Stinson

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Stinson

Stinson Aircraft Company · Stinson Aircraft Corporation · Stinson Aircraft Syndicate

A barnstormer with more flying hours than anyone alive built America’s first comfortable cabin airliners, complete with heater and cigar lighter; his company went on to make the jeep of the air.

1920Opgericht
Samengevoegd in Gier in 1948Status
6Vliegtuigen geregistreerd
4Luchtmachteenheden die met dit type vliegtuigen vliegen
LandVerenigde StatenOpgericht1920OprichtersEdward (Eddie) StinsonHoofdkwartierWayne, MichiganStatusSamengevoegd in Gier in 1948
Het verhaal

Stinson: the company and the aircraft that made its name

The most experienced pilot in the world

Eddie Stinson learned to fly at the Wright School in Dayton in 1913, working as mechanic for his famous sister Katherine. In the First World War he taught Army pilots at Kelly Field and became one of the first instructors to teach spin recovery. After it he raced Barney Oldfield’s car at exhibitions and, to land in racetrack infields, fitted the first practical wheel brakes on an aeroplane. He founded his company in Dayton in 1920, then moved to Detroit, where the city’s Board of Commerce helped form the Stinson Aircraft Syndicate in 1925 with 25,000 dollars for a prototype.

A cabin with a cigar lighter

The SB-1 Detroiter, flown on 25 January 1926, was a four-seat biplane with something few aircraft then offered: an enclosed, heated cabin with upholstered seats and even an electric cigar lighter. Joyrides for 70 people in February raised 150,000 dollars in stock. Northwest sold its first passenger ticket on a Detroiter in July 1927. The SM-1 monoplane followed, deliveries reached 121 in 1929, and that September E. L. Cord bought 60 per cent of the company. Eddie did not see what came next. He died in a crash in Chicago on 26 January 1932, aged 38, with more than 16,000 hours in his logbook, more than any other pilot.

The flying jeep

Under Cord, then AVCO and from 1940 Vultee, the Wayne plant built 1,327 Reliant cabin monoplanes and the three-seat Model 105. Its military descendant, the L-5 Sentinel, was nicknamed the Flying Jeep at the factory: liaison squadrons flew it into front-line strips to bring out wounded, and Marines on Iwo Jima flew it off a ship using a cable hook. After the war Stinson built more than 5,000 Model 108 Voyagers before Consolidated Vultee sold the business to Piper in 1948. A twin design begun at Stinson became the Piper Apache.

A barnstormer with more flying hours than anyone alive built America’s first comfortable cabin airliners, complete with heater and cigar lighter; his company went on to make the jeep of the air.Stinson · verified 2026-10-03
In één oogopslag

Stinson in numbers

Het bedrijf

Kortom
Opgericht in 1920

  • Founded in Dayton by Eddie Stinson, moved to Detroit area 1925–1926
  • E. L. Cord bought 60% in September 1929; later AVCO, Vultee and Consolidated Vultee
  • Sold to Piper in 1948

Productie

Het meest bekend om
Reliant, L-5 Sentinel, Voyager

  • Reliant: 1,327 built 1933–1941
  • Model 108 Voyager: 5,260 built by Stinson and Piper
  • L-5 Sentinel liaison aircraft for the USAAF, USMC and RAF

Vandaag

Nu
Absorbed by Piper, 1948

  • Model 108 type certificate later passed to Univair

De cijfers

Leveringen
1211929
Northville workforce
over 2501926
Reliants built
1,3271933–1941
Model 108 built
5,260 (about 4,935 by Stinson, 325 by Piper)
Eddie Stinson’s flying hours
more than 16,0001932
Het vliegtuig

Every notable Stinson aircraft

Vliegtuig Rol Eerste vlucht Gebouwd Status Opmerking
Stinson SB-1 Detroiter Four-seat cabin biplane 1926 Gepensioneerd Enclosed heated cabin; first Northwest Airways passenger aircraft
Stinson SM-1 Detroiter Six-seat cabin monoplane 1927 Gepensioneerd Replaced the biplane
Stinson Model A Driemotorige passagiersvliegtuig 30 Gepensioneerd Airlines of Australia losses in 1937 inspired The Riddle of the Stinson
Stinson Reliant Four/five-seat cabin monoplane; UC-81 and AT-19 in USAAF service 1,327 Gepensioneerd Gull-wing SR-7 onward; militarised V-77
Stinson L-5 Sentinel Verbindings- en observatievliegtuigen 1941 Gepensioneerd The Flying Jeep; 1,538 of the first model alone; USMC OY-1
Stinson 108 Voyager Licht vliegtuig met vier zitplaatsen 5,260 Gepensioneerd Only post-war Stinson production type
Wie vliegt ermee?

Stinson aircraft in the world’s air forces

4 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Stinson types. Geen van hen heeft er nog een in gebruik.

Luchtmacht In dienst Voorheen gevlogen
Hondurese luchtmacht Stinson Detroiter
Luchtvaart van de Japanse grondstrijdkrachten Stinson L-5 Sentinel
Luchtvaart van het leger van de Republiek Korea Piper L-4 Grasshopper and Stinson L-5 Sentinel
Somalische luchtmacht Beech C-45, North American T-6H Texan en Stinson L-5
Plaatsen, mensen, archieven

Where Stinson built, who led it, what it achieved

Fabrieken

  • Northville factory · Northville, Michigan — Former Stimson Scale building, acquired 4 May 1926
  • Wayne plant · Wayne, Michigan — Main works from 1929, next to Detroit Industrial Airport

Mensen

  • Eddie Stinson · founder — 1893–1932; set a world endurance record in 1921
  • Katherine Stinson · aviator, Eddie’s sister — Pioneering woman pilot
  • E. L. Cord · majority owner from 1929 — Automobile magnate

Records en primeurs

  • First practical aircraft wheel brakes, fitted by Eddie Stinson
  • World flight endurance record, Eddie Stinson, 1921
Tijdlijn

Stinson, year by year

1920

Stinson Aircraft Company founded in Dayton, Ohio

1925

Stinson Aircraft Syndicate formed in Detroit

1926

SB-1 Detroiter first flight

1927

Northwest sells its first passenger ticket, on a Detroiter

1929

E. L. Cord buys 60 per cent

1932

Eddie Stinson killed in a crash in Chicago

1933

Reliant production begins

1940

Becomes a subsidiary of Vultee

1941

Model 76, future L-5, first flight

1948

Sold to Piper

De stamboom

Before and after Stinson

Kwam daarnaGierStinson became a Vultee subsidiary in August 1940Lees de Vultee-paginaKwam daarnaPijperBought the Stinson business in 1948Read the Piper page
Vragen en antwoorden

Everything people ask about Stinson

Who founded Stinson Aircraft?
Eddie Stinson, an exhibition pilot and brother of aviator Katherine Stinson, founded it in Dayton in 1920 before moving to the Detroit area.
What happened to Stinson?
After Eddie Stinson’s death in 1932 the company passed through Cord, AVCO, Vultee and Consolidated Vultee, which sold it to Piper in 1948.
What was the Stinson L-5 Sentinel?
A Second World War liaison aircraft used by the USAAF, US Marines and RAF to carry officers, supplies and wounded from short front-line strips.
How many Stinson 108s were built?
5,260 new aircraft, about 4,935 by Stinson and 325 by Piper; Univair later built one more.

Vervolg de rondleiding

Around Stinson

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Geverifieerd op 3 oktober 2026.