TheFord Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the"Tin Goose") is an Americanthree-enginedtransport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies ofHenry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made.[1] It was designed for thecivil aviation market, but also saw service with military units.
In the early 1920s,Henry Ford, along with a group of 19 others including his sonEdsel, invested in theStout Metal Airplane Company. Stout, a bold and imaginative salesman, sent amimeographed 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.[2]
In 1925, Ford bought Stout and its aircraft designs. The single-engined Stout monoplane was turned into atrimotor, theStout 3-AT with threeCurtiss-Wrightair-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 theFokker F.VII Trimotor (except for being all metal which Henry Ford claimed made it "the safest airliner around").[3] Its fuselage and wings followed a design pioneered byJunkers[4] during World War I with theJunkers J.I and used postwar in a series of airliners starting with theJunkers F.13 low-wing monoplane of 1920 of which a number were exported to the US, theJunkers K 16 high-wing airliner of 1921, and theJunkers G 24 trimotor of 1924. All of these were constructed ofaluminum alloy, which was corrugated for added stiffness, although the resultingdrag reduced its overall performance.[5] So similar were the designs that Junkers sued and won when Ford attempted to export an aircraft to Europe.[6] In 1930, Ford countersued inPrague, 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.[6]
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.[3][7]
Corrugated wing of a 1929 Ford 4-AT-E Trimotor
One 4-AT withWright J-4 200-hp engines was built for theU.S. Army Air Corps as theC-3, and seven withWright R-790-3 (235 hp) asC-3As. The latter were upgraded toWright R-975-1 (J6-9) radials at 300 hp and redesignatedC-9. Five 5-ATs were built asC-4s orC-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[N 1].[3] The later 5-AT had more powerfulPratt & Whitney engines. All models had an aluminum corrugated sheet-metal body and wings. Unlike many aircraft of this era, extending throughWorld War II, its control surfaces (ailerons,elevators, andrudders) 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.[3] Another interesting feature was the use of the hand-operated "Johnny brake."[8]
Like Ford cars and tractors, these Ford aircraft were well designed, relatively inexpensive, and reliable (for the era).[9] 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.[5] To fly into otherwise-inaccessible sites, the Ford Trimotor could be fitted with skis or floats.[5]
Externally mounted control wires of a Ford Trimotor
The rapid development of aircraft at this time (the vastly superiorBoeing 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 andairline industries, and he helped introduce many aspects of the modern aviation infrastructure, including pavedrunways,passenger terminals,hangars,airmail, andradio navigation.[1][N 2]
In the late 1920s, the Ford Aircraft Division was reputedly the "largest manufacturer of commercial airplanes in the world."[10] Alongside the Ford Trimotor, a new single-seat commuter aircraft, theFord Flivver or "Sky Flivver" had been designed and flown in prototype form, but never entered series production.[10] 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 theWillow Run, Michigan plant, where Ford produced thousands ofB-24 Liberator bombers under license fromConsolidated Aircraft.[11]
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 theStout Bushmaster 2000, but even with improvements that had been incorporated, performance was judged inferior to modern designs.
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.[1] 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."[12] 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 deluxePullman train that would be based in New York being the first part of the journey. Passengers then met a Trimotor inPort Columbus, Ohio, that would begin a hop across the continent ending atWaynoka, Oklahoma, where another train would take the passengers toClovis, New Mexico, where the final journey would begin, again on a Trimotor, to end up at theGrand Central Air Terminal inGlendale, a few miles northeast ofLos Angeles.[12] 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 byPan American Airways, for its first international scheduled flights fromKey West toHavana,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.[13] 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."[13] 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.
