Is the 108 a Good Backcountry Aircraft? - By: Rob Chipman

When I was a kid my uncle flew a Stinson 108. I never flew in it, but after he died I looked into it a trifle and found out that it's still in use right here in BC. It's a floatplane now, and is a real bush plane now.

That made me curious about 108s as backcountry aircraft. It just so happens that they're extremely reliable if you are looking for a four seat workhorse.

Edward Stinson started Stinson Aircraft back in 1920, a time when aviationconstructing airplanes had to be a labour of love for a businessman. Eddie Stinson would have been a flyer first and a industrialist second (I think we aviators all fully understand why). Regrettably, he died in 1938 in an aviation accident. This occurred just as WW2 was about to start, and though the war was a tragic affair for millions it delivered a impressive boost to aviation. The Stinson company completed loads of light aeroplanes for the airforce, specifically observation and liaison aeroplanes.

Immediately after or during WW2 the Stinson company become part of the Consolidated Vultee company(there are Vultee Stinsons in existence). In 1949 it was bought by Piper Aircraft, but it carried on constructing aircraft, most exceptionally the 108. Many of them made it into the backcountry, and a multitude of them remain there, flying away daily into faraway areas.

The Stinson 108 was fairly well known, and they were all produced in the five years from 1945 to 1950. It was based mostly on the prewar 10A Voyager and all of them were produced at the Fort Wayne factory. In 1949 when the Piper company purchased the STC for the 108 there were about 325 of the 5,260 assembled that were built, but unsold. This unsold inventory was transferred to Piper with the sale and were re-branded as Piper-Stinsons, although I've never spotted any 108s on the after market called that. The main point is that all of the 108s that you see were put together during a 5-year time-frame and there are still loads of them in existence. That simple fact obviously speaks to the airplanes's sturdiness and usefulness.

The 108 is a fabric covered plane, with the tubes being made of steel. Some have been metalized with aluminum, on the fuselage, wings, or both, with STCs. Metalized aircraft are maybe a little more amenable to storage outdoors and poor weather, but they do forsake a tad to fabric covered aircraft in terms of performance and weight.

Stinson 108s with the Franklin 150 hp engine but quite a few other different engines have been fitted in the Stinson 108s with an STC . Among these are the Franklin 220/220, Lycoming O-360, and the Continental O-470. The Franklins were good power-plants, but there is a controversy with getting parts. It's said that parts are hard to get. Others don't agree, and explain that there are a lot of Franklin engines in existence which generates a strong secondary parts market. Franklin was bought by a Polish firm, PLZ, and I must say, I see more Lycoming and Continental ads in the magazines. The Franklin website shows that the firm is for sale currently, but they do have conversions for 108s. (Apparently, after the war Franklin really dominated the American aviation market, but it was acquired by the Tucker Automobile Company, subsequently cancelled the aircraft contracts and really damaged the health of the company).

Regardless there are lots of engine conversions available for the Stinson 108 and all of them bring additional horsepower - Lycoming O-435 (190hp), O-360 (180hp) & IO-360 (200hp), the Continental IO-360 (210hp) & O-470 (230hp) as well as Franklin (220hp). A very important factor to take into account with conversions is the weight, which is up in front. Like always, it's about trade offs, but aviators disagree a little whether the additional HP from one engine is worth it. As they say, it all adds up.

Each of the 108 variants are similar to one another but can be visually distinguished by some differences. The 108 doesn't come with a right-side cargo door, but the 108-1 does. Both these planes had the 150 horsespower powerplant. The 108-2 was basically identical to 108-1, but it came with a 165 HP engine & inflight adjustable rudder trim (I've fooled around with my rudder trim tab, and I think inflight adjustment would be awesome). The 108 and 108-2 had 40 gallon wing tanks. The 108-3 brought in a taller vertical fin and the rudder has a straight trailing edge. Some operators report that the smaller tail fin in the 108-2 makes for better crosswind landings. There appear to be a lot of these around. They have 50 gallon gas tanks in the wings,and a higher gross weight than the 108 and 108-2, (2400 lbs.), meaning a greater payload.

The "Flying Station Wagon" variation (did everyone try to get "Wagon" into the brand name back in those days?) was an option with the -1, -2 and -3 models, featuring a utility interior incorporatingthe wood paneling you see in all those cool restorations and a reinforced floor, permitting 600 lbs. of baggage in the passenger compartment. The backcountry function is obvious. The plane can also be fitted with wheel, float or ski landing gear.

The Stinson 108 accommodate 4 passengers. They're 25 feet 3 inches in length, with a wingspan of 34 feet. Wing area is 155 square feet. Empty weight ranges from 1,350 lbs and 1,500 lbs. Maximum weight comes in at 2,400 lbs. The difference between them is the useful load you can put in the airplane. Maximum speed is about 133 mph, but that obviously varies with different powerplants. Range is about 500 miles with a burn rate of about 12 gph. Service ceiling, like most normally aspirated aircraft, is 13,000 ft, but it's got a respectable rate of climb - 650 ft/min. The roll is reported to be 620 feet. Pilot reports say that with two people they can take off in five hundred feet, but fully loaded aircraft will use three times that. The landing roll is 290 feet.

The 108s are a awesome backcountry plane. They are reported to be smooth flyers, both on floats or the traditional configuration. They are also supposed to be pretty stable while in slow flight, which is a very good attribute for short field landings. The wing comes with a leading edge slot that contributes tothe docile stall behaviour. The landing gear is quite robust and is a good shock absorber. While I've heard reports of the 108 described as slow-moving and ponderous, I've also noticed a multitude of pilots sing its praises on the web. It is very roomy, that's for sure.

There is an annual Stinson fly-in at Columbia, CA that has been going on for 30 years or so now, as well as one in Vancouver, Washington, and quite a few good Stinson websites.

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That made me curious about 108s as backcountry aircraft. It just so happens that they're extremely reliable if you are looking for a four seat workhorsef.

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