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Eastern Air Transport (Experimental Aircraft Association) Ford 4ATE TriMotor

NC8407 (cn 4AT69)

What an amazing experience, to fly on such a historic piece of aviation. Please read the aircraft's story below, what an amazing history.

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http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/flightexpe...

History of the Ford 4ATE TriMotor:

Henry Ford mobilized millions of Americans and created a new market with his Model T “Tin Lizzie” automobile from 1909 to 1926. After World War I, he recognized the potential for mass air transportation.

Ford’s TriMotor aircraft, nicknamed “The Tin Goose,” was designed to build another new market, airline travel. To overcome concerns of engine reliability, Ford specified three engines and added features for passenger comfort, such as an enclosed cabin. The first three TriMotors built seated the pilot in an open cockpit, as many pilots doubted a plane could be flown without direct “feel of the wind.”

From 1926 through 1933, Ford Motor Company built 199 TriMotors. EAA’s model 4ATE was the 146th off Ford’s innovative assembly line and first flew on August 21, 1929. It was sold to Pitcairn Aviation’s passenger division, Eastern Air Transport, whose paint scheme is replicated on EAA’s TriMotor. This is why EAA’s Ford resides in the Pitcairn Hangar at Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, when not touring the U.S. Eastern Air Transport later became Eastern Airlines.

In 1930, the TriMotor (NC8407) was leased to Cubana Airlines, where it inaugurated air service between Havana and Santiago de Cuba. The airplane was later flown by the government of the Dominican Republic.

EAA’s Ford TriMotor returned to the U.S. in 1949 for barnstorming use. In 1950, it was moved from Miami to Phoenix and was refitted with more powerful engines for use as a crop duster. With two 450 HP engines and one 550 HP engine, it became the most powerful Model 4AT ever flown. In 1955, it was moved to Idaho and fitted with two 275gallon tanks and bomb doors for use as a borate bomber in aerial firefighting. Then in 1958, it was further modified for use by smoke jumpers.

After working for a variety of crop spraying businesses, EAA’s TriMotor moved to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1964, where its new owner flew barnstorming tours. During this period it had a variety of roles, including serving as the primary setting for the Jerry Lewis comedy, The Family Jewels.

In 1973, the aircraft was still being used for air show rides, including an EAA chapter’s flyin at Burlington, Wisconsin. While at the 1973 flyin, a severe thunderstorm ripped the plane from its tiedowns, lifted it 50 feet into the air, and smashed it to the ground on its back. EAA subsequently purchased the wreckage.

After an arduous, 12year restoration process by EAA staff, volunteers, and Ford TriMotor operators nationwide, the old TriMotor took to the air once again, where it had its official redebut at the 1985 EAA FlyIn Convention in Oshkosh.

It was displayed in the EAA AirVenture Museum until 1991 when it returned to its former role of delighting passengers on its annual tour across the U.S.