The
Stinson Aircraft Company was an
aircraftAn aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly by being supported...
manufacturingManufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to make things for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
company in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
between the 1920s and the 1950s.
The Company
The Stinson Aircraft Company was founded in
Dayton, OhioDayton is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 166,179 at the 2000 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 848,153 in the 2000 census. Dayton is the fourth largest...
, in
1920This is a list of aviation-related events from 1920:-February:* February 1 - the South African Air Force is established as an independent air arm....
by aviator Edward “Eddie” Stinson, brother to
Katherine StinsonKatherine Stinson was an early female flier. She was the fourth woman in the United States to obtain a pilot's certificate, which she earned on July 24, 1912, at the age of 21. Initially, she planned to get her certificate and use money she earned from exhibition flying to pay for her music lessons...
. After five years of business ventures, Stinson made
Detroit, MichiganDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
the focus for his future flying endeavors. Stinson found Detroit's business community receptive to his plans. A group of local businessmen — the Detroit Board of Commerce's Aviation Committee — supported Stinson's plans to establish the
Stinson Aircraft Syndicate in
1925This is a list of aviation-related events from 1925:- Events :* In Germany, in-flight movies shown in commercial airliners for the first time.-April:* April 13 - First scheduled airfreight service begins in the US...
at a site southwest of Detroit, where today's
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County AirportDetroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport , sometimes called Detroit Metro Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Detroit Metro Wayne Airport, Metro Airport, or simply DTW, is a major international airport in Romulus, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It is Michigan's busiest airport.Detroit is the...
is located, and provided $25,000 to develop a new
monoplaneA monoplane is an aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...
; the
SM-1 DetroiterThe Stinson Detroiter was a six-seat cabin monoplane for passengers or freight designed and built by the Stinson Aircraft Syndicate later the Stinson Aircraft Corporation.-Development:...
made its first flight on January 25, 1926, and became an overnight success that enabled Stinson to quickly assemble $150,000 in public capital to incorporate the
Stinson Aircraft Corporation on May 4, 1926. Always an aviator at heart, Eddie Stinson was still flying as a stunt pilot, earning $100,000 a year for his efforts — a huge sum in those days. Stinson Aircraft Corporation sold 10 SM-1 Detroiters in 1926. Business was steadily increasing, and Stinson delivered 121 aircraft in
1929This is a list of aviation-related events from 1929:- Events :* Greatest number of fatal civil aircraft crashes in US history.* Cubana de Aviacion begins service.* Pan Am begins service.* The Canadian Siskins aerobatic team is formed....
.
AutomobileAn automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
mogulA business magnate, sometimes referred to as a mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is a partially informal term used to refer to a person who has reached a prominent place in a particular industry and whose wealth has been derived primarily therefrom.-Description:Such people usually...
Errett Lobban (E.L.) CordErrett Lobban "E. L." Cord was a leader in United States transport during the early and middle 20th century.Cord founded the Cord Corporation in 1929 as a holding company for over 150 companies he controlled, mostly in the field of transportation...
acquired 60 percent of Stinson's stock in September 1929, and his Cord Corporation provided additional investment capital to permit Stinson to sell its aircraft at a competitive price while still pursuing new designs. At the height of the Depression in
1930This is a list of aviation-related events from 1930:- Events :* The Surrey Aero Club inaugurates recreational flights from Gatwick Race Course .* The German airship LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin makes its first crossing of the South Atlantic....
, Stinson offered six aircraft models, ranging from the four-seat Junior to the Stinson 6000 trimotor airliner.
Eddie Stinson did not live to enjoy the success of his company. He died in an air crash in Chicago, Illinois on January 26, 1932, while on a sales trip. At the time of his death at age 38, Stinson had acquired more than 16,000 hours of flight time — more than any other pilot at the time.
The Stinson name did not last much past the end of World War II. Eddie Stinson's death accelerated the assimilation of Stinson Aircraft Corporation into larger corporate entities: first by Cord Corporation, then by Aviation Corporation (AVCO), and later by Consolidated Vultee. By
1950This is a list of aviation-related events from 1950:-March:* March 20 - Royal Air Force Avro Lincoln bombers are sent to Singapore to be used against the Communist guerillas of Malaya in the Malayan Emergency.-April:...
the Stinson company was sold to the Piper Aircraft Corporation, which continued to produce 108s for a limited time. Piper transformed an original Stinson design (the "Twin Stinson") into the successful Piper Apache, the world's first
general aviationGeneral aviation is one of two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
all-metal twin engine modern aircraft.
