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Experiencing That Shaky Feeling

Up a creek and down a paddle: A Stinson trip to Alaska

Some mechanical assistance with an antique Franklin engine was needed on a Stinson 108 trek to Alaska. [Courtesy: Sam Weigel]
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • While flying over remote Canadian wilderness en route to Alaska, the author's Stinson 108 experienced a sudden engine cylinder failure, forcing an emergency flight plan.
  • The pilot and his wife successfully navigated the ailing aircraft to Burns Lake airport, where they managed to source parts and a mechanic to repair a broken rocker arm.
  • Although the Alaska trip was aborted due to renewed distrust in the engine, the experience provided valuable lessons in emergency preparedness and Canadian flight operations, with plans to reattempt the journey in the future.
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The change, when it came, was immediate and profound.

One second, my wife, Dawn, and I were enjoying our lofty morning view of the hundred miles of mountainous Canadian wilderness stretching out before us with our Stinson 108’s Franklin engine purring steadily along as we crossed the slender ribbon of water that marked the end of roaded civilization. The next second, the purr abruptly devolved to a ragged staccato, the tachometer dropped several hundred rpm, and the rugged hinterlands of British Columbia took on a Gaussian blur as the vibration of the engine shook the entire airframe and hence my eyeballs. 

Sam Weigel

Sam Weigel has been an airplane nut since an early age, and when he's not flying the Boeing 737 for work, he enjoys going low and slow in vintage taildraggers. He and his wife live west of Seattle, where they are building an aviation homestead on a private 2,400-foot grass airstrip.

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