EAA Chapter 569

In September, Midwestern residents will have the opportunity to relive a historic moment in the nation’s aviation history. This will be when the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) will bring its historic Ford TriMotor airplane to Lincoln on the last stop of its 2007 exhibition tour.  Each day on September 20, 21, 22, and 23 the airplane will fly passengers from the Lincoln airport. Each ride will cost $50, and the airplane will be available for a close-up inspection when not flying. Go to the secure web site www.flytheford.org or call 1-800-843-3612 to book your reservation. Tour information can be found at www.airventuremuseum.org/fordtrimotor/. For local information go to www.eaa569.org or 402-274-7070  The TriMotor airplane was developed by Henry Ford in the mid 1920s to create a market for air travel, just as he had developed a market for the personal automobile with the Model T. To achieve this, he established an airport and factory at Dearborn, Michigan where he built the first modern passenger airliner. The Ford TriMotor paved the way for innovations taken for granted today – all metal airplanes, stewardesses, in-flight meals, and the radio navigation system that allowed flight in adverse weather. In their beginnings, most airlines used the Ford TriMotor. The Ford Motor Company built 199 TriMotors from 1926 through 1933. The EAA’s TriMotor was one of the first two airplanes purchased by Eastern Air Transport, the forerunner of Eastern Airlines.  Ford’s TriMotor, nicknamed “The Tin Goose”, carries nine passengers, with every seat having a large window. Cameras and camcorders are welcome on board. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult.  In the 1970s the airplane was severely damaged by a tornado, after which it underwent a twelve year rebuild by EAA volunteers. After the rebuild it was given the paint scheme and markings from its original use with Eastern Air Transport. Of the 199 TriMotors built, only about 18 remain, most of which are in museums. There are only four still in airworthy condition, and EAA’s plane is the only one that makes regular passenger flights!  Like many old airplanes, EAA’s Ford had a colorful history. It spent years as a crop sprayer, fire bomber and smoke jumper’s airplane. It was also used by a movie company to film a Jerry Lewis movie, and once was the personal aircraft of the President of the Dominican Republic.  The Experimental Aircraft Association is a nation-wide organization of over 170,000 members dedicated to building and flying personal airplanes and the restoration and preservation of historic aircraft. Its headquarters is at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. EAA sponsors the annual AirVenture fly-in aviation convention each year.