Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Ford Trimotor shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Ford Trimotor offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Ford Trimotor at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Ford Trimotor? Wrong! If the Ford Trimotor is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Ford Trimotor then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Ford Trimotor? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Ford Trimotor and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Ford Trimotor wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Ford Trimotor then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Ford Trimotor site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Ford Trimotor, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Ford Trimotor, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
{{infobox Aircraft |name = Trimotor
|type = Civil Transport
|manufacturer = Ford
|image =Image:Ford_Trimotor.jpg
|caption = Ford Trimotor G-CYWZ of the [Royal Canadian Air Force.
|designer = [Henry Ford
|first flight =
|introduced =
|introduction= 1929
|retired =
|status = 18 existed as of 2006
|primary user = over 100 airlines
|more users = 6 air forces
|number built = 199
|unit cost =
|developed from =
|variants with their own articles =
-->
The
Ford Trimotor, nicknamed
The Tin Goose, was a three engine civil transport aircraft first produced in 1925 by Henry Ford and continued until June 7,
1933. Throughout its lifespan a total of about 200 aircraft were produced. It was popular with the military and was sold all over the world. Unlike his famous Ford Model T, trucks and farm tractors, Ford did not make the engines for these airplanes.
Development
In the early 1920s Henry Ford, along with a list of 19 other investors including his son
Edsel Ford, invested in the Stout Metal Airplane Company. In 1925 Ford bought Stout and its Hugo Junkers-influenced aircraft designs. Ford adapted the traditionally single engined Stout craft with three Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company Aircooling
radial engines. After a series of test aircraft and a suspicious fire causing the complete destruction of all previous designs, the 4-AT and 5-AT emerged. The Ford Trimotors used an all-metal construction—not a revolutionary concept, but certainly beyond the standard in the 1920s. The aircraft resembled the
Fokker F.VII but it was all metal; its wings were made of
aluminum and corrugated for added strength. This has become something of a signature for the Trimotor. Transcontinental Air Transport, which later became part of Trans World Airlines, used the craft to begin its transcontinental air service from San Diego to New York in 1929.
One 4-AT with Wright J-4 200 hp engines was built for the
United States Army Air Corps as type
C-3, and seven with Wright R-790-3 (235 hp) as type
C-3A. The latter were upgraded to
Wright R-975 (J6-9) radials at 300 hp and redesignated
C-9. Five 5-ATs were built as
C-4 or
C-4A.
The original (commercial production) 4-AT had three air cooled Wright radial engines. It carried a crew of three—pilot, co-pilot and stewardess—and eight or nine passengers. The later 5-AT had more powerful Pratt & Whitney engines. All models had aluminum corrugated sheet metal body and wings. However, like many aircraft of this era, extending through
World War II and later, the aircraft control surfaces were fabric covered. As was common for the time, the rudder and elevator (aircraft) were controlled by wires that were strung along the external surface of the aircraft. Similarly, engine gauges were mounted externally, on the engines, to be read by the pilot looking through the windscreen.
Like his cars and tractors, these Ford aircraft were well designed, relatively inexpensive, and reliable (for the era). The rapid development of aircraft at this time (the vastly superior
Douglas DC-2 was first conceived in 1932), helped Henry Ford to lose interest in aircraft production. While Ford did not make a profit on its aviation business, Ford's reputation leant credibility to the infant aviation industry, and Ford helped introduce many aspects of the modern aviation infrastructure, including paved runways, passenger terminals, hangars, airmail, and radio navigation.{{cite book| last = Herrick
| first = Greg A.
| title = The Amazing Story of America's Oldest Flying Airliner
| url = http://www.fordtri-motor.com/pdf/Trimotorx3WEB2.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-10-01
| year = 2004
| publisher = Yellowstone Aviation, Inc.
| location = Jackson, Wyoming, USA
--> This 28-page booklet describes the history of the Ford Trimotor 4-AT-10, C-1077, a.k.a G-CARC "Niagara". It also describes the restoration process and some general history of Ford's aviation and the Trimotor.
The Trimotor was not to be Ford's last venture in aircraft production. During
World War II, he built the largest aircraft manufacturing plant in the world and assembled thousands of B-24 Liberator bombers under license to
Consolidated Aircraft.
Operational history
A total of 199 Ford Tri-motors were built between 1926 and 1933, including 79 of the 4-AT variant, and 117 of the 5-AT variant, plus some experimental craft. Well over 100 airlines of the world flew the Ford Tri-motor.
