1934 SR-5 Stinson
Tom Rench of Racine, Wis., had the distinct honor of sitting in the left seat of the 1934 SR-5 Stinson, which he once own. Rench bought the airplane and had it trucked to Wisconsin from Alaska in the 1980s before selling it to Keith Swalheim (right) of Cottage Grove, Wis. in 1988. Swalheim restored the aircraft to better-than-new condition with the help of his friends, but he did most of the work himself.
After 35 years sitting idle, Keith Swalheim of Cottage Grove, Wisconsin, recently completed a 7-year restoration project of his 1934 SR-5 Stinson with the help of his friends at the Stoughton and Brodhead, Wisconsin airports. Swalheim, a retired truck driver by profession, bought the plane in 1988 from Tom Rench of Racine, who saw an ad in Trade-A-Plane by a broker who was selling it for Richard Lee, a gold miner in Nome, Alaska. The plane was actively flown in Alaska from 1946-77.
Rench said that the Stinson was flyable when he bought it, but decided not to take any chances and had it trucked from Alaska to Wisconsin where he eventually sold it to Swalheim for $14,500.
(L/R) Aircraft restorers Roger Amundson, Bill Amundson, Keith Swalheim, Dick Weeden, and Otis Lokken with Swalheim’s 1934 SR-5 Stinson in Stoughton, Wisconsin.
“I got a lot of pride doing most of the restoration work myself,” said Swalheim, “although I got a lot of help from my friends, especially Bill Amundson of Stoughton.” Amundson’s restoration work is known worldwide. Dick Weeden of Brodhead, Wis. took care of the paperwork to meet FAA recertification requirements. Aircraft restorers Roger Amundson of Stoughton, and Otis Lokken of Madison, also had their hands in the project. It was a total team effort with Swalheim at the helm!
“It was too big of a project for one person,” said Swalheim, who wished the plane could talk so it could share stories flying in the Alaskan bush. It was a ground-up restoration. Most of the wood in the aircraft had to be replaced, as did the interior, and of course the fabric, and the engine was completely rebuilt. The finished product is showroom quality!
Swalheim owns an private airstrip in Cottage Grove, Wis., but stores the Stinson elsewhere because it is too large to fit in his hangar. He is looking forward to flying the plane to Phoeniz, Arizona yet this fall, where he hopes to put a few hours on it before eventually selling it. There are less than 10 model SR-5s in the world, and fewer flying.
Barely missing putting the aircraft on display at EAA AirVenture 2012, Swalheim held an open house for the plane at the Stoughton Airport on August 11, which attracted a couple hundred close friends and relatives. Among the special guests was Tom Rench, who had to take a few minutes to sit in the plane alone, and contemplate what it would have been like to have done the restoration himself.
