Aircraft model
STINSON 108-2
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Stinson 108-2 of 1947, with the 165 hp Franklin in place of the 150 hp engine. The extra power is worth having in a four-seat aeroplane of this weight — climb improves noticeably and hot-day performance with four aboard becomes reasonable rather than marginal. It remains a comfortable, roomy, honest tourer.
Everything else about ownership is the family story and it is dominated by the engine. Franklin parts are scarce and overhauls expensive and hard to arrange, which is why so many 108s now fly behind Lycoming O-360 conversions and why those aircraft sell for considerably more. Establish which engine a candidate has and what its history is before anything else. Fabric over steel tube means a recover is the other major lifetime cost, and the tubing underneath needs a corrosion inspection. It requires a tailwheel endorsement and real currency, though the aeroplane is well regarded for its ground manners.
Compare with…
Put STINSON 108-2 side by side with up to two other models.
- STINSON 108-2
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Franklin 6A4-165-B3 |
| Horsepower | 165 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1947 |
| Production end | 1947 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 104 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 450 nm |
| Service ceiling | 15,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 800 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 45 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 950 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 710 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,230 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,280 lb |
| Usable fuel | 40 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 9.2 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $45,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $68,500 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,200 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 965 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 285 |
| Median year built | 1947.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 16 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 56.141 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 45.612 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 51 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 17.893 |
| Airworthiness directives | 7 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 285 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 285 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 285 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 2.7 of 101 |
| Severity | 8.4 of 102 |
| Access | 5.1 of 103 |
| Support | 6.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.1 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 25.9 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 28.36 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 11.65.
- Access: class median 767.75.
- Support: class median 141.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.57.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.