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Ford Trimotor

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox aircraft

The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made.<ref name="Herrick 2004" /> It was designed for the civil aviation market, but also saw service with military units.

Design and developmentEdit

File:NC8407 Ford 4-AT Tri-Motor MD2.jpg
Modernized Ford Trimotor interior

In the early 1920s, Henry Ford, along with a group of 19 others including his son Edsel, invested in the Stout Metal Airplane Company. Stout, a bold and imaginative salesman, sent a mimeographed form letter to leading manufacturers, blithely asking for $1,000 with the line, "For your one thousand dollars you will get one definite promise: You will never get your money back" to convince them. Stout raised $20,000, including $1,000 each from Edsel and Henry Ford.<ref>"Ford Trimotor." Template:Webarchive Smithsonian. Retrieved: July 14, 2010.</ref>

In 1925, Ford bought Stout and its aircraft designs. The single-engined Stout monoplane was turned into a trimotor, the Stout 3-AT with three Curtiss-Wright air-cooled radial engines. After a prototype was built and test-flown with poor results, the "4-AT" and "5-AT" emerged.

The Ford Trimotor using all-metal construction was not a revolutionary concept, but it was certainly more advanced than the standard construction techniques of the 1920s. The aircraft resembled the Fokker F.VII Trimotor (except for being all metal which Henry Ford claimed made it "the safest airliner around").<ref name= "Winchester p. 151.">Winchester 2004, p.151.</ref> Its fuselage and wings followed a design pioneered by Junkers<ref>Larkins 1992, p.29</ref> during World War I with the Junkers J.I and used postwar in a series of airliners starting with the Junkers F.13 low-wing monoplane of 1920 of which a number were exported to the US, the Junkers K 16 high-wing airliner of 1921, and the Junkers G 24 trimotor of 1924. All of these were constructed of aluminum alloy, which was corrugated for added stiffness, although the resulting drag reduced its overall performance.<ref name= "Winchester p. 150."/> So similar were the designs that Junkers sued and won when Ford attempted to export an aircraft to Europe.<ref name=LarkinsLawsuit>Larkins 1992, pp.154–156</ref> In 1930, Ford countersued in Prague, and despite the possibility of anti-German sentiment, was decisively defeated a second time, with the court finding that Ford had infringed upon Junkers' patents.<ref name=LarkinsLawsuit />

Although designed primarily for passenger use, the Trimotor could be easily adapted for hauling cargo, since its seats in the fuselage could be removed. To increase cargo capacity, one unusual feature was the provision of "drop-down" cargo holds below the lower inner wing sections of the 5-AT version.<ref name= "Winchester p. 151."/><ref>"Plane Carries Mail In Wing To Increase Load"(photo of under wing cargo carriers). Popular Mechanics, February 1931.</ref>

File:FordTriMotorCorrugatedWing.jpg
Corrugated wing of a 1929 Ford 4-AT-E Trimotor

One 4-AT with Wright J-4 200-hp engines was built for the U.S. Army Air Corps as the C-3, and seven with Wright R-790-3 (235 hp) as C-3As. The latter were upgraded to Wright R-975-1 (J6-9) radials at 300 hp and redesignated C-9. Five 5-ATs were built as C-4s or C-4As.

The original (commercial production) 4-AT had three air-cooled Wright radial engines. It carried a crew of three: a pilot, a copilot, and a stewardess, as well as eight or nine passengers <ref group="N"> Up to 12 passengers could be accommodated in special configurations.</ref>.<ref name= "Winchester p. 151."/> The later 5-AT had more powerful Pratt & Whitney engines. All models had an aluminum corrugated sheet-metal body and wings. Unlike many aircraft of this era, extending through World War II, its control surfaces (ailerons, elevators, and rudders) were not fabric covered, but were also made of corrugated metal. As was common for the time, its rudder and elevators were actuated by metal cables that were strung along the external surface of the aircraft. Engine gauges were also mounted externally, on the engines, to be read by the pilot while looking through the aircraft windshield.<ref name= "Winchester p. 151."/> Another interesting feature was the use of the hand-operated "Johnny brake."<ref name= "Time"/>

