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Meet the aircraft
Stinson developed the L-5 for military liaison work. It served US forces and the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, using a light high-wing airframe and tandem cabin for observation, communications and front-line support. Some versions carried casualties.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A bare cockpit hides surprisingly pleasant controls
Climbing into the Sentinel meant hauling himself past the gear and steel tubes to a high seat in a very plain cockpit. Davisson remembered the sunlight, shadows and engine noise as part of its character. The appearance suggested crude controls, but the aircraft surprised him with how pleasantly it responded in the air. One memorable flight followed the purchase of a tired G-model from the Civil Air Patrol.
Airbum pilot report. Includes a G-model bought from the Civil Air Patrol; recollections span more than one L-5, with no single flight date established.
Airbum · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube danam0228 · 19 min ·
Stinson L-5/OY-1 Sentinel & Fieseler Fi-156 Storch flying demonstration at American Heritage Museum
A joint display features the Stinson L-5/OY-1 and Fieseler Storch.
Mixed aircraft · Stinson L-5/OY-1 and Fieseler Fi-156
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Stinson L-5 Sentinel
Stinson developed the L-5 for military liaison work. It served US forces and the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, using a light high-wing airframe and tandem cabin for observation, communications and front-line support. Some versions carried casualties.
Stinson L-5 Sentinel
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
A military design with work beyond observation
James H. Gray’s type history describes the L-5 as purpose-built, despite roots in earlier Stinson designs. Courier and artillery-observation duties expanded to medical evacuation, reconnaissance and supply work. He also distinguishes its advanced liaison training role from the primary training assigned to smaller L-birds.
Sentinel Owners and Pilots Association · Stinson’s Venerable Flying Jeep ↗Sentinel type-history account · 2021; conflicting first-flight dates not selected
Development milestones
First flight: 28 June 1941
Developed from: Stinson Model 75B
Wikipedia contributors · Stinson L-5 Sentinel ↗Stinson L-5 Sentinel · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1338047388
Pilot accounts
A bare cockpit hides surprisingly pleasant controls
Climbing into the Sentinel meant hauling himself past the gear and steel tubes to a high seat in a very plain cockpit. Davisson remembered the sunlight, shadows and engine noise as part of its character. The appearance suggested crude controls, but the aircraft surprised him with how pleasantly it responded in the air.
One memorable flight followed the purchase of a tired G-model from the Civil Air Patrol. A circuit to check it over quickly renewed his appreciation of its handling. Quieter pleasures mattered too: open windows, a breeze and a broad view of the ground. He advised taking comfort seriously, with cushions and an intercom making a substantial difference to enjoying time in an otherwise austere aircraft.
Airbum pilot report. Includes a G-model bought from the Civil Air Patrol; recollections span more than one L-5, with no single flight date established.
Read the full account · Airbum ↗An Italian gliding club becomes a second flying home
While living in Milan, Haslbeck found a flying home with the gliding club at Alzate. When the club acquired a Sentinel, Riccardo Brigliadori offered to teach him to fly it. Closer inspection made the aircraft rather more imposing than the small liaison aeroplanes he had expected.
Only afterwards did he fully appreciate his instructor’s trust: from the rear seat, Brigliadori had no brakes with which to rescue an untidy ground run. Haslbeck came to value the aircraft’s steadiness while towing gliders, despite its restricted forward view and appetite for fuel. Returning to Alzate for a later gathering reunited him with a familiar aircraft and a community that still found practical work for these old machines.
fliegermagazin · May 2013. Recollections of L-5 checkout and glider towing at Alzate; the account discusses uprated Italian aircraft, not a standard-engine-only evaluation.
Read the full account · fliegermagazin ↗Two friends bring Stinsy to the gathering
Schönenberger and Nietlispach arrived with stories, aircraft-history brochures and the easy humour of old friends. They often took Stinsy to events together, including a Swiss military-vehicle gathering where the short field suited the aircraft’s particular strengths. Schönenberger admired its low-speed behaviour while acknowledging the attention a crosswind could demand.
For the photographic flight near Hahnweide, Schönenberger flew the Sentinel alongside the photographer’s Cessna after a detailed briefing. Prinzing watched him hold position and respond carefully to signals, then described the relaxed return in the evening light.
Philipp Prinzing’s September 2017 report. CAF Swiss Wing’s N121MC with fellow L-5 pilot Ferdi Nietlispach; Prinzing photographed it from a Cessna 140.
Read the full account · Flug Revue ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →X-Plane 12Stinson L-5 Sentinel
Laminar Research · Released
Stinson L-5 Sentinel
Laminar Research · Released
X-Plane 11Stinson L-5 Sentinel
Laminar Research · Released
Stinson L-5 Sentinel
Laminar Research · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 24 ft 1 in (7.34 m) |
| Wingspan | 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m) |
| Height | 7 ft 11 in (2.41 m) |
| Wing area | 155 sq ft (14.4 m² ) |
| Empty weight | 1,550 lb (703 kg) approx |
| Gross weight | 2,250 lb (1,021 kg) civilian limit |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,250 lb (1,021 kg) civilian limit |
| Powerplant | 1 × Lycoming O-435 6-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston engine, 185 hp (138 kW) (O-435-1) 190 (O-435-11) |
| Propellers | 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller |
| Maximum speed | 130 mph (210 km/h, 110 kn) level flight |
| Cruise speed | 100 mph (160 km/h, 87 kn) to 110 mph |
| Stall speed | 42 mph (68 km/h, 36 kn) power off, 38 mph power on |
| Range | 375 mi (604 km, 326 nmi) no reserve |
| Service ceiling | 15,800 ft (4,800 m) |
| Rate of climb | 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s) at sea level |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Pilot account
A bare cockpit hides surprisingly pleasant controlsAirbum pilot report. Includes a G-model bought from the Civil Air Patrol; recollections span more than one L-5, with no single flight date established.
Climbing into the Sentinel meant hauling himself past the gear and steel tubes to a high seat in a very plain cockpit. Davisson remembered the sunlight, shadows and engine noise as part of its character. The appearance suggested crude controls, but the aircraft surprised him with how pleasantly it responded in the air. One memorable flight followed the purchase of a tired G-model from the Civil Air Patrol. A circuit to check it over quickly renewed his appreciation of its handling.
Budd Davisson
Airbum · Read the source ↗An Italian gliding club becomes a second flying homefliegermagazin · May 2013. Recollections of L-5 checkout and glider towing at Alzate; the account discusses uprated Italian aircraft, not a standard-engine-only evaluation.
While living in Milan, Haslbeck found a flying home with the gliding club at Alzate. When the club acquired a Sentinel, Riccardo Brigliadori offered to teach him to fly it. Closer inspection made the aircraft rather more imposing than the small liaison aeroplanes he had expected. Only afterwards did he fully appreciate his instructor’s trust: from the rear seat, Brigliadori had no brakes with which to rescue an untidy ground run.
Ludwig Haslbeck
fliegermagazin · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
X-Plane 12 Desktop ManualLaminar Research X-Plane aircraft and avionics manualsLaminar Research X-Plane 11 Desktop ManualLaminar ResearchAircraft background
Stinson L-5 SentinelWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1338047388 · retrieved 2026-09-12 Stinson’s Venerable Flying JeepSentinel Owners and Pilots Association · James H. Gray · 2021Type designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 1 profile choice
Stinson L-5 Sentinel
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
Stinson L-5 Sentinel: The chosen response supplies light utility-aircraft resistance.
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