Stinson
Documentation and Manuals
Stinson documentation
and manual area created 4/15/01, Last updated
12/30/01.
Some confusion seems to
exist about Stinson documentation and manuals. FAA documentation
required to be in the airplane before it can fly legally consists
of 1-the Stinson 108 Airplane Flight Manual (NOTE - this
is NOT
the owners manual), which includes the
aircraft equipment list, 2-a weight and balance report, 3-the FAA
Airworthiness certificate, and 4-the FAA registration
certificate. If the airplane has been altered since it was
manufactured, almost a certainty by now, then documentation which
shows the updated equipment list and the current weight and
balance (most often the FAA form 337), must be in the airplane
showing the correct current equipment and weight and
balance.
The above 4 items are
the minimum to fly the airplane legally. If the airplane is
equipped with a FCC approved radio transmitter (each Stinson was
delivered with a radio transmitter/receiver, but those radios are
no longer approved for use by the FCC) there must be a FCC radio
station license in the airplane to use the
transmitter.
Log books, one for the
airframe, one for the engine, although required, do not have to
be in the airplane to fly it legally - BUT they must be
made available if requested of the FAA. Personally I recommend
keeping photo copies of each page of the log books in a safe
place (at your home for example), with the original log books
kept in the airplane. Another item which is not required is the
Owners Manual. I'd certianly recommend having an owners
manual in the airplane, but it is not required by FAA regulations
to fly the Stinson 108 legally.
Shown in this image
are typical original
Stinson 108
Documentation
At the top left in the
image is the airplane flight manual (this image shows the flight
manual for the 108-2 and 108-3, see below for the 108-1). This
document is 8 1/2 by 11 inches in size and is 4 pages long (2
pages printed on both sides) - the flght manual
MUST be in the airplane when flown. Each airplane delivered
by Stinson included its own unique flight manual which included
the equipment list for the specific airplane. Also included in
the airplane flight manual is the limitation chart for
permissible weight and balance, required placards, etc. Shown at
the top right is the weight and balance document provided by
Stinson for each specific airplane, again 8 1/2 by 11 inches in
size, 1 page only. These two documents form the basis of the
equipment installed in a specific airplane, plus the weight and
balance for each specific airplane as delivered by Stinson. When
a mechanic adds or removes a component, a radio for example, the
equpment list information and the weight and balance information
for the airplane must be updated. Most common method to update
this critical information is the use of the FAA form 337.
Virtually every Stinson 108 airplane flying today will have one
(or more probably several) FAA form 337's which update the
original equipment list of the airplane, and replace the weight
and balance data with data corrected for the changes made.
You MUST
have in the airplane during flight the
latest weight and balance report. NOTE - when a certified
airplane such as the Stinson 108 has a major repair, or is
altered such as a radio change, an FAA form 337 is required. A
licensed Airframe and Powerplant mechanic must sign the form as
mechanic, and the work must be inspected by an individual who
holds both an A&P and has an Inspection Authorization (IA)
from the FAA. In certain cases, such as installing a part which
does not have a Supplemental Type Certificate approval for the
Stinson 108, the FAA Flight Standards District Office must also
approve the form 337. In some cases, where the work is performed
by a FAA Approved radio shop for example, that shop may use a
different form approved for that shop by the FAA. Two other items
are shown in the image, the owners manual and an inspection form.
The owners manual shown (yellow cover) is an original 1948 model
manual. Manuals from other years have different covers, with the
contents specific for that year. Last, at the bottom center, is a
standard Stinson 108 inspection form for 100 hour/Annual
inspections. It is not required but often found with the airplane
paperwork.
Shown in this image
is a 108-1 Flight Manual
The image above is of a 108-1 flight manual.
The image shows an original flight manual I purchased on eBay for
108-1, serial number 108-869, N97869. This particular manual is
about 6 inches wide and 5 inches tall. I have a photo copy of
another 108-1 flight manual, serial number 108-1580, N8580K. The
photo copy of the flight manual for the later 108-1 appears to be
standard size 8 1/2 x 11 inches in size. N97869's manual is
27 pages long, N8580K's manual is 12 pages long. One major
difference between the 108-1 flight manuals and the later 108-2
and 108-3 flight manuals, is they include graphs for takeoff,
landing and other performance characteristics. In my opinion I
like the graphs provided by 108-1 flight manual better than the
limited info provided by the later 108-2 and 108-3 flight
manuals. Stinson 108-1 flight manual info added 9/05/01.
