·:[ Darryl's Coot Building Journal ]:·
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[1 hour] Tuesdays and Wednesdays are busy days for me—I have daytime and evening engagements. In any case, I managed to glue the bottom frame and spreader over the last two days. A couple more days of gluing are still needed for this bulkhead.

[5 hours] Last night and today I began work on the bulkhead at station 80.

I scarffed two pieces of 0.75″ x 1.5″ spruce for the 206-3 top spreader. I finished cutting the 206-7 blocks, and glued them to the 206-2 frame sides (with a 20 degree angle where they attach to the spreader. The plywood web and all gussetts have been cut and finished. And all the rest of the spruce frame is read to go. I trimmed the web to the contour of the hull.

On the bulkhead at station 80, I will use the frame bottom (206-1) because this area takes large loads from hitting waves at 60 mph. Richard Steeves damaged his station 80 by hitting a boat wake during a forced landing. His frame use 1/2″ wide instead of 0.75″ wide spruce. Additionally, he had a much lighter and less-rigid fiberglass hull than the standard fiberglass hull that I am using.

This bulkhead should require a couple of days of gluing.

Coming soon—the bulkheads in the nose assembly.

[1 hour] I finished assembling station 40 last night and today. Here are photos of each side of the complete assembly along with the old station 40 pulled out of my Coot. (Click on photo for a larger image.)

The frame differs from the plans slightly without the bottom frame.

Still to do: (1) cut out the gunwale notches (on assembly), (2) cut out the stringer notches (on the vertical pieces), (3) taper the side supports near the bottom to fit the taper of the hull, (4) trim the excess lengths at the bottom (on installation, and (5) add holes for hardware (on installation).

[1.5 hours] I glued most of the gussets and the plywood webbing on the station 40 bulkhead today. Still a couple of small gussets to go tomorrow. I’ll post a photo then.

[1 hour] I cleaned up the step area—removed the lingering foam. Then I cleaned all of the crud out of the entire hull and took a Shop-vac to the interior.

Question: I wonder if I can use an automotive-type pressure washer on the inside of the hull to clean it out and prep it for glassing in the bulkheads?

Sean Wiens asks the very reasonable question as to whether there are any parts remaining for the Franklin 165. Here is an informative note from a Stinson site (last updated 1/1/04):

(From Joe Dexter) Some parts are becoming difficult to find for
the 150/165 engines, notably pistons and exhaust valves, both of
these items have replacements. I am trying this year to get an
STC for 220 valves in the 150/165 and for a piston manufactured
in Calif. Eventually there will be VERY few parts, I’ll be an
old man by then and will not be able to fly! I replaced the 165
in my airplane with a 220 for the very reason you are concerned
about.

(From Tom Roach) There are shops who continue to provide parts
and overhaul Franklin engines. Call George & Irene Heinly at
(903)626-5122. Other engine rebuilders with some parts are:
Jerry Debs, Grants Pass, Oregon (541)474-2732, Rich Coon
(916)343-7101 Shico, Ca., Rick Hoffman(541)617-0788, Charlie
Hart(315)652-4405. Give these folks a call, I’m sure they can
help. I had my Stinson for 22 yrs and overhauled it twice.
Happy Flying!

(From Larry Westin) The shops below still overhaul the Franklin
engines. While these shops do have parts in some cases they
prefer to keep the parts for their own overhaul business.
Suggest a call can provide specific information. Carl Baker Co.
sells parts only, Rick does not do overhauls any longer.

Li’L Red Aero, Inc.
Don Maxfield
FAA CRS MS2R016L
R.R. 1, Box 120
Municipal Airport
Kearney, Nebraska 68847
(308) 234-1635

Debs Aircraft
Jerry Debs
1348 Brookside Blvd.
Grants Pass, Oregon 97526
(541) 474-2732

Charlie Hart
Winfield Aviation
9074 Henry Clay
Clay, New York 13040
(315) 652-4405

Carl Baker Co.
Rick Hoffman
62980 Boyd Acres Road,
Unit D-2
Bend, Oregon 97701
(541) 617-0788

Coastal Aviation Industries
Connecticut
(203) 748-7303

Charles Sullivan
C&S Engineering
P.O. Box 1112
Bolingbrook, IL 60439
Voice (630) 759-5775
FAX (630) 722-6330

Leggat Aviation Inc.
Toronto Bottonville Airport
Markham, Ontario, CANADA
L3P3J9
(905) 477-7900

Irene Heinley
P.O. Box 482
Country Place Estates
Jewett, Texas 75846
(903) 626-5122

There is an interesting collection of notes on using Franklin engines in Swifts here.

And here are a few notes from this site:
Updated: 1/5/01 by Larry Westin, westin@tdstelme.net:

Larry Westin
233 Pratt Road
Newport, Maine
U.S.A. 04953


Univair Aircraft Holds Type Certificate for Stinson
2500 Himalaya Road 108 aircraft. Has Parts
Aurora, Colorado 80011 Manufacturing Authority for the
(303) 375-8882 Stinson. Source of legitimate
(888) 433-5433 certified parts. Also some
info@univair.com Franklin parts. Thanks to Steve
Splonskowski for Univair's E-Mail.


Li'L Red Aero, Inc. Franklin Engine overhaul and
Don Maxfield parts. Don rebuilt my Franklin
FAA CRS MS2R016L 6A4-165-B3 in March 1995 and I
4975 Airport Rd. am completely satisfied. Don
Kearney, Nebraska 68847 overhauls a large number of
(308) 234-1635 Franklin engines each year. My
thanks to Sam Schell
for updating
L'il Red Aero's street address,
updated 2/2/03.

Debs Aircraft Franklin Engine overhaul and
Jerry Debs parts. A friend with a Stinson
1000 Sunny Glen Way had his engine overhauled,
Sunny Valley, Oregon 97497 reported he does good work.
(541) 474-2732 My Thanks to Scott Barer at
for the
correct address for Debs AC.
Updated 7/23/02, my thanks to
Don Hughes at
for
this update.

FYI Note: Li'l Red Aero (and I believe Jerry Debs) void their
warranty when auto fuel is used. Other suppliers
(notably the fuel tank service who sealed my fuel tanks)
have also indicated NOT to use auto fuel. I have always
used aviation fuel and cannot comment directly about
using auto fuel in the Stinson.

Richard Coon Aviaiton Services Franklin overhauls, repairs,
4181 Wookey Yellow tagged cylinders. Factory
Chico, Calif. authorized service on PZL Franklin
(916) 343-7101 engines. Can supply factory direct
rgcas@inreach.com new engines. My thanks to Richard
Coon for this
info.
Update 3/31/99 - It is reported
that Richard Coon is pursing other
interests. Still has some parts
available, but no longer overhauls
engines.

Charlie Hart Used to work for Franklin, does
Winfield Aviation overhauls, knows his business.
9074 Henry Clay It is reported that Charlie
Clay, New York 13040 does good work.
(315) 652-4405

Carl Baker Co. Large selection of Franklin parts.
Rick Hoffman Rick previously overhauled Franklin
62980 Boyd Acres Road, engines and is very knowledgeable
Unit D-2 about Franklins. All the special
Bend, Oregon 97701 tooling for overhauls was sold to
(541) 617-0788 Don Maxfield of Li'L Red Aero.

Coastal Aviation Industries Overhauls Franklin engines & does
Connecticut cylinders, some Franklin parts.
(203) 748-7303

Charles Sullivan Franklin Engine parts. Charlie
C&S Enginery Co. Sullivan, owner of C&S Enginery, is
500 N. Broadway St. a full time airline employee who
Joliet, IL 60435 also teaches at an A&P mechanic
Voice/FAX (815) 722-6330 school. He visits the shop a
times a week. Other times he can
be reached at home (630) 759-5775.
There is an answering machine,
Please leave a message. Charlie
Does have gasket sets and many
Other parts for the Franklin
150/165. My thanks to Charlie
Sullivan
for sending me this update 1/14/01.

Leggat Aviation Ltd. Franklin Engine parts. My thanks
Toronto Buttonville Airport to Peter Mather
2833 16th Avenue, for
Box 220 Hangar 12 updating the area code. And to
Markham, Ontario, CANADA Kate Leggat for correcting several
L3R 0P8 errors. Updated 7/10/00.
Voice (905) 477-7900
FAX (905) 477-8937
E-mail leggatav@yesic.com
Homepage http://www.leggataviation.com

Susan Prall - Owner Franklin Parts and service. My
A-1 Service thanks to Paul Foster
300 PR 5881-A Jewett, Texas 75846 for this entry. Added 8/12/04.
Phone (903) 626-5115
Fax (903) 626-6658
http://www.franklinparts.com

Reed Cams Regrinds and rebuilds Franklin
Dave Keyton and Lycoming camshafts.
170 Andrew Drive My thanks to Dave Keyton at
Stockbridge, GA 30281-6367 for this
(770) 474-6664 update.

