fuel burn? Any issues with the Franklin engine? General advice?
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I flew a 108-3 with an O-470 conversion giving it the propulsion of a 182. I thought it was a great plane, but most of my time in it was dragging banners. IIRC though I'd see 130 when I was cruising light. Climb was unreal.
 
It is a tube and fabric airplane. Unless it has been metalized. And if that is the case, I personally would walk away from it. I guess it is ok, but I am not sure what it does to the useful load. I have never flown one but IIRC, they are about a 100 to 120 MPH airplane on about 10 GPH. Again, that is somewhat of an educated guess. As far as the Franklin goes, it is rather finicky to maintain. But I THINK parts are still relatively easy to find. It takes someone who knows what they are doing to maintain it. As for the various models, the 108-3 is the one to get, although the others are good planes also.

Let me know if you need a ferry pilot.

;):D
 
Greg Bockelman said:
It is a tube and fabric airplane. Unless it has been metalized. And if that is the case, I personally would walk away from it. I guess it is ok, but I am not sure what it does to the useful load. I have never flown one but IIRC, they are about a 100 to 120 MPH airplane on about 10 GPH. Again, that is somewhat of an educated guess. As far as the Franklin goes, it is rather finicky to maintain. But I THINK parts are still relatively easy to find. It takes someone who knows what they are doing to maintain it. As for the various models, the 108-3 is the one to get, although the others are good planes also.

Let me know if you need a ferry pilot.

;):D
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IMO even worse than metalized is the Razorback skinning.
 
I think they are really cool looking. Like that matters.
 
I like them, got about 40 hours in a -3 and few hours in a -1.
Nothing wrong with tube and fabric if it is taken care of. Don't plan on storing it outside, you need a shade hanger at a minimum and a hanger is best.

Performance is similar to a 172. They aren't real fast. probably 105 kts or so and fuel burn is usually a bit high for a 150 or 165 horse engine, The -3 I flew burned about 11 gal per hour.

My opinion is the Franklin engines are a bit problematic. They are great engine to fly behind and very smooth. Perhaps even smoother than the Continental O-300's. The problem is they don't seem to go much more than about 400 hrs before needing a top overhaul. Just my opinion and observation looking at them on trade a plane and barnstormers. Perhaps someone with more experience can counter or confirm my observation.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
brcase said:
My opinion is the Franklin engines are a bit problematic. They are great engine to fly behind and very smooth. Perhaps even smoother than the Continental O-300's. The problem is they don't seem to go much more than about 400 hrs before needing a top overhaul. Just my opinion and observation looking at them on trade a plane and barnstormers. Perhaps someone with more experience can counter or confirm my observation.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
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I have no experience with them but that statement makes me curious to operate one.
 
brcase said:
I like them, got about 40 hours in a -3 and few hours in a -1.
Nothing wrong with tube and fabric if it is taken care of. Don't plan on storing it outside, you need a shade hanger at a minimum and a hanger is best.

Performance is similar to a 172. They aren't real fast. probably 105 kts or so and fuel burn is usually a bit high for a 150 or 165 horse engine, The -3 I flew burned about 11 gal per hour.

My opinion is the Franklin engines are a bit problematic. They are great engine to fly behind and very smooth. Perhaps even smoother than the Continental O-300's. The problem is they don't seem to go much more than about 400 hrs before needing a top overhaul. Just my opinion and observation looking at them on trade a plane and barnstormers. Perhaps someone with more experience can counter or confirm my observation.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
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Brian knows what he's talking about. True. All true. True on the 11 GPH also. I've owned two of them. The Franklin engine can be a PITA. Mine always leaked oil from half the gaskets... mostly push-rod tubes. No matter how many times you have them fixed they always leaked a lot of oil. I got used to crawling underneath to wipe the belly down and kept extra rags with me.

They're an old airplane with an old panel and a venturi that hangs out in the breeze. Keep an eye on the brake cylinders on the rudder pedals. If they start to leak the brake fluid will destroy the fuselage cover and you'll need to recover it.

You can't see over the panel so you'll have to S-turn. I modified mine with Maule tailwheels that lift the aft-end up so you can peek in front of the plane on taxi.

