48-497: 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. It was designed for the civil aviation market, but also saw service with military units. In the early 1920s, Henry Ford , along with a group of 19 others including his son Edsel , invested in
96-423: A configuration was typically a result of the limited power of the engines available to the designer. Many trimotors were designed and built in the 1920s and 1930s as the most effective means of maximizing payload. Other - and uncommon - configurations include engines above the wing, as on seaplanes , including in pusher configuration , and an engine on each wing and one on the tail. The best known trimotors are
144-421: A crew of three: a pilot, a copilot, and a stewardess, as well as eight or nine passengers . 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
192-510: A design pioneered by Junkers 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
240-820: 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 . 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
288-489: A pilot and copilot, as well as a flight attendant (then known as a "steward"), who could tend to passenger needs. The main landing gear did not fully retract; the wheels extended slightly below the nacelles , typical of designs of the time, as a means of reducing structural damage in a wheels-up landing. The tailwheel was not retractable. While the Model 247 and 247A had speed-ring engine cowlings and fixed-pitch propellers ,
336-458: 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
384-499: A test aircraft fitted with two machine guns in the nose. The same installation later was fitted to a 247Y owned by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. This aircraft also featured a Colt .50 in (12.7 mm) machine gun in a flexible mount. A 247D purchased by the British RAF became a testbed for instrument approach equipment and received a nonstandard nose, new powerplants, and fixed landing gear. Some 247s were still flying in
432-465: A third fuselage started but never completed. Data from Flight International 14 November 1930 General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Trimotor A trimotor is a propeller-driven aircraft powered by three internal combustion engines, characteristically one on the nose and one on each wing. A compromise between complexity and safety, such
480-607: A unit price of $ 65,000. TWA (Transcontinental & Western Air) also ordered the 247, but UATC declined the order, which resulted in TWA President Jack Frye setting out requirements for a new airliner and funding Don Douglas to design and build the Douglas DC-1 prototype. Douglas eventually developed the design into the DC-2 and DC-3 . The Boeing design had been the first to enter series production, but
528-617: The Xi'an incident in 1936, during which he flew into the opposing Nationalist army's camp at Sian (now rendered as Xi'an ) under a secret truce, and had their leader, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek , arrested, ending the civil war between the Communist and Nationalist armies, so they could fight together against the Japanese invaders. A number of specially modified variants included a Boeing 247Y appropriated from United for Air Corps use as
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#1732772232232576-603: 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. 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. In postwar years,
624-523: 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. On November 27 and 28, 1929, Commander Richard E. Byrd (navigator), chief pilot Bernt Balchen , and two other crewmen,
672-485: The Fokker F , Ford AT , and Junkers Ju series aircraft. Boeing 247 The Boeing Model 247 is an early American airliner , and one of the first such aircraft to incorporate advances such as all-metal ( anodized aluminum ) semimonocoque construction, a fully cantilevered wing , and retractable landing gear . Other advanced features included control surface trim tabs , an autopilot and de-icing boots for
720-532: The Ford Trimotor and Curtiss Condor . Entering service on May 22, 1933, a Boeing Air Transport 247 set a cross-country record of 19 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours on its San Francisco to New York City inaugural flight. Boeing sold the first 60 247s, an unprecedented $ 3.5 million order, to its affiliated airline, Boeing Air Transport (part of the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation , UATC), at
768-891: The Pearl Harbor attack, and produced over 10,000 DC-3s, including wartime production of C-47s , while the rival Lockheed Electra "family" was eventually to reach over 3,000 in its various civil and military variants. Boeing Air Transport bought 60 examples, United Aircraft Corp. 10, Lufthansa ordered three, but only two were delivered, and one went to a private owner in China. While the industry primarily standardized on Boeing's competitors, many of United's aircraft were later purchased by Western Air Express at "bargain-basement prices". The 247 remained in airline service until World War II , when several were converted into C-73 transports and trainers. The Royal Canadian Air Force 's 121 Squadron operated seven 247Ds as medium transports during
816-540: 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. In 1925, Ford bought Stout and its aircraft designs. The single-engined Stout monoplane
864-400: The 247 proved to have some serious deficiencies. Airlines considered its limited capacity a drawback, since it carried only 10 passengers, in five rows with a seat on each side of the aisle, as well as a stewardess . Compared to the more spacious DC-2 and later DC-3, the passenger count was too few to make it a commercially viable airliner. Another feature influencing passenger comfort was that
912-477: The 247's main wing spar ran through the cabin, so persons moving through the cabin had to step over it. The Lockheed Model 10 Electra had a similar configuration, and while it was a more compact design, the Electra managed to carry the same number of passengers at a slightly better overall performance, and at a lower cost-per-mile. Seventy-five 247s were built; Douglas collected 800 civil orders for DC-3s before
960-430: 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. One of the major uses of the Trimotor after it was superseded as a passenger aircraft by more modern aircraft like
1008-573: 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. 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
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#17327722322321056-632: 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. As of 2011, there are 18 Ford Trimotors in existence, eight of which have current FAA airworthiness certificates . From 1954 onwards, efforts were made to modernize the Trimotor as the Stout Bushmaster 2000 . Saddled with financial, management and marketing problems, only two examples were completed with
1104-564: The Model 247D incorporated NACA cowlings and variable-pitch propellers . As the 247 emerged from its test and development phase, the company further showcased its capabilities by entering a long-distance air race in 1934, the MacRobertson Air Race from England to Australia . During the 1930s, aircraft designs were often proven in air races and other aerial contests. A modified 247D was entered, flown by Colonel Roscoe Turner and Clyde Pangborn . The 247, race number "57",