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 byCharles Lindbergh andAmelia Earhart, among many others. It made the first commercial flight from theUnited States toMexico City, as well as the first commercial flight over theCanadian Rockies. After damage on landing in 1936, it was grounded and remained for decades atCarcross, 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.[1]
On November 27 and 28, 1929, CommanderRichard E. Byrd (navigator), chief pilotBernt Balchen, and two other crewmen, the copilot and the photographer, made the first flight above thegeographic South Pole in a Ford Trimotor that Byrd named theFloyd Bennett. This was one of three aircraft taken on this polar expedition, with the other two being namedThe Stars and Stripes andThe Virginian, replacing theFokker Trimotors that Byrd previously used.[5]
In February 1930, a Ford Trimotor was used for the flight ofElm Farm Ollie, the first cow to fly in an aircraft and to be milked mid-flight.[14]
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.[15]
The cockpit of NC-8407
A Ford Trimotor was used in a search for the lost flyers of theSigizmund Levanevsky trans-polar flight in 1937. Movie stunt flyerJimmie Mattern flew a specially modifiedLockheed 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.[16]
One of the major uses of the Trimotor after it was superseded as a passenger aircraft by more modern aircraft like theBoeing 247 (1933) or theDouglas 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.[17]
In 1942, during theBattle 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.[18]
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.[3]
Stout's tri-motor prototype with three 200 hp (150 kW)Wright J-4 Whirlwind radial engines. Outboard engines on wings, and nose engine mounted very low. One built.
4-AT
Prototype with three 200 hp (150 kW) 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 220 hp (160 kW)Wright J-5 Whirlwind radials. Carried 12 passengers. 39 built.
4-AT-B with lengthened 78 ft 0 in (23.77 m) wings and fitted with various engines and other minor modifications. One built and two modified.
4-AT-E
4-AT-B with three 300 hp (220 kW)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 77 ft 10 in (23.72 m) wing and fuselage with an extra window on each side, powered by three 420 hp (310 kW) Wasps. Carried 13 passengers. Three built.
TAT Ford 5-AT-B flown by Lindbergh
5-AT-B
5-AT-A powered by 420 hp (310 kW) Wasp C-1 or SC-1 radials. Carried 15 passengers.[19] 41 built.
5-AT-C
Improved version withengine cowlings and wheel pants, similar to the Ford 5-AT-A. Carried 17 passengers. 51 built.
On March 17, 1929, aColonial Western Airways 4-AT-B Tri-Motor,NC7683, suffered a double engine failure during its initial climb after takeoff fromNewark Airport inNewark,New Jersey. It failed to gain height and crashed into a railroad freight car loaded with sand, killing 14 of the 15 people on board the aircraft. At the time, it was the deadliest airplane accident in American history. In addition, the surviving pilot also became the earliest knownsole survivor of a commercial aircraft accident.[29][30]
On April 21, 1929, aMaddux Air Lines 5-AT-B Tri-Motor,NC9636, collided with aUnited States Army Air Service (USAAS)Boeing PW-9D fighter,28-037, overSan 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.[29][31]
On January 19, 1930, a Maddux Air Lines 5-AT-C Tri-Motor,NC9689, operating as Flight 7, crashed nearOceanside, California due to adverse weather conditions, killing all 16 on board.[32][34]
On August 12, 1930, aČSA 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.[35][36]
On January 24, 1933, aPacific Air Transport Ford Trimotor on a cargo flight crashed on takeoff, killing 2 out of the 3 occupants on board.[37]
On June 24, 1935, Tri-Motor 5-AT-B of SACO Servicio Aéreo Colombiano registered F-31collided with a Tri-Motor of SCADTA, (Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes Aéreos), registeredC-31, at Olaya Herrera Airfield nearMedellín, Colombia; of the 20 on board both aircraft, only three passengers survived. Among the dead was the tango singerCarlos Gardel.[32][38]
Oldest flying Ford, a 1927 4-AT-A, Serial No. 10, NC1077Ford 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.[40] It is based at the Golden Wings Museum,[41] nearMinneapolis, Minnesota, US.[42][43] This aircraft featured in the 2009 filmAmelia (a biopic of aviatorAmelia Earhart).[44]
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 inMt. Pleasant, Texas, US.[47][48][49]
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 byHurricane Andrew, in the fall of 1992. Currently Located:Vicksburg, Michigan, USA.[72]
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.[73]
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.[74]
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 nearMinneapolis, Minnesota, USA.[75]
C/N:13 tail number:NC9667 (5-AT-B, 1929) The "AN-AAR" Originally owned bySouthwest 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, inPort Clinton, Ohio, USA.[76][77]
From 1954 onwards, efforts were made to modernize the Trimotor as theStout Bushmaster 2000.[8] Saddled with financial, management and marketing problems, only two examples were completed with a third fuselage started but never completed.[78]
^ Up to 12 passengers could be accommodated in special configurations.