4-AT serial number 10 was built in
1927. It flew in the United States and Mexico under registration number C-1077, and for several years in Canada under registration number 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, and the first commercial flight over the
Canadian Rockies. After damage on landing, it was grounded 1936 and remained for decades at
Carcross, Yukon. In 1956 the wreck was salvaged and preserved, and in the mid 1980's 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. {{cite web| last = Herrick
| first = Greg
| year = 2004
| url = http://www.fordtri-motor.com/
| title = Ford Tri-motor 4-AT-10, C-1077, a.k.a G-CARC "Niagara"
| publisher = Yellowstone Aviation, Inc.
| accessdate = 2006-10-01
-->
Between 27 November and 28 November 1929, Richard Evelyn Byrd and crew made the first flight over the
South Pole in a Ford Trimotor.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt flew on a Ford TriMotor in 1932 during his presidential campaign{{cite book | last = Larkins
| first =William T.
| title =The Ford Tri-Motor, 1926-1992
| publisher = Schiffer Publishing
| month =October |year=1992
| pages =288 pp
| id = ISBN 0887404162 --> Page 170..
Preserved aircraft
As of 2006, there are 18 Ford Tri-motors in existence. A few of these are in flyable condition. One such aircraft resides at the Air Zoo in
Kalamazoo, Michigan.{{cite web| last = Wiggins
| first = Arthur B.
| year = 2006
| url = http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm
| title = Ford Tri-Motor List
| accessdate = 2006-10-01
--> An enthusiast's register of existing Ford Tri-motors, Bushmasters, and Stinson Tri-motors. A second is located at the EAA Aviation Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.http://www.airventuremuseum.org/fordtrimotor/ A third is at the San Diego Air and Space Museum.http://www.aerospacemuseum.org/exhibits/aircraft_feb.html
Commercial operators
Military operators
Specifications (Ford Trimotor)
{{aircraft specification|]|type of prop=9-cylinder
radial engines|number of props=3|power main=420 hp|power alt=313 kW|max speed main= 150 mph|max speed alt= 241 km/h|cruise speed main= 90 mph|cruise speed alt= 145 km/h|stall speed main=64 mph|stall speed alt=103 km/h|range main=550 mi|range alt=885 km|ceiling main=18,500 ft|ceiling alt=5,640 m|climb rate main=ft/min|climb rate alt=m/s|loading main=16.17 lb/ft²|loading alt=78.87 kg/m²|power/mass main=10.71 lb/hp|power/mass alt=6.52 kg/kW|avionics=-->
Culture
The plane is referenced in the
Clive Cussler book
Iceberg and used by character
Dirk Pitt for a rescue operation. The plane is also referred to in Cussler's book
Valhalla Rising when Pitt uses it to escape an attack from a
Fokker Dr.I, the type of plane used by Manfred von Richthofen, also known as The Red Baron. The movie
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom depicts a flight and crash of an aircraft much like a Ford Trimotor.
Director Howard Hawks' 1939 film
Only Angels Have Wings features a Trimotor that catches fire after a freak accident with a
condor eventually performing an emergency landing on an airfield. A real Trimotor and models are used for the sequence.
See also
References
| last = Lowe
| first = Scott A.
| url = http://www.fordtrimotor.org
| title = Ford Trimotor.org
| publisher = Scott A. Lowe
| accessdate = 2006-10-01
--> This web site is "a tribute to the Ford Tri-Motor", and contains facts, pictures, bibliography and more.
- Detail photos—1929 Ford 4-AT-E Tri-Motor
Related content
{{aircontent|
|sequence=
|related=
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
|see also=
-->
{{infobox Aircraft |name = Trimotor
|type = Civil Transport
|manufacturer = Ford
|image =Image:Ford_Trimotor.jpg
|caption = Ford Trimotor G-CYWZ of the [Royal Canadian Air Force.
|designer = [Henry Ford
|first flight =
|introduced =
|introduction= 1929
|retired =
|status = 18 existed as of 2006
|primary user = over 100 airlines
|more users = 6 air forces
|number built = 199
|unit cost =
|developed from =
|variants with their own articles =
-->
The
Ford Trimotor, nicknamed
The Tin Goose, was a three engine civil transport aircraft first produced in 1925 by
Henry Ford and continued until June 7, 1933. Throughout its lifespan a total of about 200 aircraft were produced. It was popular with the military and was sold all over the world. Unlike his famous Ford Model T, trucks and farm tractors, Ford did not make the engines for these airplanes.
