1929 Ford Tri-Motor Terrific photos!

[deanglen]

This was e-mailed to me this AM. Absolutely stunning photographs of a restored 1929 Ford Tri-motor aircraft:http://www.ipass.net/ginkgo/N9612home.html

dean

 

[Speedster]

Waauw, absolutely fantastic. Thanks for posting, dean.
I'm very tempted but i'm afraid that the asking price of USD 2,700,000 is way too much for my budget.

 

[Harry Pierpont]

Hey MK!

This would make the perfect "Official Fedora Lounge Plane" it could fly around and pick up loungers who want to go to far off FL events. Free of charge of course!

 

[Flivver]

My all-time favorite airliner!

Now if only there was a way to come up with $2.7M....actually, I'd be thrilled just to fly in it!

Thanks for posting those wonderful pictures!

 

[MrNewportCustom]

Thank you, deanglen! Fantastic photos! Beautiful aircraft!

And I agree with Harry Pierpont. Maybe if we took up a collection to buy it for MK and the Lounge.


Lee
_______________________

I can already hear one or two of the lovely Ladies of the Lounge saying, "Welcome aboard Air Fedora."

 

[dostacos]

the photos are great, since I will only be getting as close as making a model they will come in handy

 

[Rooster]

I had a ride in on of those in the late 60's. My mother had taken me to an air show and they were offering rides for some outrageous amount of money (for the time). How she ever afforded it is beyond me. I remember several things about that flight. The smell and the fact that the whole thing seemed to want to vibrate apart. It was incredibly noisy too!

 

[Twitch]

Amazing ship! A great tribute to the skills of the rebuilders how something that old can not only still fly but look perfect.

 

[Fletch]

< snark >

This was a no concession, no compromise restoration [...] Exhaustive efforts were made to ensure originality in every detail with assistance from Tim O'Callaghan of the Henry Ford Museum and American Aircraft Historian Bill Larkins, author of "The Ford Tri-Motor" book. Also assisting were Retired Eastern Airlines Captain Bob Beitel and Retired Admiral Witte Freeman of the Virginia Aviation Museum.

And with all that help, they still got the type conspicuously screwed up.
Is there some FAA regulation that every flyable aircraft must display stick-on Helvetica lettering in a prominent place?

The Tri-Motor spec plate, lovingly re-created in 1988 vintage Monotype Symphony.

Sorry But: Going to all this work and dedication to resurrect "every detail" of a vintage machine and then missing out on something glaringly obvious is kinda lame. I am willing to bet the restoration team did not include any of the following:
a) a woman;
b) a Japanese person;
c) a graphic designer;
d) a flight jacket fanatic.

< / snark >

Other than that, I am beside myself seeing this beautiful airplane and imagining it aloft, and wondering whether you can see the ground below you when you flush the toilet.

 

[dhermann1]

Just out of curiosity

Just out of curiosity, who can give us a comparison of the specs of the Ford Tri-motor vs. the Fokker Tri-motor?

 

[staggerwing]

This would make the perfect "Official Fedora Lounge Plane" it could fly around and pick up loungers who want to go to far off FL events. Free of charge of course!

If an official Fedora Lounge pilot is needed, I volunteer!

 

[ShortClara]

WOW - now I have to admit, cars & planes are not my passion, but that is exceptional! I gasped when I saw the luxurious inside! Thanks!! I have forwarded to my Pop, who will enjoy that very much :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Akubra Guy]

I've flown in the old "Tin Goose" on more than one occasion when one was being used as a shuttle plane between the Lake Erie Islands. It is truly an experience that one will never forget! Crude, noisy and slow by todays standards it is still an amazing machine and I would like another chance to fly in one again. There were several planes running in the shuttle service--a De Haviland Beaver and Otter which I've flown in also but many times I waited for the "Goose " to return so I could take her over to the Islands.

Sadly on one trip over she crash landed on the Put-In-Bay airstrip. I think she clipped a pole or something on approach with a wing and cartwheeled tearing it to pieces. Believe it or not they salvaged the pieces and put it back together, and it went back into service for a short period until the insurance premiums forced them to sell the old girl. This happened in the early 80's. Last I heard she is still flying. They are tough old birds.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

Think they'd take a check?

