N17154, as NC17154 1941 Stinson SR-9B 'Gullwing' Reliant

The legendary Edward A. "Eddie" Stinson was born in 1894 in Alabama, and upon reading in his early teens of the Wright Brothers first powered flight of the Wright Flyer in 1903 he was hooked on aviation and flying. Living only 38 years, he was a test pilot, colorful barnstormer, military flight instructor, civilian FBO and aircraft designer and manufacturer. Stinson died an untimely death in 1932 in an aircraft crash, but his manufacturing legacy perhaps best lives on in the beautiful and stylishly developed Stinson SR-9 series of eye catching and popular Stinson Reliants built in six models, SR-9A through SR-9F, all powered by successively higher horsepower radial engines. Fuel capacity in all models was 76 gallons. The SR-9 series were the the first Reliants to feature curved windshields and other streamlined refinements. The various engine combinations were as follows:

SR-9A, Lycoming 225 Hp

SR-9B, Lycoming 245 Hp-in the featured N17154

SR-9C, Lycoming 260 Hp

SR-9D, Wright 285 Hp

SR-9E, Wright 350 Hp

SR-9F Wright 450 Hp

The initial SR-5 of the Stinson Reliant series in 1933 evolving from the model R one year after Stinson's death had a double strut straight high wing without the "gullwing" feature and an angular windshield of flat panes. The SR-5 was powered by a 215 horsepower Lycoming R-680 radial and was a four place aircraft, selling for $5,775. The SR-6A Reliant differed in minor details only, starting at $5,995 with the last SR-6 of 1935 still with straight wings. Four different models of the SR-6 were offered, all with Lycoming radial power.

The characteristic beautiful tapered "gullwing" configuration was first built in the 1935 SR-7A Reliant "Gullwing"at $6,485 with Clark Y/M-5 airfoil section and a single strut bracing each high wing. The SR-7 series used a modified SR-6 fuselage and scaled down Stinson Model A compound taper wing. The Stinson Model A of 1933 priced at $37,500 was an early low wing large feeder-line transport design carrying eight passengers with a 60 foot wingspan powered by three Lycoming 260 horsepower radial engines and with gross weight of 10,200 pounds. Earlier Stinson transports in the 1920s seated as many as ten passengers and by 1930 the Stinson Aircraft Corporation was the largest aircraft builder in America, outselling all other cabin airplanes.

Before Stinson's night-time death in a Chicago air crash of a Stinson model R-2 he was demonstrating, he had joined forces with E. L. Cord, the auto manufacturer, to enlarge his aircraft manufacturing business, establishing a large plant in Wayne, Michigan. Cord supplied the funds to enlarge and acquire Stinson with the new Wayne plant built in 1929. Cord subsequently purchased Lycoming Motors. The Stinson Model R was soon advertised as "The Aircraft Standard of the World". Stinson and Cord employed very good aircraft designers and stylists, including Lloyd Skinner, C. R. Irvine and Robert Hall providing classic lines, tractability and performance in the SR-5, SR-6, SR-7, SR-8 and SR-9 series of Reliant aircraft introduced after Stinson's untimely death in January, 1932.

The last of the Reliant series, the 1938 SR-10 was designed by the famed Gordon Israel who is also known for the Howard DGA aircraft with Ben Howard built in Chicago. The SR-10C Reliant with 260 horsepower Lycoming radial sold for $10,995. The military model V-77 Reliant built by Vultee Aircraft for $22,496 (Vultee in 1940 absorbed the Stinson company) for World War II use until 1945 was the culmination of the Reliant line, with some 500 being lend-leased to Great Britain's Royal Navy as navigation trainers in the war. Stinson Aircraft under Vultee designed the 295 horsepower Lycoming radial powered Model 74 for the U. S. Army as the L1 Vigilant at $25,420 built in a Vultee Nashville plant and also the less expensive Model 76, originally the U. S. Army V-76 Sentinel and O-62, finally L-5 liaison aircraft derived from the civilian Model 105 and Model 10 in 1941. The various L-5 versions used either  Lycoming 185 or 190 horsepower O-435 opposed engines. Over 3,600 L-5 were ordered, making the L-5 the most widely used American utility aircraft in World War II. The L-5 contined to serve the new USAF in the Korean War from 1950 onward. A number of L-1 Vigilants and L-5 Sentinels are now in civilian ownership. Vultee merged with Consolidated Aircraft, becoming CONVAIR in San Diego during World war II.