Development
In the early 1920s
Henry Ford, along with a list of 19 other investors including his son
Edsel Ford, invested in the Stout Metal Airplane Company. In 1925 Ford bought Stout and its Hugo Junkers-influenced aircraft designs. Ford adapted the traditionally single engined Stout craft with three Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
Aircooling radial engines. After a series of test aircraft and a suspicious fire causing the complete destruction of all previous designs, the 4-AT and 5-AT emerged. The Ford Trimotors used an all-metal construction—not a revolutionary concept, but certainly beyond the standard in the 1920s. The aircraft resembled the Fokker F.VII but it was all metal; its wings were made of aluminum and corrugated for added strength. This has become something of a signature for the Trimotor. Transcontinental Air Transport, which later became part of Trans World Airlines, used the craft to begin its transcontinental air service from San Diego to New York in 1929.
One 4-AT with Wright J-4 200 hp engines was built for the
United States Army Air Corps as type
C-3, and seven with Wright R-790-3 (235 hp) as type
C-3A. The latter were upgraded to
Wright R-975 (J6-9) radials at 300 hp and redesignated
C-9. Five 5-ATs were built as
C-4 or
C-4A.
The original (commercial production) 4-AT had three air cooled Wright radial engines. It carried a crew of three—pilot, co-pilot and stewardess—and eight or nine passengers. The later 5-AT had more powerful Pratt & Whitney engines. All models had aluminum corrugated sheet metal body and wings. However, like many aircraft of this era, extending through
World War II and later, the aircraft control surfaces were fabric covered. As was common for the time, the
rudder and elevator (aircraft) were controlled by wires that were strung along the external surface of the aircraft. Similarly, engine gauges were mounted externally, on the engines, to be read by the pilot looking through the windscreen.
Like his cars and tractors, these Ford aircraft were well designed, relatively inexpensive, and reliable (for the era). The rapid development of aircraft at this time (the vastly superior Douglas DC-2 was first conceived in 1932), helped Henry Ford to lose interest in aircraft production. While Ford did not make a profit on its aviation business, Ford's reputation leant credibility to the infant aviation industry, and Ford helped introduce many aspects of the modern aviation infrastructure, including paved runways, passenger terminals, hangars, airmail, and radio navigation.{{cite book| last = Herrick
| first = Greg A.
| title = The Amazing Story of America's Oldest Flying Airliner
| url = http://www.fordtri-motor.com/pdf/Trimotorx3WEB2.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-10-01
| year = 2004
| publisher = Yellowstone Aviation, Inc.
| location = Jackson, Wyoming, USA
--> This 28-page booklet describes the history of the Ford Trimotor 4-AT-10, C-1077, a.k.a G-CARC "Niagara". It also describes the restoration process and some general history of Ford's aviation and the Trimotor.
The Trimotor was not to be Ford's last venture in aircraft production. During
World War II, he built the largest aircraft manufacturing plant in the world and assembled thousands of B-24 Liberator bombers under license to
Consolidated Aircraft.
Operational history
A total of 199 Ford Tri-motors were built between 1926 and 1933, including 79 of the 4-AT variant, and 117 of the 5-AT variant, plus some experimental craft. Well over 100 airlines of the world flew the Ford Tri-motor.
4-AT serial number 10 was built in
1927. It flew in the United States and Mexico under registration number C-1077, and for several years in Canada under registration number 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, and the first commercial flight over the
Canadian Rockies. After damage on landing, it was grounded
1936 and remained for decades at Carcross, Yukon. In
1956 the wreck was salvaged and preserved, and in the mid 1980's 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. {{cite web| last = Herrick
| first = Greg
| year = 2004
| url = http://www.fordtri-motor.com/
| title = Ford Tri-motor 4-AT-10, C-1077, a.k.a G-CARC "Niagara"
| publisher = Yellowstone Aviation, Inc.
| accessdate = 2006-10-01
-->
Between
27 November and 28 November
1929, Richard Evelyn Byrd and crew made the first flight over the South Pole in a Ford Trimotor.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt flew on a Ford TriMotor in 1932 during his presidential campaign{{cite book | last = Larkins
| first =William T.
| title =The Ford Tri-Motor, 1926-1992
| publisher = Schiffer Publishing
| month =October |year=1992
| pages =288 pp
| id = ISBN 0887404162 --> Page 170..