Like Ford cars and tractors, these Ford aircraft were well designed, relatively inexpensive, and reliable (for the era).Template:Citation needed The combination of a metal structure and simple systems led to their reputation for ruggedness. Rudimentary service could be accomplished "in the field" with ground crews able to work on engines using scaffolding and platforms.<ref name= "Winchester p. 150.">Winchester 2004, p. 150.</ref> To fly into otherwise-inaccessible sites, the Ford Trimotor could be fitted with skis or floats.<ref name= "Winchester p. 150."/>

File:FordTriMotorControlWires.JPG
Externally mounted control wires of a Ford Trimotor

The rapid development of aircraft at this time (the vastly superior Boeing 247 first flew at start of 1933), along with the death of his personal pilot, Harry J. Brooks, on a test flight, led to Ford losing interest in aviation. While he did not make a profit on its aircraft business, Ford's reputation lent credibility to the infant aviation and airline industries, and he helped introduce many aspects of the modern aviation infrastructure, including paved runways, passenger terminals, hangars, airmail, and radio navigation.<ref name="Herrick 2004">Herrick, Greg A. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} fordtri-motor.com, Yellowstone Aviation, Inc (Jackson, Wyoming), 2004. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref> <ref group="N"> Note: The 28-page booklet, The Amazing Story of America's Oldest Flying Airliner, describes the history of the Ford Trimotor 4-AT-10, C-1077, also known as G-CARC "Niagara". It also describes the restoration process and some general history of Ford's Trimotor, as well as his aviation enterprises.</ref>

In the late 1920s, the Ford Aircraft Division was reputedly the "largest manufacturer of commercial airplanes in the world."<ref name = "Head and Pretzer p. 53.">Head and Pretzer 1990, p. 53.</ref> Alongside the Ford Trimotor, a new single-seat commuter aircraft, the Ford Flivver or "Sky Flivver" had been designed and flown in prototype form, but never entered series production.<ref name = "Head and Pretzer p. 53."/> The Trimotor was not to be Ford's last venture in aircraft production. During World War II, the largest aircraft manufacturing plant in the world was built at the Willow Run, Michigan plant, where Ford produced thousands of B-24 Liberator bombers under license from Consolidated Aircraft.<ref name = "Head and Pretzer p. 57.">Head and Pretzer 1990, p. 57.</ref>

William Stout left the Metal Airplane division of the Ford Motor Company in 1930. He continued to operate the Stout Engineering Laboratory, producing various aircraft. In 1954, Stout purchased the rights to the Ford Trimotor in an attempt to produce new examples. A new company formed from this effort brought back two modern examples of the trimotor aircraft, renamed the Stout Bushmaster 2000, but even with improvements that had been incorporated, performance was judged inferior to modern designs.

Operational historyEdit

File:EAA Ford Trimotor.jpg
Restored 1929 Ford 4-AT-E Trimotor "NC8407" owned by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and painted in the colors of Eastern Air Transport

Production ran from 1926 and 1933 and 199 were built, including 79 4-ATs, and 117 5-ATs, plus some experimental craft. Well over 100 airlines of the world flew the Ford Trimotor.<ref name="Herrick 2004"/> From mid-1927, the type was also flown on executive transportation duties by several commercial nonairline operators, including oil and manufacturing companies.

The impact of the Ford Trimotor on commercial aviation was immediate, as the design represented a "quantum leap over other airliners."<ref name= "O'Leary p. 54">O'Leary 2006, p. 54.</ref> Within a few months of its introduction, Transcontinental Air Transport was created to provide coast-to-coast operation, capitalizing on the Trimotor's ability to provide reliable and, for the time, comfortable passenger service. While advertised as a transcontinental service, the airline had to rely on rail connections with a deluxe Pullman train that would be based in New York being the first part of the journey. Passengers then met a Trimotor in Port Columbus, Ohio, that would begin a hop across the continent ending at Waynoka, Oklahoma, where another train would take the passengers to Clovis, New Mexico, where the final journey would begin, again on a Trimotor, to end up at the Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, a few miles northeast of Los Angeles.<ref name= "O'Leary p. 54"/> This demanding trip would be available for only a year before Transcontinental was merged into a combine with Western Air Service.

