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I'm trying to identify the aircraft in this scene from episode # 014 <2.09> entitled "Survival" of the classic "Dallas" TV series (filmed and broadcast in 1978), which featured the debris after a plane crash. The footage was reused in 1984 as "a day for night" shot for another plane crash in a "Falcon Crest" episode, so this is the last aircraft missing in the "Falcon Crest" database I'm programming.

Please note: I am not sure if the production company used parts of a real aircraft to stage the scene or if this is a complete mock-up. The "SF" logo (for "Southfork Ranch" on "Dallas") is definitely a prop the movie studio’s art department added to the debris.

I have no idea if it is possible to get any clues from the debris about the make and model these parts might have come from -- if these were real airplane parts at all.

Any input is appreciated. Thank you so much for taking a look!

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    $\begingroup$ I agree with Ron. Is your purpose in documenting the actual aircraft flown in the scenes filmed, or what they should be per the plotline? I ask because TV and Movies are well known for mixing and matching the wrong things. i.e. Actors filmed climbing the stairs into one kind of airplane, but different one is later shown supposedly taking off with them inside. Would watching earlier episodes of Dallas clue you in on what type airplane JR owned? $\endgroup$
    – Michael Hall
    Dec 31, 2020 at 1:00
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    $\begingroup$ The fin and rudder with the external ribs is pretty distinctive. There should be prizes for correct answers on these sorts of questions. $\endgroup$
    – John K
    Dec 31, 2020 at 1:59
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    $\begingroup$ @JohnK There is, you can sponsor a bounty. I'm not sure it's distinctive enough though to match to one model, might be able to narrow it down to a few choices... More likely than not it's just some corrugated sheet metal they bent up and painted for this scene. $\endgroup$
    – Ron Beyer
    Dec 31, 2020 at 5:40
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    $\begingroup$ My purpose is not to find out what it should be per the storyline. I am documenting the real aircraft (or, in this case, the parts of a possibly real aircraft) they used for filming. I am doing this for the "Falcon Crest" TV series, which reused this clip, so there's no need to investigate J.R.'s plane in the actual flight scenes on "Dallas" because post-production on "Falcon Crest" simply used this "Dallas" stock footage to illsutrate the crash site after a Grumman Gulfstream II went down -- and it's pretty obvious these parts do not match a Gulfstream at all. $\endgroup$
    – TJP
    Dec 31, 2020 at 9:01
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    $\begingroup$ It also may be that the producers went to a junk yard and bought a wing, tail, and random parts from many different aircraft that don't belong together. $\endgroup$
    – Ron Beyer
    Dec 31, 2020 at 14:31

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I think, based on that tail section, that it looks a lot like a Stinson 108-3. They had large metal tails with horizontal corrugation.

The position of the rear nav light and trim tab (just above the light) allows for enough room below the light for the six rows of corrugation that I count in photos of other 108-3s.

The position of the tail wheel fits, too. It is not too long but it is easily noticable and not buried in, or up close to, the tail.

The wings are metal with fabric covering. 108s were all metal and covered with fabric, except the tails.

The only thing that does not seem to match is the wing rib. The Univair website images for 108 wing root ribs have a very similar outline but do not have what appear to be four holes near the rear edge. They have a single large hole instead. Univair may be selling improved parts, however, and the rib in the video may be a factory original -or- a field manufactured piece as part of a repair that does not match the original.

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    $\begingroup$ Upvoted for the good research, but I too have my doubts because of the wing rib. It doesn't match the pictures in the Univair catalogue and neither does it match pictures of deceased Stinson Voyagers. $\endgroup$
    – DeltaLima ♦
    Jan 6, 2021 at 22:13
  • $\begingroup$ I agree with acpilot. The line of reasoning for the Stinson parts sounds very convincing after re-examining the footage in the episode in comparison with photos of Stinson 108-3 planes. They probably used primarily Stinson parts, but may have added some other wing rib to the debris. $\endgroup$
    – TJP
    Jan 8, 2021 at 7:10

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