The Stinson 108 is a popular single-engine, four-seat, light

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

produced by the Stinson division of the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

airplane company

Consolidated Vultee Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, was an American aircraft-manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee ...

, from immediately after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to 1950 (by which time Stinson was a division of

Piper Aircraft Piper Aircraft, Inc. is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, located at the Vero Beach Regional Airport in Vero Beach, Florida, United States and owned since 2009 by the Government of Brunei. Throughout much of the mid-to-late 20th cent ...

). The 108 was developed from the prewar Model 10A Voyager (also known as the "Stinson 105"). Underwood, John: "The Voyager," Chapter XI, in ''The Stinsons: A pictorial history by John Underwood,'' 1976 (3rd printing 1982), Heritage Press, Glendale, California, pp.72-76, 79-80; , McDowell, Jason
"Approachable Aircraft: Stinson 108,"
April 12, 2021, ''

Flying Magazine ''Flying'', sometimes styled ''FLYING'', is an aviation magazine published since 1927 and called ''Popular Aviation'' prior to 1942, as well as ''Aeronautics'' for a brief period. It is read by pilots, aircraft owners, aviation enthusiasts and ...

,'' retrieved September 30, 2023Schapiro, Steve
"Aircraft Spotlight: The Stinson 108 Combines the Romance of Early Aviation with Utility,"
November 15, 2020,

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is a Frederick, Maryland-based American non-profit political organization that advocates for general aviation. AOPA's membership consists mainly of general aviation pilots in the United States ...

, retrieved September 30, 2023 First built in 1946 – as a stretched derivative of the Model 10A / 105 Voyager – more than 5,000 of the model 108 Voyager (or Station Wagon) were produced by Stinson, before the company was acquired by

in late 1948. Ethell, Jeffrey: ''Used Aircraft Guide,'' 1979, Chas. Scribner's Sons, NY, p.76, When Piper took over the 108 line, a number of model 108s built by Stinson were completed, but unsold, and went to Piper as part of the acquisition. Piper then sold that inventory as the Piper-Stinson over the next few years. Some reports appear to indicate that 108 production and/or sales continued under Piper until 1949, 1950 or 1951. In all, 5,260 Stinson (or Piper-Stinson) 108s were reportedly built Most models were named "Voyager" (like the preceding 10A/105), but some were named "Station Wagon," reflecting interior modifications to accommodate cargo.

Design and development

The single-engine, four-seat, fixed-gear, high-wing, Stinson 108 series was built with a six-cylinder

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

engine -- 6A4-150, or 6A4-165, normally -- driving a fixed-pitch propeller. Ethell, Jeffrey: ''Used Aircraft Guide,'' 1979, Chas. Scribner's Sons, NY, p.76, Schapiro, Steve
"Aircraft Spotlight: The Stinson 108 Combines the Romance of Early Aviation with Utility,"
November 15, 2020,

, retrieved September 30, 2023 The

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

is of fabric-covered steel tube. Aftermarket modifiers have obtained

supplemental type certificate A supplemental type certificate (STC) is a civil aviation authority-approved major modification or repair to an existing type certified aircraft, engine or propeller. As it adds to the existing type certificate, it is deemed "supplemental". In ...

s (STC) allowing conversion to an aluminum covering. Many different engines have been installed in the 108 by STC such as the

Lycoming O-360 The Lycoming O-360 is a family of four-cylinder, direct-drive, horizontally opposed, air-cooled, piston aircraft engines. Engines in the O-360 series produce between , with the basic O-360 producing . The engine family has been installed in ...

, Franklin O-350,

Continental O-470 The Continental O-470 engine is a family of carburetor, carbureted and fuel-injected flat six engine, six-cylinder, horizontally opposed, air-cooled aircraft engines that were developed especially for use in light aircraft by Teledyne Continen ...

One distinctive feature is the partial leading edge slot installed on the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

s and aligned with the

ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

on the trailing edge, ensuring that the portion of the wing containing the aileron remains unstalled at higher

angles of attack In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a reference line on a body (often the chord line of an airfoil) and the vector representing the relative motion between the body and the fluid through which it is mo ...