Ford Trimotors were also used extensively by Pan American Airways, for its first international scheduled flights from Key West to Havana, Cuba, in 1927. Eventually, Pan American extended service from North America and Cuba into Central and South America in the late 1920s and early 1930s.<ref name= "O'Leary p. 55">O'Leary 2006, p. 55.</ref> One of Latin America's earliest airlines, Cubana de Aviación, was the first to use the Ford Trimotor in Latin America, starting in 1930, for its domestic services.

The heyday for Ford's transport was relatively brief, lasting only until 1933, when more modern airliners began to appear. Rather than completely disappearing, the Trimotors gained an enviable reputation for durability with Ford ads in 1929 proclaiming, "No Ford plane has yet worn out in service."<ref name= "O'Leary p. 55"/> First being relegated to second- and third-tier airlines, the Trimotors continued to fly into the 1960s, with numerous examples being converted into cargo transports to further lengthen their careers, and when World War II began, the commercial versions were soon modified for military applications.

File:FordTrimotor DC.JPG
On display in The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Some of the significant flights made by the Ford Trimotor in this period greatly enhanced the reputation of the type for strength and reliability. One example was Ford 4-AT Trimotor serial number 10, built in 1927. It flew in the United States and Mexico under registration number C-1077, and for several years in Canada under registration G-CARC. It had many notable accomplishments; it was flown by Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart, among many others. It made the first commercial flight from the United States to Mexico City, as well as the first commercial flight over the Canadian Rockies. After damage on landing in 1936, it was grounded and remained for decades at Carcross, Yukon. In 1956, the wreck was salvaged and preserved, and in the mid-1980s, Greg Herrick took over C-1077 and began restoring it. As of 2006, C-1077 is in flying condition again, restored to its December 1927 appearance.<ref name="Herrick 2004"/>

On November 27 and 28, 1929, Commander Richard E. Byrd (navigator), chief pilot Bernt Balchen, and two other crewmen, the copilot and the photographer, made the first flight above the geographic South Pole in a Ford Trimotor that Byrd named the Floyd Bennett. This was one of three aircraft taken on this polar expedition, with the other two being named The Stars and Stripes and The Virginian, replacing the Fokker Trimotors that Byrd previously used.<ref name= "Winchester p. 150."/>

In February 1930, a Ford Trimotor was used for the flight of Elm Farm Ollie, the first cow to fly in an aircraft and to be milked mid-flight.<ref name="Harding2000">Template:Cite book</ref>

Franklin Roosevelt flew aboard a Ford Trimotor in 1932 during his presidential campaign in one of the first uses of an aircraft in an election, replacing the traditional "whistle stop" train trips.<ref name="Larkins 1992">Larkins 1992, p. 170.</ref>

File:NC8407 Ford 4-AT Tri-Motor MD1.jpg
The cockpit of NC-8407

A Ford Trimotor was used in a search for the lost flyers of the Sigizmund Levanevsky trans-polar flight in 1937. Movie stunt flyer Jimmie Mattern flew a specially modified Lockheed Electra along with fellow movie flyer, Garland Lincoln, flying a stripped-down Trimotor donated by the president of Superior Oil Company. With 1,800 gallons of avgas and 450 gallons of oil in the modified cabin, the Trimotor was intended to act as a "tanker" for the expedition. The Electra was able to transfer fuel in the air from the Trimotor, through a hose cast out the 4-AT's door. With the first aerial refueling test successful, the pair of pilots set out for Fairbanks, landing first at Burwash Landing, Yukon Territory, Canada, on August 15, 1937, but the Trimotor ran out of fuel and crashed in inclement weather the following day. The Trimotor was abandoned on the tundra.<ref>Wynne 1987, p. 53.</ref>

