From hurricane damage to back in the air
Stinson pilot transforms wrecked aircraft into showstopper
Jody Jones is a tailwheel pilot who enjoys the views and taking his family on flights for lunch or dinner. He does a lot of back country flying and camping. He looked at several different aircraft when first getting into aircraft ownership and decided that Stinsons best fit the "mission."
He is now the president of the International Stinson Club, an owners group dedicated to supporting the Stinson brand and keeping Stinsons in the air.
In October 2020, a hurricane-damaged V77 Gull Wing called to Jody. The insurance company wanted to take the engine off and scrap the plane, but Jody and some friends took the wings off the airplane, put it on a trailer, and brought it home to be rebuilt.
Private pilot and A&P mechanic Ken Howard worked with Jody to rebuild the airplane and design the avionics panel. Jody wanted to stay true to the original panel design with the round AV-30s and EI CGR-30s for the engine monitors.
Jody also went with a Garmin GDL 52 and aera 660 to display SiriusXM Aviation weather. He says it is important to have SiriusXM weather, especially in a low-and-slow antique airplane like a Stinson. He can’t outrun the weather, so SiriusXM gives him choices of whether to put the plane on the ground, divert, or continue along his planned route of flight.
Ken will tell you that there is a lot of satisfaction in achieving milestones such as lighting up the instrument panel for the first time when rebuilding an airplane, but you really don’t get full closure until you take it out to the end of the runway and put it back in the air again.
Watch Jody and Ken tell their rebuild story themselves.
If you’re like Jody and need SiriusXM Aviation weather for your next flight, check out a Garmin SiriusXM portable weather receiver. Plus, if you purchase an eligible receiver before July 31 and activate it with a SiriusXM Aviation subscription, you can receive a $400 rebate. The Garmin SiriusXM portable weather receivers are compatible with the Garmin Pilot and ForeFlight apps. To find out which portable receiver is right for you, visit sportys.com/sxmoffer.
