The Stoltzfus family of Kidron, Ohio—renowned multigenerational aviators and owners of Preferred Airparts and Priority Air Charter—has announced that their Grumman TBM-3N Avenger, Bureau Number 91637, will be offered for sale through Goodspeed Flying Service of East Haddam, Connecticut.
Built by General Motors’ Eastern Division, TBM-3N 91637, most recently registered as N10164, served with FASRON 3 in 1948 and later with VCN-2 in Key West, Florida, as part of the Fleet All-Weather Training Unit – Atlantic (FAWTULANT). The TBM-3N was a night attack variant of the Avenger, and while details of this aircraft’s wartime service remain limited, its post-war history is well documented.
Pioneering spray pilot Christopher D. Stoltzfus purchased the aircraft in Bainbridge, Maryland, in 1959, adding it to a fleet of gypsy moth spray and fire-bombing aircraft, which included multiple TBMs, DC-3s, and the B-17 that would later become EAA’s Aluminum Overcast. N10164 was never converted and was sold in 1970 to Walter Soplata of Newbury, Ohio, who maintained the aircraft on his farm—home to numerous historic aircraft—for nearly fifty years. The Stoltzfus family reacquired N10164 in 2018, a return celebrated in an EAA feature, and began restoration efforts with the goal of returning the Avenger to airworthiness.
If completed, N10164 would be the only flying TBM-3N in the world. Work to date includes fully rebuilt bomb bay doors ready for installation, restored left wing, horizontal and vertical stabilizers, elevators, rudder, ailerons, flaps, and aft center section, with many other components partially complete. The project includes a Wright R-2600-20 core and a center section jig, and the Stoltzfus family will consider offers to complete the restoration of the right wing for an additional fee.
The TBM Avenger project, along with its associated parts, is available through Goodspeed Flying Service with an asking price of $250,000. Goodspeed has recently facilitated the sale of a 1943 Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina and the acquisition of a Waco CG-4A project, and continues to expand its warbird sales and acquisitions services. For inquiries or additional information, contact Goodspeed Flying Service.
