Stinson Detroiter

The Stinson SM-1 Detroiter was a six-seat high-wing monoplane cabin airliner for passengers or freight designed and built by the Stinson Aircraft Company, later the Stinson Aircraft Corporation. It was based on the earlier Stinson's earlier SB-1 biplane.

The first design from the Detroit-based Stinson Aircraft Syndicate was the Stinson SB-1 Detroiter, a cabin biplane with novel features such as cabin heating, individual wheel brakes and electric starter for the nose-mounted 220 hp (164 kW) Wright J-5 Whirlwind engine. It made its first flight on January 25, 1926, with 26 aircraft following the prototype.

Eddie Stinson believed that a monoplane would be more popular and efficient than a biplane and so tasked William C. Naylor to design a monoplane derivative of the SB-1. The resulting design, the Stinson SM-1 Detroiter, had a fuselage based on that of the SB-1, but stretched to accommodate six seats, and a high mounted monoplane wing, and first flew in April 1927. The SM-1 made a number of significant long-range flights.

Seventy-five of the Wright J-5-powered versions were built, followed by 30 Wright J-6-powered aircraft. From 1928, SM-1 aircraft were used on scheduled services by Paul Braniff's Braniff Air Lines and by Northwest Airways.

In 1930 a SM-1FS with a crew of three reached Bermuda from New York City, the first flight ever to the islands. Getting there the aircraft had to land twice, once because of darkness and later after running out of fuel. With a wing strut damaged, it was shipped back to New York.

E.L. Cord's personal SM-7 was operated for several years during/after World War II by Western Air Express with (illegally) a 450 hp (340 kW) Pratt; subsequently restored in 1980–2020 with a legal 300 hp Lycoming R-680.

In 1928 Stinson developed the smaller SM-2 Junior model to appeal to private owners.

Data from U.S. Civil Aircraft Vol. 2