Updating a Classic the Utlimate Stinson 108
SA Flyer Magazine|April 2022
Some classic designs are so good that after 75 years they are still practical aeroplanes. There is an increasing realisation that they deserve to be rejuvenated and enjoyed, long after the original manufacturer may have shut up shop.
Updating a Classic the Utlimate Stinson 108

The Stinson 108-3 is one such classic which takes its place amongst the North American T-6 Harvards, the Piper Cub and the Tiger Moth. Chris Briers, who founded the hugely successful Naturelink, had imported a brace of Stinsons and set about rejuvenating them. Unfortunately, Naturelink folded and the Stinsons became orphan projects. Niels Peter Andersen is a man who saw the value of the classic Stinson and so acquired one of Briers' 108-3 Voyagers that had been stripped down to bare metal. He set about project managing a ground-up restoration to better than new.

THE STINSON'S DEVELOPMENT

Classics, like good wine, develop over time. The Stinson 108 series was a post WW2 design that put the company on the map in terms of good aircraft design and production quantity.

The Stinson Aircraft Company was founded in Dayton, Ohio, in 1920 by Eddie Stinson. Wikipedia notes that after five years of business ventures, Eddie moved the factory to Detroit, Michigan while still flying as a stunt pilot and earning the huge sum of $100,000 a year.

On the back of Detroit's already massive car industry, Stinson found the city's business community receptive to his plans to develop his own plane. He launched the Stinson Aircraft Syndicate in 1925 with $25,000 to design and build a prototype enclosed cockpit, 4-place biplane, powered by a Wright Whirlwind J-4 air-cooled radial engine.

The Stinson Detroiter SB-1 (for Stinson Biplane model 1) made its maiden flight from Packard Field on 25 January, 1926. The plane not only had a rare (for the period) enclosed cabin, it also had a heater, upholstered seats and side panels, and even an electric cigarette lighter.

Denne historien er fra April 2022-utgaven av SA Flyer Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra April 2022-utgaven av SA Flyer Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA SA FLYER MAGAZINESe alt
Iris - her early years: IRIS FLIES ACROSS SUDAN
SA Flyer Magazine

Iris - her early years: IRIS FLIES ACROSS SUDAN

Laura McDermid continues her stories about Iris McCallum's early years in East Africa and the Sudan. In part 1 of this story she recounts how she had to fly a bunch of Belgian Missionaries to Aweil, a city in northwestern South Sudan, from Wilson in Nairobi in her old mate 'ARN', the Piper Aztec 5Y-ARN.

time-read
6 mins  |
June 2024
UGLY IS PRETTY: LEAR 25 VS PILATUS PC-6
SA Flyer Magazine

UGLY IS PRETTY: LEAR 25 VS PILATUS PC-6

When you go to a party where you don't know anybody, you should always go for the 'Ugly' girl, because she will be happy that you chose to spend time with her.

time-read
4 mins  |
June 2024
CIRRUS G7 LAUNCHED IN AFRICA
SA Flyer Magazine

CIRRUS G7 LAUNCHED IN AFRICA

What makes one aircraft better than another? Range, Speed, or carrying capacity, short field performance, operating costs, high wing, low wing, side stick, traditional control yoke?

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2024
PRESIDENT'S TROPHY AIR RACE 2024
SA Flyer Magazine

PRESIDENT'S TROPHY AIR RACE 2024

The annual Presidents Trophy Air Race (PTAR) is the highlight of the year for many competitive general aviation pilots.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2024
THE ABSA LOWVELD AIRSHOW 2024
SA Flyer Magazine

THE ABSA LOWVELD AIRSHOW 2024

This year marked the thirtieth edition of the Lowveld airshow – and it was widely acclaimed as the best ever.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2024
PREVIEW: AFRICAN AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE EXPO(AAD)
SA Flyer Magazine

PREVIEW: AFRICAN AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE EXPO(AAD)

Guy Leitch finds out from AAD Exhibition Director, Ms Nakedi Phasha, how the buildup to this year's biennial expo is going, and what visitors and exhibitors can expect.

time-read
4 mins  |
June 2024
APRIL 2023
SA Flyer Magazine

APRIL 2023

April has been a very quiet month on the local aviation marketplace with only nine new registration allocations and three deletions, according to the officially-supplied register review.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2024
PIPISTREL PANTHERA FINALLY HERE
SA Flyer Magazine

PIPISTREL PANTHERA FINALLY HERE

One of the world's most eagerly awaited piston single engine aircraft designs has finally arrived in South Africa. ZU-KTR is a long awaited Panthera, proudly owned by Bertus Kritzinger, a Free State trucker, and based at New Tempe in Bloemfontein, where the well-known Ferriera Aviation has assembled it.

time-read
9 mins  |
June 2024
STAGGERWING - ALREADY OLD WHEN NEW
SA Flyer Magazine

STAGGERWING - ALREADY OLD WHEN NEW

The Staggerwing was the climax, and the end, of an era.

time-read
5 mins  |
June 2024
The Aim of Bombing
SA Flyer Magazine

The Aim of Bombing

In modern warfare it's not the soldiers who die - it's the civilians. One of the best examples of this is carpet bombing.

time-read
6 mins  |
June 2024