Stinson SM-1 Detroiter
The six-seat
Stinson SM-1 DetroiterThe Stinson Detroiter was a six-seat cabin monoplane for passengers or freight designed and built by the Stinson Aircraft Syndicate later the Stinson Aircraft Corporation.-Development:...
made its first flight on January 25, 1926 — the first fixed-wing aircraft with a heated, soundproof cabin, electric starter, and wheel brakes. Stable in flight, the Detroiter became an overnight success. It was selected by Ruth Elder and
Elsie MackayFor the American actress Elsie Mackay please see Elsie Mackay The Honourable Elsie Mackay aka Poppy Wyndham and Gordon Sinclair was a British actress, interior decorator and pioneering aviatrix who died attempting a treacherous pioneering flight across the Atlantic Ocean with Capt. Walter G. R...
for their attempted trans-Atlantic crossings in 1927 and 1928, both of which failed.
Stinson SM-2 Junior
Soon after the SM-1 Detroiter hit the market, Stinson started refining the basic design in 1928 to appeal to private flyers and business owners. The SM-2 Junior, was a smaller and lower-powered three-four seat high-wing cabin monoplane of which 321 were built by 1933.
Depression-era aircraft
At the height of the Depression in
1930This is a list of aviation-related events from 1930:- Events :* The Surrey Aero Club inaugurates recreational flights from Gatwick Race Course .* The German airship LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin makes its first crossing of the South Atlantic....
, Stinson offered six aircraft models, ranging from the four-seat Junior to the 6000 trimotor airliner.
Two new Stinson designs — the
1931This is a list of aviation-related events from 1931:- Events :* Manufacturer Airspeed Ltd founded in York, England.* First Bendix trophy race-January:* January 6 - Gen Italo Balbo leads the first formation flight across the South Atlantic...
Model W and the
1932This is a list of aviation-related events from 1932:-January:* Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carriers Hōshō and Kaga sail into Chinese territorial waters at the outbreak of the Shanghai Incident....
Model R-2/3 — were powered by Wright or Lycoming radial engines and combined dependable performance with a luxurious cabin. These two models were the ancestors of the most famous of the Stinson line — the
ReliantThe Stinson Reliant was a popular single-engine four to five seat high-wing monoplane manufactured by the Stinson Aircraft Division of the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation of Wayne, Michigan.-Design and development:...
, first introduced in
1933This is a list of aviation-related events from 1933:-January:* January 16 - Jean Mermoz and crew make a non-stop flight from Senegal to Brazil, across South Atlantic, in 17 hours 27 minutes.-February:...
.
From 1933 to
1941This is a list of aviation-related events from 1941:- Events :* Jackie Cochran became the first woman to fly a bomber across the Atlantic Ocean.-February:* February 8 - a fleet of Junkers Ju 52s is used to airlift German troops to North Africa....
, Stinson delivered 1,327 Reliants—ranging from the SR-1 through the SR-10 — each variation building upon its predecessor with upgraded engines and design refinements. The Stinson Reliant SR-10, introduced in
1938This is a list of aviation-related events from 1938:- Events :* Imperial Airways inaugurates scheduled service from London to Montreal. Pan American World Airways is banned from British airports out of fears that more advanced U.S...
, was considered the ultimate, featuring leather upholstery, walnut instrument panels, and automobile-style roll-down windows.
Also in 1933 Stinson introduced its last trimotor airliner, the
Stinson Model AThe Stinson Model A was a moderately successful airliner of the mid-1930s. It was one of the last commercial airliners designed in the United States of America with a fabric-covered steel tube fuselage before the introduction of stressed skin aluminum construction.-Design History:The Stinson...
.
Model 105 Voyager/L-5 Sentinel
Another popular Stinson aircraft was the Model 105 Voyager, also called the HW-75 and Model 10, a three-passenger aircraft featuring a strut-braced wing mounted on the top of the fuselage and capable of flying at about . The little HW-75 proved an immediate success attracting a flood of orders the manufacturer was hard-pressed to match. Costing $US2,995 in 1939, the Voyager featured innovations such as slotted wing flaps, and fixed wing slots for better handling at lower speeds.
