Aircraft model
STINSON L-5
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Stinson L-5 Sentinel is a wartime liaison and observation aircraft, larger and far more powerful than the Grasshoppers built from civil lightplanes. It has a 190 hp Lycoming, extensive glazing, a rear seat that could take a stretcher, and short-field performance good enough to operate from jungle clearings.
It served in every theatre and a substantial number reached the civil register. It is bought for the history and for genuinely excellent short-field capability. The Lycoming O-435 is an uncommon engine with a limited parts base, which is the main practical consideration. Fabric over steel tube means recovering is a recurring cost and the glazing is a specialist item. Useful load is only 470 lb, which is two adults and reduced fuel — it was designed to carry a pilot and an observer, not a load.
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Put STINSON L-5 side by side with up to two other models.
- STINSON L-5
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-435-1 |
| Horsepower | 190 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | military-surplus |
| Production start | 1942 |
| Production end | 1945 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 90 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 300 nm |
| Service ceiling | 15,800 ft |
| Climb rate | 900 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 38 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 470 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 254 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,020 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,550 lb |
| Usable fuel | 36 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 10.6 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $60,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $120,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,200 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $30,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $52,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 226 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 72 |
| Median year built | 1943.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 55.56 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 55.56 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 5 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 6.94 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 72 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 72 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 72 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 6.1 of 103 |
| Support | 5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 0.3 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 25 · 181 models in class.
- Severity: class median 5.
- Access: class median 987.
- Support: class median 72.
- Liquidity: class median 20.59.
- 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.