If I had another one, I'd want the Lycoming conversion, an engine driven vacuum pump, some modern instruments and radios and some new type door windows. Include a set of Cleveland whees & brakes and you'd have a nice airplane. Or you could just buy a 185 and be done with it.

One nice thing about a Stinson is they're stable and solid enough that they don't beat you around a lot on a bumpy day.
 
I overhaul the Franklin they were great engines, but cylinders and crank bearing are hard to find, and the mag drive gear is impossible.

The 108-3 station wagon is the one to have, be sure it has ceconite covers and one of the three major brand finishes.

They can set out side as well as any aluminum aircraft. the rule about rag and tube must have a barn, is simply an old wives tail from the days of dope and cotton.

they fly great make excellent off airport heavy haulers the gross is 2500# with the average empty weight around 1200-1300#

the back seat is a sling, the floors on the dash 3 are beefed up to carry more weight. the landing gear is hydraulic dampened so you can't make a bad landing in one.

there are about 3 STCs to upgrade the engine, the most popular is the Lyke 0-360/180 horse. or the Cont. IO-360/220 horse.

Show quality 108-3 are about 35-40k these days. there are projects for as little as $2500.

sold a year ago at 45k
 

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First of all, there's NOTHING wrong with a rag wing as long as it has been recovered with Stits or the other synthetic fabric and has been kept hangared ever since.

I looked into a Stinson when I bought my Cessna 140. The only thing that moved me in a different direction was the Franklin. Nothing wrong with the Franklin except for parts availability and such.

If you could find a nice one with synthetic fabric, always hangared and STC'd with a Lycoming or Continental, you might very well be getting your hands on a jewel.

My $0.02,
 
Mister Mystery Man said:
If I had another one, I'd want the Lycoming conversion, an engine driven vacuum pump, some modern instruments and radios and some new type door windows. Include a set of Cleveland whees & brakes and you'd have a nice airplane. Or you could just buy a 185 and be done with it.
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Really? I liked the sliding window. We used it to shoot some air to air and I thought it was handy as all hell.
 
Henning said:
Really? I liked the sliding window. We used it to shoot some air to air and I thought it was handy as all hell.
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I liked it too in the summertime. But about the end of October you'd better zip up your insulated flight suit and light up a couple of Jon-E-Warmers to put in your pockets.

I had a VW beetle with an exhaust muff heater that was a bad joke in winter. At least the VW didn't go 105 MPH with a 40 knot draft inside the cabin and so I still say skroo the big sliding windows.
 
Thanks for the input guys. Greg, I will keep you in mind for the ferry pilot jig :) . The 185 suggestion made me smile, but at the low end 90K puts other factors in play. We are trying to stay low 30Kish.
 
Yeah, that 170 is sweet. If I didn't have to give up my custom panel, and 5.6 GPH, I'd trade up to that jewel.
 
I believe you can still get a new Franklin engine. I haven't had any recent contact with these guys, but the TC for the engine was (and may still be) owned by a company in Poland, and they manufacture(d) new 6A350 engines. I don't know if their parts fit the old engines and vice versa.

I ran across a pretty decrepit metalized Stinson 108 a few years back. It was in a T-hangar, both tires were flat, and was covered with dust. You could hardly see in the windows. I asked the airport owner about it, and the owner was AWOL and owed him a lot of back hangar rent. He really wanted it out of there. I got the impression that if I had had anything close to the back hangar rent in my pocket I could have owned it.
 
KRyan said:
I believe you can still get a new Franklin engine. I haven't had any recent contact with these guys, but the TC for the engine was (and may still be) owned by a company in Poland, and they manufacture(d) new 6A350 engines. I don't know if their parts fit the old engines and vice versa.

I ran across a pretty decrepit metalized Stinson 108 a few years back. It was in a T-hangar, both tires were flat, and was covered with dust. You could hardly see in the windows. I asked the airport owner about it, and the owner was AWOL and owed him a lot of back hangar rent. He really wanted it out of there. I got the impression that if I had had anything close to the back hangar rent in my pocket I could have owned it.
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Polish parts do not interchange to the best of my knowledge.

The back hangar rent was probably more than the plane was worth.
 
Oh, yeah, I agree. It would have ended up as yard art, and I would have had to sleep in it as well.

I just kind of hate to see these old airplanes slowly moulder away.
 
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