Stinson 108

Stinson 108
	; Stinson 108-3
Type:	Light aircraft
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Stinson Aircraft Corporation
First flight:	December 1, 1944
Number of pieces:	5260

The Stinson 108 Voyager is a light aircraft from the US manufacturer Stinson Aircraft Corporation , which was built after the Second World War on the basis of the Stinson 105 Model 10A. Stinson was a division of Consolidated Vultee at that time , so the model number 108 joins the Convair sequence and has no relation to the Stinson model number 105 of the predecessor.

history

development

With the end of World War II in sight, Consolidated Vultee's Stinson Division turned its attention to the future light aircraft market. Chief engineer Bernie Simons designed the four-seater Voyager based on the three-seater pre-war model 10A. Although it used the same wing, it created a larger cabin by lengthening the fuselage by 61 cm.

For the first flight of the prototype ( registration number NX31519) on December 1, 1944, a 125 hp Lycoming engine was used. Because of the unsatisfactory flight performance, this was replaced by a 150-hp Franklin-6A4-150 -B3. Together with a new metal-clad tail unit and the slightly raised position of the horizontal tail unit at the lower end of the tail fin, Stinson introduced the Model 108 in August 1945 as the Voyager 150.

Series production

Stinson 108-1

Not least because of the advertised operating costs of two US cents per mile, the sales success was great. As early as 1946, 742 copies were made. A slightly improved version came onto the market with the 108-1 in 1947. The suitability for everyday use has been increased thanks to the luggage compartment that is now accessible from the outside. The new shape of the control horn was of a cosmetic nature. 1508 of the 108-1 were built.

The 108-2 was followed in May 1948 by a more powerful version (165 hp Franklin 6A4-165), of which 1250 machines were built. Both models could also be equipped with floats or ski runners. A flying station wagon version with mahogany trim, reinforced floor and removable rear seats, which allowed loads of up to 270 kg to be transported, was also available. With the NX8563K, Stinson tested a higher tail fin and a new single wing strut instead of the V-strut.

Stinson 108-3

For the 108-3 introduced in 1948, only the tail unit modification was adopted. In addition, structural improvements made it possible to achieve a higher take-off weight. The range could also be improved by increasing the tank volume from 189 L (50 gal.) To 227 L (60 gal.). Although the 5,000th post-war voyager was completed in June 1948, production had to be stopped shortly afterwards due to the general economic downturn. A planned new model 108-4 with a more powerful Franklin motor equipped with a reduction gear was therefore stuck in the planning phase.

Marketed as Piper-Stinson

In late 1948, the Stinson Division, including 200 unsold Voyagers, was sold to Piper. Piper built another 125 Voyagers under the Stinson label from existing spare parts. Together this resulted in 1760 108-3 and a total production of all versions of the Model 108 of 5260 copies. Some of the last aircraft received a smaller vertical stabilizer designed by Piper, as the original construction equipment of the "large" stabilizer had already been scrapped. On April 27, 1949, Piper approved the Stinson Division to sell the remaining machines.

operator

Most of Voyager went into private hands, but some machines were also operated by bush plane operators and small airlines. In 1956, Goodyear equipped an aircraft (N9270K) with special low-pressure tires ( Terra-Tires ) for test purposes . In the same year the Spanish Air Force received 18 108-3, which were used under the service designation L.2.

End of production

All rights to build the Model 108 were eventually sold to Univair Aircraft Corporation in Aurora (Colorado), which in 1963 also built the only 108-5 from spare parts. The 108-5 had a Franklin 6A-335-B1 engine with 180 hp. The increase in engine power was approved on March 16, 1964 for all earlier 108-3s as well. Since then, many Voyagers have received a retrofitted Lycoming O-435 . In the late 1980s, about 2,300 post-war Voyagers were still registered in the United States.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Dates of the 108-3
crew	1
Passengers	3
length	7.69 m
span	10.36 m
height	2.13 m
Wing area	14.4 m ²
Empty mass	587 kg
Takeoff mass	1089 kg
Cruising speed	201 km / h
Top speed	214 km / h
Climb performance	177 m / min
Service ceiling	4270 m
Range	892 km
Engines	1 × Franklin 6A -165-B3 or B4 six-cylinder boxer engine with 165 hp

literature

John Wegg: General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors , Putnam Aeronautical, 1990, ISBN 0-85177-833-X , p. 143 f.

Web links

Commons : Stinson 108 - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Photos of all Voyager variants (accessed January 3, 2017)
short descriptions of all Stinson models on aerofiles.com (accessed on January 3, 2017)

Individual evidence

↑ John Wegg 1990, p. 144

[1] John Wegg 1990, p. 144