Dave - Is the guy with whom you spoke in Virginia? Years ago, I was interested in a Stinson, and spoke with a guy in Virginia then representing Franklin as some sort of distributor. He claimed to have some sort of approval to put modern Franklin engines in old Stinsons, to replace the original Franklins in them. I wasn't sold, since all he really had was the bare engine, with no accessories or props. His comment was basically that one should scrounge around the wrecking yards for a prop off of a Maule, and somewhere for the mags, starter, alternator, etc., and assemble the package yourself. Not the way I wanted to do it then, or now. If they've got their act together this time, it might be a good package STC. However, I question the resale value of a coupe so converted. Even though PZL, who now owns Franklin, is an old line Polish company, and they produce good stuff, you still have to deal with the reality of dealing with a former eastern block nation, and their shaky economy, undependable labor situation and U.S. distribution arrangement. I wish that all of these problems with PZL would be solved, because the research that I did back when I was interested in a Stinson pointed to a good engine, but poor backup and security for future parts, etc. Something makes me think that there already is an STC to convert Cessna 150s to this engine, and very few owners have bitten for it. Lastly, with 50+ year old airframes, and all of the corrosion horror stories about problems that can't be discovered even with the recent wing AD, do we really want that much power pulling an airframe originaaly designed for 65hp? Might a less than proficient pilot end up exceeding yellow line, or cruising too fast in rough air, or doing something else that would over stress the airframe? Just a thought to muddle. Jerry Eichenberger Columbus, Ohio N2906H
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