Preserved aircraft
As of 2006, there are 18 Ford Tri-motors in existence. A few of these are in flyable condition. One such aircraft resides at the
Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan.{{cite web| last = Wiggins
| first = Arthur B.
| year = 2006
| url = http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm
| title = Ford Tri-Motor List
| accessdate = 2006-10-01
--> An enthusiast's register of existing Ford Tri-motors, Bushmasters, and Stinson Tri-motors. A second is located at the EAA Aviation Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.http://www.airventuremuseum.org/fordtrimotor/ A third is at the San Diego Air and Space Museum.http://www.aerospacemuseum.org/exhibits/aircraft_feb.html
Commercial operators
Military operators
Specifications (Ford Trimotor)
{{aircraft specification|]|type of prop=9-cylinder
radial engines|number of props=3|power main=420 hp|power alt=313 kW|max speed main= 150 mph|max speed alt= 241 km/h|cruise speed main= 90 mph|cruise speed alt= 145 km/h|stall speed main=64 mph|stall speed alt=103 km/h|range main=550 mi|range alt=885 km|ceiling main=18,500 ft|ceiling alt=5,640 m|climb rate main=ft/min|climb rate alt=m/s|loading main=16.17 lb/ft²|loading alt=78.87 kg/m²|power/mass main=10.71 lb/hp|power/mass alt=6.52 kg/kW|avionics=-->
Culture
The plane is referenced in the Clive Cussler book
Iceberg and used by character
Dirk Pitt for a rescue operation. The plane is also referred to in Cussler's book
Valhalla Rising when Pitt uses it to escape an attack from a Fokker Dr.I, the type of plane used by Manfred von Richthofen, also known as The Red Baron. The movie
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom depicts a flight and crash of an aircraft much like a Ford Trimotor.
Director
Howard Hawks' 1939 film
Only Angels Have Wings features a Trimotor that catches fire after a freak accident with a
condor eventually performing an emergency landing on an airfield. A real Trimotor and models are used for the sequence.
See also
References
| last = Lowe
| first = Scott A.
| url = http://www.fordtrimotor.org
| title = Ford Trimotor.org
| publisher = Scott A. Lowe
| accessdate = 2006-10-01
--> This web site is "a tribute to the Ford Tri-Motor", and contains facts, pictures, bibliography and more.
- Detail photos—1929 Ford 4-AT-E Tri-Motor
Related content
{{aircontent|
|sequence=
|related=
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
- List of airliners
- List of military aircraft of the United States
|see also=
-->
Ford Trimotor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ford Trimotor, nicknamed "The Tin Goose," was an American three engine civil transport aircraft first produced in 1925 by Henry Ford and continued in production until 7 June ...
The Story of the Ford Trimotor
The Story of the Ford Trimotor . From a painting called "Shrinking Land" by John Young" http://www.oldgloryprints.com/aviation art.htm.
Ford Trimotor
1929 Ford Tri-Motor 4-AT-E – NC8407. Henry Ford mobilized millions of Americans and created a new market with his Model T “Tin Lizzie” automobile from 1909 to 1926.
Ford
This download is offered as freeware to demonstrate the effort involved in making a payware quality aircraft. It hasn't gone through the intensive testing process as my other ...
Luxology Forum > Ford Trimotor
San Diego 314 posts: Disclaimer: This is my first W.I.P. I'm just learning modo. I'm new at this posting photos from a remote server thingy (I thought disk space was cheap). There ...
Dictionary : Ford_Trimotor
The C-4 was the military version of the Ford 4-AT trimotor. Ford Trimotor The series of three-engine Ford Trimotor aircraft produced during the 1920s and 1930s were classic ...
Fantasy of Flight's Ford Trimotor
General History. Henry Ford could see that aviation had a bright future. The Tri-Motor was ...
Welcome to FordTriMotor.Org
Welcome to FordTriMotor.Org. This web site is a tribute to the Ford Tri-Motor and is dedicated to the the visionaries and pioneers who contributed so much to the ...
Ford Trimotor
Ford Trimotor: click on photo for more images: The Ford trimotor was based on the Stout 2-AT Pullman. The prototype 4-AT Trimotor first flew in 1926.
Ford Tri-Motor VH-UDY
Ford Tri-Motor - VH-UDY (Thanks to Pat Boys in New Zealand for the photo) [