1152-701: 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. 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
1200-459: 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. 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
1248-417: The airline pilots' demand. The decision created a rift between Mead and Rentschler. Despite the disagreements, the 247 would be Boeing's showcase exhibit at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair . The slope of the early 247's windshield was reversed from normal. This was a design solution, also used on other contemporary aircraft, to the problem of control panel instrument lights reflecting off the windshield, but
1296-423: The cabin, many of its features became the norm for airliners, including the Douglas DC-1 , before World War II . Originally planned as a 14-passenger airliner powered by Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet radial engines , the preliminary review of the design concept by United Air Lines' pilots had resulted in a redesign to a smaller, less capable configuration, powered by R-1340 Wasp engines . One concern of
1344-535: 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. A Ford Trimotor was used for the flight of Elm Farm Ollie ,
1392-447: The death of his personal pilot, Harry J. Brooks , on a test flight, led to Henry Ford's losing interest in aviation. While Ford did not make a profit on its aircraft business, Henry Ford's reputation lent credibility to the infant aviation and airline industries, and Ford helped introduce many aspects of the modern aviation infrastructure, including paved runways , passenger terminals , hangars , airmail , and radio navigation . In
1440-554: The early part of the war. One of these aircraft was donated to the Royal Air Force (RAF) for radar testing, where it was renumbered DZ203 . DZ203 was passed among several units in the RAF before being used to make the world's first fully automatic blind landing on 16 January 1945. Warlord "Young Marshal" Zhang Xueliang ordered two Boeing 247Ds for his air force . He used one of them, named Bai-Ying (White Eagle), during
1488-458: The era). 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. To fly into otherwise-inaccessible sites, the Ford Trimotor could be fitted with skis or floats. The rapid development of aircraft at this time (the vastly superior Boeing 247 first flew at start of 1933), along with
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1536-551: The first cow to fly in an aircraft and to be milked mid-flight. 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. 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
1584-685: 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 . 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
1632-674: The late 1920s and early 1930s. 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." First being relegated to second- and third-tier airlines,
1680-535: The late 1920s, the Ford Aircraft Division was reputedly the "largest manufacturer of commercial airplanes in the world." 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. The Trimotor was not to be Ford's last venture in aircraft production. During World War II,
1728-503: The late 1960s as cargo transports and business aircraft. The Turner/Pangborn 247D still exists. Originally flown on September 5, 1934, it was leased from United Airlines for the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race and returned to United, where it served in regular airline service until 1937. Subsequently, the 247D was sold to the Union Electric Company of St. Louis for use as an executive transport. The Air Safety Board purchased
1776-399: The need for flaps, and pilots learned that at speeds as low as 10 mph (16 km/h), the 247 could be taxied "tail high" for ease of ground handling. The 247 could fly on one engine. With controllable-pitch propellers, the 247 could maintain 11,500 ft (3,500 m) at maximum gross weight on one engine. Aside from its size, much lower wing loading, and the wing spar obstructing
1824-465: The pilots was that in their view, few airfields could safely take an eight-ton aircraft. They also objected to the Hornet engines, which had a detonation problem when using the available low octane fuel, and suffered from excessive vibration. Pratt & Whitney 's chief engineer, George Mead , knew the problem would be resolved eventually, but P&W's president, Frederick Rentschler acquiesced to
1872-463: The resulting drag reduced its overall performance. So similar were the designs that Junkers sued and won when Ford attempted to export an aircraft to Europe. 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. Although designed primarily for passenger use,
1920-419: The reversed windshield reflected ground lights instead, especially during landings, and it also increased drag. By the introduction of the 247D, the windshield was sloped normally, and the glare was resolved with a glarescreen extension over the panel. Boeing incorporated design elements to enhance passenger comfort, such as the thermostat controlled, air conditioned, and noise-proofed cabin. The crew included
1968-531: The transport section (and third overall), behind the Boeing 247's eventual rival, the new Douglas DC-2 . Being the winner of the 1934 U.S. Collier Trophy for excellence in aviation design, the first 247 production orders were earmarked for William Boeing's airline, Boeing Air Transport . The 247 was capable of crossing the United States from east to west eight hours faster than its predecessors, such as
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2016-478: The wings and tailplane . The 247 first flew on February 8, 1933, and entered service later that year. Boeing introduced a host of aerodynamic and technical features into a new commercial airliner building on work with the earlier Monomail (Models 200, 221, 221A) mailplanes and B-9 bomber designs. The Boeing 247 was faster than the best U.S. fighter of its day, the open- cockpit biplane Boeing P-12 . The low landing speed of 62 mph (100 km/h) avoided
2064-404: The world flew the Ford Trimotor. 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." Within a few months of its introduction, Transcontinental Air Transport
2112-540: 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
2160-463: 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. Another interesting feature was the use of the hand-operated " Johnny brake ." Like Ford cars and tractors, these Ford aircraft were well designed, relatively inexpensive, and reliable (for
2208-541: 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
2256-433: Was essentially a production model, but all airliner furnishings were removed to accommodate eight additional fuselage fuel tanks. The MacRobertson Air Race attracted aircraft entries from all over the globe, including both prototypes and established production types, with the grueling course considered an excellent proving ground, as well as an opportunity to gain worldwide attention. Turner and Pangborn came in second place in
2304-595: 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"). Its fuselage and wings followed
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