One of the major uses of the Trimotor after it was superseded as a passenger aircraft by more modern aircraft like the Boeing 247 (1933) or the Douglas DC-2 (1934), then DC-3, was the carrying of heavy freight to mining operations in jungles and mountains. The Trimotor was employed for decades in this role.<ref>Jardine, T. F. "Airplanes Help Mine Gold" (photos of Trimotor hauling freight to mine operations in Andes). Popular Science Monthly, March 1935.</ref>

In 1942, during the Battle of Bataan, a Trimotor was used in evacuations. The aircraft would haul 24 people nearly 500 miles a trip, twice daily. The aircraft was eventually strafed and destroyed by Japanese aircraft.<ref>"Those Fabulous Fords." Popular Mechanics,June 1953.</ref>

File:Former Royal Australian Air Force (33 Squadron) Ford 5-AT-C A45-1 displayed at the National Museum and Art Gallery, Port Moresby.jpg
Former Royal Australian Air Force (33 Squadron) Ford 5-AT-C A45-1 displayed at the Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery, Port Moresby

In postwar years, the Ford Trimotors continued in limited service with small, regional air carriers. Scenic Airways Ford Trimotor N414H was used for 65 years as a sightseeing aircraft flying over the Grand Canyon.<ref name= "Winchester p. 151."/>

VariantsEdit

Ford designationsEdit

2-AT Pullman
Stout's monoplane with a single Template:Cvt Liberty L-12 V-12 engine, developed into 3-AT. 11 Built.
3-AT
Stout's tri-motor prototype with three Template:Cvt Wright J-4 Whirlwind radial engines. Outboard engines on wings, and nose engine mounted very low. One built.
4-AT
Prototype with three Template:Cvt J-4 Whirlwinds, with outer engines below wings. Two pilots in open cockpit, and eight passengers given half-round windows. One built.
4-AT-A
Production enclosed-cockpit version with rectangular windows with top corners rounded. 14 built.
4-AT-B
4-AT-A with three Template:Cvt Wright J-5 Whirlwind radials. Carried 12 passengers. 39 built.
4-AT-C
4-AT-B with nose engine replaced by a Template:Cvt Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp radial. One built.
4-AT-D
4-AT-B with lengthened Template:Cvt wings and fitted with various engines and other minor modifications. One built and two modified.
4-AT-E
4-AT-B with three Template:Cvt Wright J-6-9 Whirlwind nine-cylinder radials. 24 built with rectangular windows as used on 5-AT-A.
4-AT-F
4-AT-E but stressed for higher loads. One built.
5-AT-A
4-AT-E with longer Template:Cvt wing and fuselage with an extra window on each side, powered by three Template:Cvt Wasps. Carried 13 passengers. Three built.
File:EL-2002-00560.jpg
TAT Ford 5-AT-B flown by Lindbergh
5-AT-B
5-AT-A powered by Template:Cvt Wasp C-1 or SC-1 radials. Carried 15 passengers. 41 built.
5-AT-C
Improved version with engine cowlings and wheel pants, similar to the Ford 5-AT-A. Carried 17 passengers. 51 built.
5-AT-CS
5-AT-C floatplane with twin Edo floats. One built.
5-AT-D
Wings Template:Cvt higher for taller cabin, and weights increased. Powered by three Template:Cvt Wasp SC radials. 20 built.
5-AT-DS
5-AT-D floatplane with Edo floats. One built.
5-AT-E
Version with outboard engines moved to wing leading edges. One 5-AT-C modified for tests, but converted back.
6-AT-A
Economy 5-AT-A with reduced power, load and performance. Three Template:Cvt Wright J-6-9 Whirlwind radials. Three built.
6-AT-AS
6-AT-A floatplane with Edo floats. One modified.
7-AT-A
6-AT-A with Template:Cvt Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial in the nose.
8-AT
5-AT-C converted to single-engine freighter. Six different engines ranging from Template:Cvt installed. One built.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
9-AT
4-AT-B with three Template:Cvt Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engines. One built.
10-AT
Project for larger aircraft with two engines above fuselage and two on wings. None built but developed into 12-AT and built as 14-A as a trimotor.
11-AT
4-AT-E with three Template:Cvt Packard DR-980 Diesel radial engines. One built.
12-AT
Project, development of 10-AT, not built.
13-A
5-AT-D with two Template:Cvt Wright J-6-9 Whirlwind radials, and a Template:Cvt Wright Cyclone radial in the nose. 1 built.
File:Ford 14 AT L'Aerophile May 1932.jpg
Ford 14-A photo from L'Aerophile May 1932
14-A
Similar to 10-AT and 12-AT, 1 built but not flown, was to have carried 32 passengers.Template:Citation needed