The Stinson 108 Data
Kit
When Stinson delivered a
model 108 airplane they included a 5 by 8 inch white string tie
envelope with each airplane. This envelope is called "The
Stinson Data Kit." The actual envelope is shown in the
center of this image with the Stinson logo. At the top left is
the FAA Bill of Sale document. This document is required to
register the airplane. To the right of the FAA Bill of Sale is a
hand written receipt for payment of the airplane. Remember
Stinson 108's came off the production line before the age of
computers and laser printers. Next to the right (second from
right on the top line) is the application for aircraft
registration, completed at the time of sale. At the far right on
top is the actual FAA Registration form as issued by the FAA to
the owner. The four documents on the right, below the aircraft
registration, are a FCC applicaton for radio station license, the
FCC radio station station license (this original FCC transmitter
license authorizes Stionson 108 owners to transmit on either 3105
or 6210 KHz), the radio technician's report on the actual
measured frequencies of the radio, and a card showing the
frequency installed in the radio (both type original radios
installed in the Stinson 108 transmitted on just one frequency,
almost always 3105 Khz). Just to the left of the radio frequency
measurement chart is the Stinson 108 airplane Warranty (white
paper with blue border). Just to the left of the warranty is the
Stinson 108 laminated checklist. At the lower left is the
circular slide rule provided by Stinson in the Data Kit. This
circular slide rule is an E-6B type calculator without the wind
drift capability of the actual E-6B. Note the circular slide rule
I have in my Stinson Data Kit is that shown, a surplus USAAF
type. Above the circular slide rule is the Safe Flight stall
warning system blue owners manual, and above it on the left, the
warranty for the Safe Flight stall warning system. From the
factory the Safe Flight stall warning was an option available
only on late model Stinson 108-3's. All the items shown fit
nicely into the Stinson Data Kit envelope. It is a handy place to
store these valuable documents for your Stinson
108.
The "Real"
Stinson 108 Data Kit
Circular Slide
Rule
Homepage
visitor Mark Davis
sent me this image
of his original Stinson
Circular Slide Rule.
Note the Stinson and Pan
American Navigation Service logos. Pan American Navigation
Service was a book store, which in the 1940's was located in
North Hollywood (I know they were located in North Hollywood in
the early 1960's when I first visited their store). Pan
American Navigation Service also published aviation books, most
notably the Charles Zweng series. They later moved their book
shop to Van Nuys, very near the Van Nuys airport, but they are no
longer in business. My thanks to Mark Davis, at
Mark.Davis@state.co.us, for
providing the image of his Stinson Circular Slide
Rule.
Just after loosing on
eBay to buy one of these circular slide rules, homepage visitor
Bruce R. Plendl, at Bruce.Plendl@PSS.Boeing.com,
wrote to tell me Univair
has these circular slide rules available in their catalog. As it
turns out they do have them. The Univair part number for the
circular slide rule is 179-SWC, and the price Univair charged me
is $7.00. Right now I'm quite pleased that I lost the eBay
auction, I bid $35, then lost to someone willing to bid $50!!
Instructions on how to use your Stinson White Computer is part
number 179-SCI, and the cost is $3.92. Thank you Bruce for that
information! So if you'd like one of these Stinson Circular
slide rules of your own give Univair a call. Info about the
availability of the slide rule from Univair added 9/05/01.
Manuals for the
Stinson 108s
Manuals for the Stinson 108
come from several sources. Stinson published three manuals for
the model 108, an Illustrated Parts mnaual (top left), a General
Service Manual (top center), and a Stinson 108 Owners Manual
(lower right). In addition Franklin (Air Cooled Motors) published
an Engine Service manual (top right) and an engine Operators
Instruction manual (middle right). Not shown (I don't have an
original) is a numeric, non illustrated, parts list for the
Franklin engine. Stinson 108's were delivered from the
factory with either the General Electric model AS-1B radio (model
108 only), or the Hallicrafters Skyfone model CA-2 radio (model
108-1, 108-2 and 108-3). A radio manual was included for each.
The GE AS-1B manual is Shown at middle left, The Hallicrafters
Skyfone CA-2 manual is shown at bottom left. In the middle of
this image is a sales brochure for the 1949
"Piper-Stinson" (the model 108-3 sold by Piper after
they purchased Stinson).
Manual and
Documentation Availability
today for Stinson
108s
More than 50 years have
passed since the last Stinson 108 rolled off the Consolidated or
Piper production line. In the period since production closed many
of the original documentation and manuals have become damaged,
worn beyond use, or lost. In the middle 1950's Piper sold the
rights to the Stinson 108 to Univair Aircraft of Colorado.
Univair continues to hold the type certificate for the Stinson
108 series of airplanes, and also manufactures FAA approved parts
(with FAA Parts Manufacturing Approval [PMA]) for the Stinson 108
series airplanes. In addition Unvair publishes many of the
documents and manuals shown here. If you are missing any of your
original documents or manuals, contact Univair Aircraft for price and
availability. They publish good quality reprints, and I used a
number of Univair's Stinson 108 publications when I restored
my Stinson 108. NOTE - some
documents available from Univair, such as the flight manual, are
purchased for a specific MODEL Stinson 108, such as a flight
manual for a Stinson 108-3. HOWEVER - the
flight manual must have the specific information for your
AIRPLANE. You must still add the equipment list for the flight
manual to be complete.
Hope you find this page
informative and useful. If you find errors or omissions, please
contact me at
westin@westin553.net.
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