The Ford Trimotor is a very distinctive …
The Ford Trimotor is a very distinctive piece of Americana, as well as aviation history
From Wikipedia -
- The Ford Trimotor (also variously identified as the “Tri-Motor”, and nicknamed “The Tin Goose”) was an American three engine civil transport aircraft first produced in 1925 by Henry Ford and continued in production until June 7, 1933. Throughout its lifespan a total of 199 aircraft were produced.Although designed for the civil market, the aircraft was also used by the military and was sold all over the world. Unlike his famous Ford Model T cars, trucks and farm tractors, Ford did not make the engines for these aircraft.
Imagine your decorating your home or business with a few of these. There are 13 images in the Trimotor collection, click here to see them all!
The story of the Ford Trimotor begins with William Bushnell Stout, an engineer who had previously designed several aircraft using principles similar to those of Professor Hugo Junkers, the famous German manufacturer.
Stout, a bold and imaginative salesman, sent a mimeographed form letter to leading manufacturers, blithely asking for $1,000 and adding: “For your one thousand dollars you will get one definite promise: You will never get your money back.” Stout raised $20,000, including $1,000 each from Edsel and Henry Ford.
In the early 1920s Henry Ford, along with a group of 19 other investors including his son Edsel, 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 design with three Wright air-cooled 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 more advanced than the standard construction techniques in the 1920s. The aircraft resembled the Fokker F.VII but it was all metal allowing Ford to claim it was “the safest airliner around.” Its fuselage and wings were constructed of aluminum and corrugated for added strength although the drag reduced overall performance. This has become something of a trademark for the Trimotor. Transcontinental Air Transport, which later became part of Trans World Airlines, used the aircraft to begin its transcontinental air service from San Diego to New York in 1929.
Although designed primarily for passenger use, the Trimotor could be easily adapted for cargo hauling as the seats in the fuselage could be removed. To increase capacity, one unusual feature was the provision of “drop down” cargo holds in the lower inner wing sections of the 5-AT variant.
One 4-AT with Wright J-4 200 hp engines was built for the 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-975-1 (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 as well as eight or nine passengers (up to 12 passengers could be accommodated in special configurations). The later 5-AT had more powerful Pratt & Whitney engines. All models had aluminum corrugated sheet metal body and wings. However, unlike many aircraft of this era, extending through World War II and later, the aircraft control surfaces were not fabric covered, but were of corrugated aluminum. As was common for the time, the rudder and elevator 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. Another anachronism was the use of the hand-operated “Johnny Brake.”
Like his cars and tractors, these Ford aircraft were well designed, relatively inexpensive, and reliable (for the era). The combination of metal structure and simple systems lead to a reputation for ruggedness. Rudimentary servicing could be accomplished “in the field” with ground crew able to work on engines using scaffolding and platforms. In order to fly into normally inaccessible sites, the Ford Trimotor could be fitted with skis and floats.
The rapid development of aircraft at this time (the vastly superior Douglas DC-2 was first conceived in 1932), along with the death of his personal pilot, Harry Brooks, on a test flight led to Henry Ford losing interest in aviation. While Ford did not make a profit on its aircraft business, Ford’s reputation lent 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.
In the late 1920s, the Ford Aircraft Division was reputedly the “largest manufacturer of commercial airplanes in the world.” Alongside the Ford Trimotor, a new one-passenger 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, he built the largest aircraft manufacturing plant in the world at the Willow Run, Michigan plant and assembled thousands of B-24 Liberator bombers under license from Consolidated Aircraft.
Using several prints from a particularly distinctive aircraft is a great way to establish the a theme for your decor.
Each image is available in many sizes to fit any budget and any size space.
Blue Skies!
-Slemper
P.S. Get these prints in a variety of sizes, but frame them identically to further the unified theme! Black mats make them particularly dramatic.
Related posts: