Stinson 108-1 Voyager Question

[Steve]

Anyone on the board have any time in one? I'm thinking of buying a tailwheel plane to build experiance and tailwheel time and it looks like a lot of plane for the price. I've seen them sell for around $22k freshly restored. I hope to use it in the future to give tailwheel checkouts after I get my CFI. Is this a good training plane?

 

[BlueRidger]

I have a 108-3 Station Wagon and find it is a great airplane for the money. It can carry as much as a 172 is only a little slower and is probably one of the most forgiving taildraggers there is. Parts are somewhat hard to find and can be expensive through Univair but is still not a high maintenance airplane. I have no experience with the -1 which has 15 less horsepower and a smaller tail but it is still a grat airplane for the money. If you can find one with a lycoming engine you will have a perfect plane to reliably build time in with little hassels. They are still dam good with the franklin engines.
Good Luck

 

[ClearRight]

I flew one in Alaska a couple years ago. Very nice airplane. . . of course this one had a 200 HP Continental, constant speed prop, hollowed-out interior for more cargo space, tundra tires, gull-wing doors, and skylights all around! Empty it didn't take more than a couple hundred feet to take off!

Awesome airplane! I'm not a Stinson expert (flew that 108 once, and have about 25 hours in a 10-A), but Stinsons are great airplanes. The wing design makes it very stable, the slots in the wings make it hard to stall. Excellent training airplane, I'd say.

I'd check out how "freshly restored" the airplane is for $22K. Is that with the aluminum fuselage or fabric? I think the 108 has a wood wing spar- check that out when you're shopping to make sure it's not rotted.

 

[empenage]

If it has the Franklin....Make sure its the HEAVY CASE Franklin. Do a pre-buy at a place that is familar with the Stinson. Especially check the bottom tubes by the tail wheel. Water likes to sit there and rot the bottom tubes on the fuselage.

If you find a nice one, it's a good ship.

Have fun.

 

[cougar6903]

Thanks everyone for your opinions on the Stinson's

clearright,

Do you happen to remember how roomy the 10A is compared to a Cessna 172 or 152? I'm 6' 3" and getting in J-3's and 152's is quite a challenge. I'm hoping to fly at least 500 hours in the plane i end up buying and would like something as comfortable as possible. From the prictures I've seen of the 10A, it looks wider than other 2-3 seat taildraggers I've seen. Is this the case? Thanks again for all your help.

 

[ClearRight]

The 10A is much roomier than the 152. Not only is it a bit wider but there's considerably more headroom. If I remember correctly, you're actually sitting a good 6-8 inches above the floorboards as opposed to the 2-3 in a 152. I'd say width and height are comparable to the 172, but without the full back seat. The 10A had/has a side facing back seat, kind of like the king cab on a light pick-up. It's not real comfortable, but I've put my 5'9" 160 pounds back there.

The 10A I've flew had the tundra tires and a special STC for a 160 HP Lycoming. It was a fun airplane- a good performer. The owner uses it in Alaska to take hunters and their gear out to the field. I've got a picture of it around here somewhere. . .I can scan it in and post it here if you'd like. It's a pretty airplane.

 

[Steve]

ClearRight, If you do have the picture I would love to see it. Thanks again.

 

[ClearRight]

Follow this link:

http://flyaway1.homestead.com

I threw these pictures on a website this morning. I'm not too sure we can actually post pictures here on the forum. Enjoy.