Gov. Trumbull’s Stinson Reliant, Rentschler Field
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Rentschler Field, Conn.
Stinson Aircraft Corporation, Wayne, Michigan
A popular personal plane in the 1930’s. Governor Trumbull of Connecticut owned one.
Specifications from Aero Digest, April, 1935:
• Four-place high-wing monoplane. A TC 537. Lycoming R-680-4 engine, 225 horsepower.
Span 41 feet. Length overall 26 feet 10 inches. Height overall 8 feet 5 inches. Wing area 230 square feet. Chord 80 inches. Power loading 14.8 pounds per horsepower. Wing loading 14.5 pounds per square foot.
Weight empty 2250 pounds. Useful load 1075 pounds. Gross weight 3325 pounds. Fuel capacity 50 gallons. Oil capacity 4 gallons.
Maximum speed 138 miles per hour. Cruising speed 122.8 miles per hour. Rate of climb 725 feet per minute. Service ceiling 14,500 feet. Range 350 miles.
Fuselage: welded steel tube structure, fabric covered. Wing: solid spruce spars; metal ribs, fabric covered; gulled Clark Y section; flaps are of metal construction installed at the trailing edge of the wings between the fuselage and ailerons. Tail group: welded chrome molybdenum steel tubing, fabric covered. Fixed divided type landing gear; each leg is hinged to stubs extending from the fuselage, and is equipped with oleo Aerol shock absorbers, streamlined pants, airwheels and hydraulic brakes.
Standard equipment includes “Selectiv-Glide” (Stinson Speed Arresters) , rear vision mirror, optional landing gear fairing equipment. Two cabin doors, dual wheel control, adjustable pilots’ seats, heat and ventilation controllable by the pilot, 12-volt storage battery, V-type windshield, roll-down safety glass windows, indirectly lighted instrument panel, Eclipse electric starter, Hamilton Standard variable-pitch propeller. When the Lycoming-Smith controllable-pitch propeller is used, gross and useful loads automatically increase 225 pounds. Instruments are mounted on rubber vibration dampeners. A baggage compartment, of ample size to hold bags and golf clubs, may be reached from both inside and outside of the cabin. When the outer door of the compartment is opened a light is automatically switched on.
You can read more about a beautiful 1/5 scale model (100-inch wingspan) of a Stinson Reliant at Team Top Flight Tools.