Hey,

A friend of mine is looking to get a more family friendly (wife likes to sit up front) aircraft - ski capable taildragger a must. Anybody have any thoughts on the Stinson 108 series as a good 3 passenger family machine? Can one fly the Franklin 165 comfortably or do you have to upgrade to a 180 Lyc, 220 Franklin or O-470? The airplane may eventually go on floats but most likely would be on wheels and skis for the forseable future. Some mountain flying possible but most of its life would be at 1,000 - 1,300 feet here in MN. Does a 165 Franklin powered Stinson actually work on skis?

Questions questions questions....

Brad

Your friend will LOVE a Stinson. Either the -2 or -3. I prefer the -3, with higher gross, bigger tanks, etc. If he can find one with the bigger engine, that's great, but the 165 Franklin will do all he needs it to, and treat him very well if he treats it well.
JH

I have owned and flown a 108-2 for the last 14 years and would have a hard time thinking of a better plane. I mostly fly at or near sea level but I carry four adults and full fuel all the time. Mine has the 0-435 Lyc and controllable prop but I think the 165 Frank would do you just fine.

There is a really great Stinson forum on Yahoo that has a world of info.

Shane

I have time in a Stinson 108-2. It would be my choice over any Cessna-172 if I were in the market for something like this.

Thanks for the Franklin encouragement. I have no experience with these engines other than the 6A-350 220. A pal has two 170B's with them. That's a good engine, there is a cam issue and some other quirks to be aware of but overall it's been a reliable motor. (one quirk is, don't pull power all the way back when landing, even short final till you're safely planted on the ground)

I was just wondering if the Frank 165 could pull the bird off the snow and if there were any other things to watch out for in a Stinson when operating in the woods. I know of a pristine 108-3 not too far away that the guy is asking 30K for.

I love the franklin engines. They are very smooth and make good power. They do like to be run hard and they were designed for zero (0) lead fuel. A constant diet of 100LL will foul plugs and may stick valves so one should use a lead scavenger like TCP or burn autogas.

These engines have a bad rap, but it is mostly not founded. There are many places to get most parts, the ones that are becoming hard to find are cams and cranks.

There is a lady, Susan Prall (sp?) in texas who is making many of the parts and has a a large investment in seeing these engines through the long run.

My 108-3 is a great plane, it does not stall, well it does, it is just very docile, it will falling leaf at about 45 mph nice an level.

The 108-3 has about 1100 lbs useful, now that is about the same as a 210, a bit less.

Cruse is 118 mile per hr in mine at 2525 rpm at 5000'.

There are several groups that are dedicated to the stinson and franklin. Once you get tapped into the groups you will find all sorts of help and support.

If you would like to know more pm me.

I have never had my plane on skis so I cant speak to that, but I do know that there are not many places I cant get in or out of.

Dane