By August 1939 Stinson had received more than 100 orders and the company’s plant at Wayne, Michigan was rolling out three aircraft each day.
James StewartJames Maitland "Jimmy" Stewart was an American film and stage actor, best known for his self-effacing persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
, air-minded Hollywood movie star, and
Howard HughesHoward Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American aviator, engineer, industrialist, film producer, film director, philanthropist, and one of the wealthiest people in the world. He gained fame in the late 1920s as a maverick film producer, making big budget and often controversial films like Hell's Angels,...
were some of the more notable Voyager owners.
Introduced in
1939This is a list of aviation-related events from 1939:- Events :January* January 12 - the RAF Auxiliary Air Force Reserve is formedFebruary...
, Stinson sold 535 Voyagers in 1939 and 1940 before
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
intervened and the Stinson aircraft line was adapted for an important mission. A few prewar Voyagers were commandeered for wartime use and designated the AT-19/L-9.
The 105 Voyager was substantially redesigned to become the U.S. Army's
L-5 SentinelThe USA light aircraft L-5 Sentinel began life as the pre-war Stinson model 105. The model 105 was nicknamed Voyager, built by the Stinson division of Consolidated Vultee. When World War II broke out, the Voyager was redesigned and then entered into service as a liaison aircraft. It also flew in...
, one of the most used and least recognized U.S. aircraft of the Second World War. Serving as a
short fieldSTOL is an acronym for short take-off and landing, a term used to describe aircraft with very short runway requirements.The formal NATO definition is:...
liaison aircraftA liaison aircraft is a small, usually unarmed aircraft developed before World War II and primarily used by military forces for artillery observation or transporting commanders and messengers. The aircraft were also used for battlefield reconnaissance, air ambulance, column control, light cargo...
, the L-5 supported missions such as artillery spotting, medical evacuation,
aerial reconnaissanceAerial, or Air Reconnaissance, is the reconnaissance that is usually conducted by unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect IMINT, SIGINT and MASINT.-History:...
, and
passenger transportA cargo aircraft plane is a fixed-wing aircraft designed or converted for the carriage of goods, rather than passengers. They are usually devoid of passenger amenities, and generally feature one or more large doors for the loading and unloading of cargo...
. Stinson delivered 3,590 between November
1942This is a list of aviation-related events from 1942:-January:*January - Lt. Ivan Chisov of the Red Air Force survives miraculous fall from 22,000 feet without a parachute after departing a heavily damaged Ilyushin Il-4 twin-engined medium bomber...
and September
1945This is a list of aviation-related events from 1945:-January:* January 1 - the Luftwaffe begins targeting Allied airfields in Europe as "Operation Bodenplatte"-February:...
under a variety of designations from L-5, L-5B, L-5C, L-5E and L-5G.
The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps received 306 Sentinels from the Army, designating their models as the OY-1 and OY-2, while two versions went to the
Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...
as the Sentinel Mk. I and Sentinel Mk. II. After the war, most Sentinels were sold for surplus, but a number of aircraft (now designated the U-19) served in the
Korean conflictThe Korean War is a war that started between North Korea and South Korea on 25 June 1950 and paused with an armistice signed 27 July, 1953...
. A few remained in active military service until the late 1950s. An owners club dedicated to the L-5 hosts a website at http://www.sentinelclub.org.
SR-10 Reliant
The
SR-10 ReliantThe Stinson Reliant was a popular single-engine four to five seat high-wing monoplane manufactured by the Stinson Aircraft Division of the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation of Wayne, Michigan.-Design and development:...
was also transformed for use in World War II as the UC-81, used by the U.S. Army as a utility aircraft, and the AT-19/V-77, used by the
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
for a passenger transport,
instrument trainerA trainer is an aircraft used to develop piloting, navigational or war-fighting skills in flight crew.Civilian pilots are normally trained in a light aircraft, with 2 or more seats to allow for student and instructor. The aircraft may be modified to withstand the flight conditions imposed by...
and photo-reconnaissance aircraft.
Stinson 108
The last Stinson aircraft design produced was the
108The Stinson 108 was a popular general aviation aircraft produced by the Stinson division of the American airplane company Consolidated Vultee, from immediately after World War II to 1950. It was developed from the prewar Model 10A Voyager. Stinson was bought by Piper Aircraft. All Stinson model...
, an immediate post-World War II design that competed against designs from Piper Aircraft and
CessnaThe Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well-known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...
.
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