, thus contributing to docile stall behavior. The 108 initially proved popular, with 746 examples built in 1946, while production in 1947 was almost half of all 4-seat private aircraft built in the United States, with the Stinson division the only part of Convair that was profitable for a time. In 1948, however, overproduction in the US general aviation industry led to a glut of light aircraft, with unsold 108s being stored, and on 30 June 1948, Convair shut down the Stinson factory. The name and assets of Stinson (including 200 unsold 108s) were sold to

on 1 December 1948, with Piper setting up a Stinson division in April 1949 to sell the complete aircraft inherited from Convair, and to assemble a further 125 aircraft from spare parts. These aircraft were marketed as Piper-Stinson 108s. Total new production of the Stinson Model 108, by Stinson, was 5,260; this total does not include the two converted prototypes. Stinson delivered approximately 4,935 aircraft and Piper delivered approximately 325 aircraft. Piper later sold the type certificate to Univair Aircraft Corporation. Univair built and certified the model 108-5, but built only one example. Total new model production by Stinson and Univair was 5,261 aircraft.

Variants

The 108 variants closely resemble each other but can be visually distinguished by their design changes: ;Prototype 108 :Two prototype model 108s were converted from Stinson model 10A airframes. FAA records show NX31519 was model 108 serial number 1, and NX31532 is model 108 serial number 2. Both registrations later changed to NC. The production model straight 108 would also use serial number 1 and 2, so there was for a short period 2 duplicate serial numbers; ;108 Voyager 125 :Powered by a

Lycoming O-235 The Lycoming O-235 is a family of four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed, piston aircraft engines that produce , derived from the earlier O-233 engine.Textron Lycoming: ''Operator's Manual, Textron Lycoming Aircraft Engines, Series O-2 ...

piston engine. ;108 Voyager 150 :Powered by a Franklin 6A4-150-B31, B3 or B4 piston engine. 742 built in 1946. ;108-1 :Slightly modified version with external baggage door. 1508 built 1947–1948. ;108-2 :Powered by Franklin 6A4-165-B3 or -B5. 1250 built from May 1948. There was a conversion kit to add the rudder trim to the earlier airplanes advertised. Stinson108-3

;108-3 :The 108-3 introduced a taller vertical fin with a

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

featuring a straight trailing edge. Larger fuel tanks ( versus ) were also fitted. The -3 has a higher gross weight than its predecessors of . 1760 built by Stinson and Piper. ;108-4 :The 108-4 is a higher powered model 108, sn 108-4693, NX149C, not certified, flown experimentally by Stinson, later by Piper, 1 built. ;Flying Station Wagon :The "Flying Station Wagon" version was an option available with the -1, -2 and -3 models, had a utility interior incorporated wood panelling and a reinforced floor, allowing of baggage in the passenger compartment. The aircraft could be fitted with wheel, float or ski landing gear. The single 108-4 built was a Flying Station Wagon. ;108-5 :A single 108-5 was built by Univair, who purchased the Stinson 108 type certificate from Piper, in 1964. The 108-5 used a Franklin 6A-335-B1 engine. Univair offered kits to convert earlier aircraft to this standard. The 108-5 brought total model 108 production to 5,261, of which 5,135 were built by Stinson, 125 by Piper, and 1 by Univair.

Operators

; *

Spanish Air Force The Spanish Air and Space Force () is the aerial and space warfare branch of the Spanish Armed Forces. History Early stages Hot air balloons have been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Al ...

operated eighteen 108-3 aircraft, with the designation L.2.

Specifications (108 Voyager 150)

References

Footnotes

Notes

Bibliography

* *

External links

brochure: ''The Piper Stinson for '49''
George Sutherland Archives Exhibits, Fulton Library,

Utah Valley University Utah Valley University (UVU) is a public university in Orem, Utah, United States. UVU offers master's, bachelor's, associate degrees, and certificates. Previously called Utah Valley State College, the school attained university status in July ...

"Stinson"
Univair Aircraft Corporation (Stinson 108 type certificate holder).
"Stinson"
Aerofiles.com
''Stinson's Golden Age,''
Volumes 1 & 2, Wind Canyon Books (one of the two main historical accounts of Stinson Aircraft) {{Spanish liaison aircraft High-wing aircraft 1940s United States civil utility aircraft Model 108 Single-engined tractor aircraft Piper aircraft Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft