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His and Hers Stinsons

His airplane, named Li’l Red, is a 1947 Stinson 108-1. Her airplane, named Ruby, is a burgundy 1947 Stinson 108-2. Meg Godlewski
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The Stinson 108, an iconic post-WWII "flying station wagon," played a pivotal role in bringing Lissa and Steve Smith together.
  • Both Lissa and Steve independently purchased their Stinson 108s ("Ruby" and "Li'l Red," respectively) in the late 1990s for family travel, with Steve even buying his from the same seller as Lissa.
  • After connecting through their shared aviation interest, they married in 2008, continuing to fly their individual Stinsons often to the same destinations.
  • Their relationship is built on mutual respect for each other's piloting abilities and a deep, shared passion for aviation and vintage aircraft.
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The Stinson 108 is one of the more iconic designs to come out of the post-World War II aviation boom. The Stinson 108 Voyager, as it is also known, was built by Consolidated Vultee from 1945 to 1950. The aircraft has a distinctive curved yoke and tear-drop shaped wheel pants, harkening back to a time when aircraft often looked more like pieces of sculpture than modes of transportation. Some might go so far as to call the Stinson 108 a romantic design.

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.

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