^ 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.
^ Note: TheFord Tri-Motor List is an enthusiast's register of existing Ford Trimotors, Bushmasters and Stinson Trimotors.
^abcdHerrick, Greg A."The Amazing Story of America's Oldest Flying Airliner"(PDF). Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. RetrievedApril 4, 2019.fordtri-motor.com, Yellowstone Aviation, Inc (Jackson, Wyoming), 2004. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
^abWiggins, Arthur B."Ford Tri-Motor List". Archived fromthe original on November 16, 2018. RetrievedOctober 2, 2006..trimotors.awiggins.com, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
^Herrick, Greg."Ford Tri-motor 4-AT-10, C-1077, a.k.a G-CARC 'Niagara'". Archived from the original on March 25, 2018. RetrievedApril 4, 2019..fordtri-motor.com, Yellowstone Aviation, Inc (Jackson, Wyoming), 2004. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
^Wiggins, Arthur Brenton."N1077". Archived fromthe original on November 16, 2018. RetrievedOctober 2, 2006..The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
^Wiggins, Arthur Brenton."N9612". Archived fromthe original on November 16, 2018. RetrievedOctober 2, 2006..The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
^Wiggins, Arthur Brenton."N8407". Archived fromthe original on November 16, 2018. RetrievedOctober 2, 2006..The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
^Wiggins, Arthur Brenton."N8419". Archived fromthe original on November 16, 2018. RetrievedOctober 2, 2006..The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
^Wiggins, Arthur Brenton."N414H". Archived fromthe original on November 16, 2018. RetrievedOctober 2, 2006..The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
^abWiggins, Arthur Brenton."NX4542". Archived fromthe original on November 16, 2018. RetrievedOctober 2, 2006..The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
^Wiggins, Arthur Brenton."N9683". Archived fromthe original on November 16, 2018. RetrievedOctober 2, 2006..The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
^Wiggins, Arthur Brenton."N7584". Archived fromthe original on November 16, 2018. RetrievedOctober 2, 2006..The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
^Wiggins, Arthur Brenton."N9642". Archived fromthe original on November 16, 2018. RetrievedOctober 2, 2006..The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
^Wiggins, Arthur Brenton."N8400". Archived fromthe original on November 16, 2018. RetrievedOctober 2, 2006..The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
^Wiggins, Arthur Brenton."N8403". Archived fromthe original on November 16, 2018. RetrievedOctober 2, 2006..The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
^Wiggins, Arthur Brenton."N9667". Archived fromthe original on November 16, 2018. RetrievedOctober 2, 2006..The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
Andrade, John.U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979.ISBN0-904597-22-9.
Barth, Jack E. "Talkback".Air Enthusiast, No. 10, July–September 1979, p. 79.ISSN0143-5450
Best, Martin S. (Summer 2007). "The Development of Commercial Aviation in China: Part 2 : China National Aviation Corporation (pre-WWII)".Air-Britain Archive. pp. 51–80.ISSN0262-4923.
Head, Jeanine M. and William S. Pretzer.Henry Ford: A Pictorial Biography. Dearborn, Michigan: Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, 1990. No ISBN.
Lee, John G. (Summer 2014). "Early Days of the Ford Trimotor: Recollections of a Participant".AAHS Journal.59 (52). American Aviation Historical Society:128–134.
Towle, Tom (Summer 2014). "Designing the Ford Trimotor".AAHS Journal.59 (52). American Aviation Historical Society:122–127.
Weiss, David A.The Saga of the Tin Goose: The Story of the Ford Trimotor. Brooklyn, New York: Cumberland Enterprises, Incorporated, 1996.ISBN0-9634299-2-2.
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.
_Ford_5-AT-C_A45-1_displayed_at_the_National_Museum_and_Art_Gallery%2c_Port_Moresby.jpg)
.jpg)