United States military designationsEdit

United States Army Air CorpsEdit

XC-3
One 4-AT-A evaluated by the USAAC.<ref name="Andrade95">Andrade 1979, p. 95.</ref>
C-3
4-AT-A redesignated from XC-3 following evaluation<ref name="Andrade95" />
C-3A
4-AT-E with three Template:Cvt Wright R-790-3 Whirlwind radials. Seven built, all converted to C-9 standard.<ref name="Andrade95" />
C-4
One 4-AT-B for evaluation.<ref name="Andrade95" />
File:Ford C-4 Tri-Motor.jpg
Ford C-4A
C-4A
5-AT-D, with three Template:Cvt Pratt & Whitney R-1340-11 Wasp radials. Four built<ref name="Andrade95" />
C-4B
Single C-4A re-engined with three Template:Cvt R-1340-7 Wasps.<ref name="Andrade95" />
C-9
Redesignation of C-3As fitted with Template:Cvt Wright R-975-1 Whirlwind radials<ref name="Andrade96">Andrade 1979, p. 96.</ref>
XB-906
5-AT-D modified into bomber with three Template:Cvt Wasps for United States Army Air Corps. One built.

US Navy and US MarinesEdit

XJR-1
One 4-AT-A evaluated by the United States Navy<ref name="Andrade197">Andrade 1979, p. 197.</ref>
JR-2
U.S. Marine Corps 4-AT-E transport, with three Wright J-6-9 engines. Two built, redesignated RR-2 in 1931.<ref name="Andrade197" />
JR-3
5-AT-C for U.S. Navy (one) and U.S. Marine Corps (two). Three built.<ref name="Andrade197" />
File:EL-2002-00549.jpg
Ford RR-1 at Langley, Virginia 1934
RR-1
XJR-1 redesignated in 1931.<ref name="Andrade218">Andrade 1979, p. 218.</ref>
RR-2
JR-2 redesignated in 1931.<ref name="Andrade218" />
RR-3
JR-3 redesignated in 1931.<ref name="Andrade218" />
RR-4
Single 5-AT-C for Navy.<ref name="Andrade218" />
RR-5
4-AT-Ds, one each for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines.<ref name="Andrade218" />

OperatorsEdit

Civil operatorsEdit

File:Scenic Trimotor.JPG
Grand Canyon Airlines Ford Trimotor with wing baggage compartment open
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  • BYN Co.(British Yukon Navigation Company) CF-AZB flew in the Yukon from April 1936 until damaged in August 1940.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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Military operatorsEdit

File:RCAF Ford 6-AT-A trimotor G-CYWZ msn 6-AT-1.jpg
Royal Canadian Air Force Ford 6-AT-A G-CYWZ
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Accidents and incidentsEdit