 

[Tommy Fedora]

Super photos.
My Dad had told me that when he was a boy he would bicycle down to Teterboro Airport in NJ with his friends to watch the Ford Tri-Motors land and take off. He said the wings would flap so much when it landed it looked like a bird.
I'll have to show him the pictures.
Thanks.

 

[The Wingnut]

And with all that help, they still got the type conspicuously screwed up.
Is there some FAA regulation that every flyable aircraft must display stick-on Helvetica lettering in a prominent place?

You ain't kidding. I suppose nobody knows what Century Gothic is anymore, nor does anyone know where to find a sign painter!

...when I was deciding on paint schemes for my car, part of the consideration was to have a local sign painter do part of it, as there's no way in hell I'm using vinyl!

 

[dhermann1]

I've flown in the old "Tin Goose" on more than one occasion when one was being used as a shuttle plane between the Lake Erie Islands. It is truly an experience that one will never forget! Crude, noisy and slow by todays standards it is still an amazing machine and I would like another chance to fly in one again. There were several planes running in the shuttle service--a De Haviland Beaver and Otter which I've flown in also but many times I waited for the "Goose " to return so I could take her over to the Islands.

Sadly on one trip over she crash landed on the Put-In-Bay airstrip. I think she clipped a pole or something on approach with a wing and cartwheeled tearing it to pieces. Believe it or not they salvaged the pieces and put it back together, and it went back into service for a short period until the insurance premiums forced them to sell the old girl. This happened in the early 80's. Last I heard she is still flying. They are tough old birds.

My girlfriend's brother was at an auto race on one of those Lake Erie Islands many years ago, and told of seeing this plane in action. It was alternating with a Boeing 247 shuttling people to the mainland. He said that every time the Tri-motor landed the mechanics took the starboard engine apart, fixed something that seemed to be constantly coming loose, and put the cover back on the motor. Not something to inspire confidence. He was anticipating a ride on one of those two historic aircraft, but then his turm came up and he wound up on a plain old Cessna. Ah, well.
BTW, I think that cockpit shot should have been held out for the "Identify this aircraft - from the inside" thread. Oh, well.
A friend of mine of my mother's generation rode across the country in a Ford Tri-motor when she was 7 years old, in 1927. She thought it was no big deal. Imagine!

 

[Fletch]

Army Tri-Motor

The Army Air Corps took delivery of sixteen Tin Geese between 1929 and '31. These were designated C-3 (4-AT) and C-4 (5-AT). The C-3s were later re-engined as C-9s.

The Fords were assigned one or two to an airbase as supply ships. They were notable for flying air mail during a notorious period in 1934 when that task fell to the Air Corps. The Army pilots suffered many crashes, including the loss of one Ford, and commercial carriers soon resumed flying mail.

The last of the Tri-Motors left Air Corps service in 1938, by which time the AAC had begun using DC-2s and -3s.

C-4A, ca. 1937 (more pix here)

 

[RAF Man]

Just out of curiosity, who can give us a comparison of the specs of the Ford Tri-motor vs. the Fokker Tri-motor?

General characteristics

Fokker F.VIIb Tri-Motor
Crew: 2
Capacity: 8 passengers
Length: 47 ft 11in (14.60m)
Wingspan: 71 ft 2in (21.70 m)
Height: 12 ft 8 in (3.90 m)
Empty weight: 6,725 lb (3,050 kg)
Loaded weight: 11,570 lb (5,200 kg)
Powerplant: 3?ó Wright J-5 Whirlwind radial engines, 300 hp (224 kW) each
Cruise Speed 92 kts (170 km/h)
Range: 691 nm (1,280 km)
Maiden flight: 1924

Ford Tri-Motor
Crew: Two plus
Capacity: 8 passengers
Length: 50 ft 3 in (15.32 m)
Wingspan 77 ft 10 in (23.72 m)
Height: 12 ft 8 in (3.86 m)
Empty weight: 7,840 lb (3,560 kg)
Loaded weight: 10,130 lb (4,590 kg)
Powerplant: 3?ó Pratt & Whitney Wasp C 9-cylinder radial engines, 420 hp (313 kW) each
Maximum Speed 150 mph (241 km/h)
Cruise Speed 90 mph (145 km/h)
Range 550 mi (885 km)
Introduction 1929