Home       Aeronca    Stinson                                                                                                               ... by John Baker

I received information from Stinson owner Jack Smits about a potentially dangerous situation with the oil dipstick on his Franklin powered Stinson. Here's his story:
 

I don't know if this has happened before or is known to any of the other Stinson owners.

As part of startup checks, we found the oil dip stick of the Franklin 165 broken off. It had dropped into the engine sump, and broke off at the engine end of the screw in-section. We were able to get a magnet and retrieve the dipstick that had lodged 1-2 inches down into the sump and presumably was held up by sump baffles or extension of the oil tube without being hit by the crankshaft. In looking at the break, it was hard to say, but it appeared there was a cavity/impurity in the steel rod.

You may want to pass on this information to unsuspecting Franklin owners, to prevent in-flight engine failure.

Jack J. Smits
E-mail: jack_smits@manulife.com