Harrison Engine Services Franklin cylinder repair. Able to
301 Detroit St. chrome 65 HP cylinders. My thanks
Porte, Indiana 46350 to Jeff Friedrichs at
(800) 348-0257
(219) 362-9707 for this information.

Mr. Bedford. Mr. Bedford has available an
Universal Tow All alternator for installation in the
3719 Commercial Way Stinson. Also has an alternator/
Spring Hill, Fl. 34606 vacuum pump combination. Requires
(352) 666-2929 FAA field approval. My thanks to
Robert Skinner
for providing this information.

Bill Snavely From STINPILOT@aol.com - Recovered
115 Heinley Rd. my Stinson N367C and overhauled my
Lake Placid, FL. engine. Does good work and stands
(863) 465-6101 behind his work. My thanks to Bob
Boone at for
updating the area code rev. 64.

Bruce Kown Bruce Kown is retired (35 yrs) from
Classic Aire Lockheed Martin. Although
Cartersville, GA primarily doing STC'ed installs of
Franklin engines in Cessnas, he
770-386-7435 is supporting a lot of Stinson
requests. Overhauls on 180 and 220
Franklins, has factory tooling and
The experience. Added 5/14/00.

Franklin Aircraft Engines, Inc. New Franklin 220HP engine, also
136 Racquette Dr. STC's to install the engines in
Ft. Collins, CO 80524 the Stinson 108-1, 108-2 and 108-3.
Phone: 970-224-4404 My thanks to David C. Rogers,
Fax: 970-493-9266 for
e-mail franklin@ezlink.com this update. Added 6/17/01.
http://www.franklinengines.com

Kim Whiteside Kim has large number of parts
email kdw@uec-electronics.com Available for the Stinson 108 and
Phone 843-552-8682 x205 Franklin engine. Email him for a
List. My Thanks to R Lipinski
, updated
8/30/03.

Greg Lucas Major overhaul on Franklin engines.
221 N. Pecan St. Reported to perform good work.
Pauls Valley, Ok 73075 My thanks to Howie Gretencord at
Phone (405) 268-3925 for this entry.
Added 06/12/05.

Velocity Shoppe Works on Eiseman magnetos. My
724 Britton Rd NE Thanks to Howie Gretencord at
El Reno, Ok. 73035-9520 for this entry.
Phone (405) 422-5900 Added 06/12/05.

Here is a supplier of light-weight starters for the Franklin engines.

Sean Wiens made the excellent suggestion that I display recent comments on the sidebar so that people don’t have to fish through old posts to spot recent comments and active posts. I found a plugin for the blogging software (WordPress) that does the trick.

Thanks, Sean, for the suggestion!

I also added local weather to the sidebar—just to keep everyone interested in weather and the Puget Sound region. Additionally, I added a search box on the sidebar and I added a comment preview function.

Unfortunately, I have not done much building for the last couple of days. I have had a very productive email exchange with Sean Wiens. Additionally, I had a very nice chat with Richard Steeves yesterday.

I’ll get back to building before the evening is through, however.

[0.5 hours] I did the second round of gluing together of station 40. Tomorrow I will add the web and gussetts.

[1.5 hours] I removed the step vents today. This involved removing the fiberglass cover, digging out the pour-in-place foam, and then removing PVC pipes. Still clean-up to do, and then the vent holes in the hull must be filled.

[1.5 hours] Today, I jigged up and glued the spruce frame for the bulkhead at station 40. This bulkhead will take three gluing passes.

[2 hour] I glued up station 63 last night and today. Here is a photo of the complete assembly along with the old station 63 that I pulled out of my Coot. (Click on photo for a larger image.)

The frame differs from the plans slightly without the bottom frame.

Still to do: (1) cut out the gunwale notches (on assembly), (2) cut out the stringer notches (on the vertical pieces), (3) taper the side supports near the bottom to fit the taper of the hull, and (4) add holes for hardware (on assembly).

[4.5 hours] Last night and today, I reconditioned the old bulkhead at station 40 so that it fits properly into the hull. I then used the old bulkhead to layout all plywood parts. The web was carefully fit to the hull. Except for cutting the vertical frame sides, all wood parts have been cut for this bulkhead.