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  • On April 21, 1929, a Maddux Air Lines 5-AT-B Tri-Motor, NC9636, collided with a United States Army Air Service (USAAS) Boeing PW-9D fighter, 28-037, over San Diego; all six on board both aircraft died. The pilot of the Boeing PW-9D was performing stunts and then attempted to pass in front of the airliner, but misjudged the speed of the Maddux aircraft and his aircraft struck the cockpit of the Ford Tri-Motor.<ref name=larkins1958p133 /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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  • On January 19, 1930, a Maddux Air Lines 5-AT-C Tri-Motor, NC9689, operating as Flight 7, crashed near Oceanside, California due to adverse weather conditions, killing all 16 on board.<ref name=larkins1958p134 /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • On August 12, 1930, a ČSA Československé Aerolinie Ford 5-AT-C Tri-Motor, OK-FOR, hit the ground in poor visibility after a sharp turn to avoid a chimney and caught fire, in an attempt to stay clear of a thunderstorm, killing 12 of 13 on board.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • On January 24, 1933, a Pacific Air Transport Ford Trimotor on a cargo flight crashed on takeoff, killing 2 out of the 3 occupants on board.<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
  • On June 24, 1935, Tri-Motor 5-AT-B of SACO Servicio Aéreo Colombiano registered F-31 collided with a Tri-Motor of SCADTA, (Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes Aéreos), registered C-31, at Olaya Herrera Airfield near Medellín, Colombia; of the 20 on board both aircraft, only three passengers survived. Among the dead was the tango singer Carlos Gardel.<ref name="larkins1958p134"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Surviving aircraftEdit

Template:Outdated In 2011 18 Ford Trimotors still existed, eight of which had current FAA airworthiness certificates.<ref name="Wiggins 2011">Wiggins, Arthur B. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}. trimotors.awiggins.com, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref><ref group="N"> Note: The Ford Tri-Motor List is an enthusiast's register of existing Ford Trimotors, Bushmasters and Stinson Trimotors.</ref>

AirworthyEdit

File:Ford 4AT Trimotor.JPG
Oldest flying Ford, a 1927 4-AT-A, Serial No. 10, NC1077
File:Air Zoo December 2019 046 (Ford Tri-Motor).jpg
Ford 5-AT-C NC8419 at the Air Zoo in Michigan
  • C/N:10 tail number: NC1077 (4-AT-A, September 1927) "NC1077, G-CARC Niagara" Currently owned by Greg Herrick's Yellowstone Aviation. Oldest flying Trimotor, C/N (Construction Number) 10.<ref name="fordtri-motor.com">Herrick, Greg. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}. fordtri-motor.com, Yellowstone Aviation, Inc (Jackson, Wyoming), 2004. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref> It is based at the Golden Wings Museum,<ref>"Ford Trimotor." Golden Wings Museum. Retrieved: July 14, 2010.</ref> near Minneapolis, Minnesota, US.<ref>Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref><ref>"Aircraft N1077 Profile." "Airport-Data.com", 2012. Retrieved: April 9, 2012.</ref> This aircraft featured in the 2009 film Amelia (a biopic of aviator Amelia Earhart).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

  • C/N:55 tail number: NC9612 (4-AT-E, 1929) The "City of Richmond" Originally owned by: Mamer Flying Service, Spokane, WA. Currently owned by: Scott Glover, Mid America Flight Museum. It is based in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, US.<ref>Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref><ref>"Aircraft N9612 Profile." "Airport-Data.com", 2012. Retrieved: April 9, 2012.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref><ref>"Aircraft N8407 Profile." "Airport-Data.com", 2012. Retrieved: April 9, 2012.</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was previously owned by Evergreen Vintage Aircraft, Inc., and previously based at the Evergreen Aviation Museum, McMinnville, Oregon, US.<ref>Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011.</ref><ref>"Aircraft N9645 Profile." "Airport-Data.com", 2012.</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref><ref>"Aircraft N9651 Profile." Airport-Data.com, 2012. Retrieved: April 9, 2012.</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref><ref>"Aircraft N8419 Profile." "Airport-Data.com", 2012. Retrieved: April 9, 2012.</ref><ref name="tsl">Template:Cite journal</ref>