Stinson Reliants are very desirable aircraft with pleasant and easy flying characteristics with the feel of much lighter aircraft. They are highly stable about every axis and give a good ride in turbulent air. They are a good cross-country flyer, having about a 600 mile range with 5 seats standard after the 1938 SR-8B model. Two bucket seats are in front with a sling seat for three behind. The cabin is roomy and comfortable, with two entry doors and an outboard step, similarly found in the big Howards. Instrument panels were nearly always full IFR instrumented with dual semi-wheel controls standard. The wide stance strong main undercarriage uses an oleo strut cantilever leg inside the fuselage to soften landing shock. They are good short field performers. All have streamlined close-cowled engines either smooth or with attractive bump cowls to accommodate the radial engine valve trains.

Records indicate Stinson delivered 200 total sold SR-9 Reliants in the six available radial engine versions. The SR-9 Reliants were the most popular of all the Reliant models, and made excellent early bush aircraft, some serving in Canada and Alaska. 

Today, Stinson Reliants are highly prized and considered a very desirable, stunning appearance vintage aircraft to own and operate. Well kept and restored models always draw admiring crowds at flyins and airshows. I know of several pilots at SZP who have voiced wanting one. The best mated performer and most sought Reliant is perhaps the SR-9C with 260 horsepower Lycoming radial. N17154, as NC17154, an SR-9B photographed by me around 1994 or 1995 at CMA was then owned by an elderly gentleman pilot in failing health and his plane was always flown by a young lady pilot, with the owner as copilot. Her perfect wheel landings in N17154 at SZP and CMA were a joy to behold. They were both fun to talk with about the plane which was in wonderful appearance and condition at that time, making the rounds of Southern California airshows and airports as a sort of last hurrah! They wore leather flying jackets and sported straw hats, making quite a fitting appearance. My old color prints taken with an SLR optical 35mm film camera and scanned into the A-D site do not do justice to the aircraft's beautiful red finish with black accents and striping.

Please click on the top photo to see the N17154 Aircraft Profile page with more photos. In the top photo, the owner is seated and the lady pilot is standing, both wearing straw hats. In the lower photo, the elegant cowl and streamlined landing gear are well shown.

The Stinson firm developed other light aircraft just before World War II, including the Model 105 (HW-75) Voyager of 1939, the Model 10-A Voyager of 1940 leading to the Model 108, 108-1, 108-2 and 108-3 Voyagers and Station Wagons of the post-war era again with the Stinson name built by the Stinson Aircraft Division of the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation.

In 1948, Piper Aircraft of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania purchased the assets of the Stinson Division of the CONVAIR (Consolidated-Vultee) Corporation in San Diego, in a curious deal where no money changed hands, only a Piper stock shares transfer. William T. "Bill" Piper was a shrewd businessman. Two hundred finished Stinson aircraft went to Piper with the deal, which he handily sold in the post-war aviation boom. The Twin-Stinson design, later known and sold as the production Piper PA-23 Apache, also went with the remarkable deal. Piper derived the larger, improved higher horsepower PA-23 Aztec from the Apache design. Such a deal!

SR-9B Reliant Specifications 

Engine: Lycoming R680-6B6-D6 245 Hp air-cooled radial

Accommodation: 5 place

Cabin doors: 2

Landing gear type: Taildragger

Airfoil: Clark Y compound taper "Gull" wing

Wingspan: 41.9 ft.

Wing area: 258 sq. ft.

Wing loading: 14.34 lbs./sq. ft.

Power loading: 15.1 lbs./hp

Overall length: 27.9 ft.

Empty weight: 2,457 lbs.

Gross weight: 3,700 lbs.

Max fuel capacity: 76 gallons

SR-9B Performance

Max speed: 150 mph

Cruise speed: 140 mph

Max rate of climb: 800 ft/min.

Stall speed, flaps up: 52 mph

Max range: 600 miles 

Original price FAF: $12,500