  • C/N:74 tail number: N414H (5-AT-C, 1928) Originally owned by: Ford Motor Co. Previously owned by Sopwith, Ltd. It was based at Valle Airport in Valle, Arizona, US. It was used in 2008 and 2009 for flight instruction and type ratings.<ref>"Time machines do exist!" ValleAirport.Com, Grand Canyon Valle Airport (40G), 2008–2009. Retrieved: March 15, 2009.</ref><ref>Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref><ref>"Aircraft N414H Profile." "Airport-Data.com", 2012. Retrieved: April 9, 2012.</ref> It is now owned by, and based at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon, US.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On static displayEdit

|CitationClass=web }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref>

  • C/N:46 tail number: NC7861 (4-AT-B, Unknown) Originally owned by: Union Electric, St. Louis. Currently owned by: National Museum of Naval Aviation Pensacola, Florida, USA.<ref name="NX4542."/> Displayed as Navy RR-5 serial A-9206.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref>

Under restorationEdit

  • C/N:38 tail number: N7584 (4-AT-B, January 1928) Originally owned by: Robertson Aircraft, St Louis. Currently owned by: Kermit Weeks. It was badly damaged in Florida by Hurricane Andrew, in the fall of 1992. Currently Located: Vicksburg, Michigan, USA.<ref>Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref>

  • C/N:58 tail number: NC9642 (4-AT-E, January 1929) Originally owned by: Mohawk Airways, NY. Currently owned by: Maurice Hovius' Hov-aire, Inc. Possible rebuild. Sale reported. Currently Located: Vicksburg, Michigan, USA.<ref>Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref>

  • C/N:62 tail number: NC8400 (4-AT-E, January 1929) Originally owned by: Mohawk Airways, NY. Currently owned by: Maurice Hovius' Hov-aire, Inc. Possible rebuild. Currently Located: Vicksburg, Michigan, USA.<ref>Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref>

  • C/N:65 tail number: NC8403 (4-AT-E, May 1929) The "Ptarmigan II" Originally owned by: Mamer Flying Service. Currently owned by Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum. Possible restoration. As of February 10, 2005, currently Located at Golden Wings Museum near Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.<ref>Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref>

  • C/N:13 tail number: NC9667 (5-AT-B, 1929) The "AN-AAR" Originally owned by Southwest Air Fast Express (S.A.F.E.way). Currently owned by: Maurice Hovius' Hov-aire, Inc. This is a restoration project undertaken by the "Tin Goose Chapter", EAA 1247, in Port Clinton, Ohio, USA.<ref>Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.</ref><ref>"EAA "Tin Goose" Chapter 1247." Template:Webarchive tingoose.org. Retrieved: April 9, 2012.</ref>

From 1954 onwards, efforts were made to modernize the Trimotor as the Stout Bushmaster 2000.<ref name="Time">"Return of the Tin Goose." Template:Webarchive Time, January 6, 1967. Retrieved: July 29, 2008.</ref> Saddled with financial, management and marketing problems, only two examples were completed with a third fuselage started but never completed.<ref name= "O'Callaghan, p. 124.">O'Callaghan 2002, p. 124.</ref>

Specifications (Ford 4-AT-E Trimotor)Edit

File:EAA Ford TriMotor NC8407.ogg
Short recording alongside EAA's Ford TriMotor while in Miami, Fl, USA

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Notable appearances in mediaEdit

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See alsoEdit

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ReferencesEdit

NotesEdit

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CitationsEdit

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BibliographyEdit

Further readingEdit

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  • Weiss, David A. The Saga of the Tin Goose: The Story of the Ford Trimotor. Brooklyn, New York: Cumberland Enterprises, Incorporated, 1996. Template:ISBN.
  • Litwak, Jerry: 'Skinning a Tin Goose ... the hard way'. Pages 251 and 252 of 'Air International' magazine, May, 1978 describe the rebuilding of Scenic Airway's Tin Goose 5AT, owned by John Seibold, after it groundlooped in Nevada on February 6, 1977. Per the article, it was supposedly ready to fly again by late 1978.

External linksEdit

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