A ride in a Ford Tri Motor!

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Hi all,

Yesterday (Sunday 6/11/06), I took a ride in the EAA’s beautifully-restored 1929 Ford Tri Motor.

It was a truly wonderful experience. I sat right behind the co-pilot’s seat, which was also between the two wing engines. A somewhat loud spot, but not quite so loud as I thought it would be. There are nine seats with four on the right side and five on the left, separated by an aisle. Everone gets a window seat! [:)]

The plane is very solid in the air. The climb angle is fairly shallow and al the turns used a minimum of bank. It was noisy, however, and there was a lot of vibration. The interior is spartan, but nicely finished.

I had to wait a while for my flight, so I got to see the plane take off and land five or so times. The take-off run is only 100 or so feet with a full load of passengers, but no baggage. Landings were smooth, with the pilot touching down on the main wheels and then lowering the tail. Again, they took very little space.

Overall, the my plane ride lasted about 20 minutes. I wish it could have been 3 hours!

The cost of the ride was only $50.

Naturally, now, I’m looking for a good model of the Ford Tri Motor. I see that Airfix makes one in 1/72 scale, and I think I may need to get one.

On Saturday, I was in Baltimore to see the newly created replica of the Godspeed, one of the three ships that brought colonists to Jamestown in 1607. So it was a pretty cool weekend overall.

EDIT: Postscript – I told my grandfather about my ride, and he said that his first airplane ride was in a Tri Motor at the Allegheny County Airport when he was a kid. He sat in the co-pilot’s seat and flew over Pittsburgh. His brother paid for the ride. I’ll have to ask hi what year this was.

Regards,

2

Sounds like fun Drew. I’ve had several rides in the old Tri-motors myself & it’s an experience for sure. I think Revell/Monogram also had a kit of the Tri-Motor, but I don’t recall the scale.

Regards, Rick

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The Revell one is 1/77 scale; about 90% of the size of one in 1/72 scale.

When, and in which planes did your rides happen?

Regards,

4

That would be awesome.

I was able to take a ride in a B-25 a few years ago and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.

Yes, I don’t get out much. :slight_smile:

Mike

5

Thanks so much for posting this. I see the Tri-Motor will be very close to me at the end of this week. I am very tempted to book a ride.

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Well I just booked a ride for this sunday! [:D]

And on a modelling note I have built two of the Revell 1/77 Tri-Motors. One happens to look just like the EAA’s plane. The other is in TWA markings.

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You’ll enjoy every minute of the ride! I sat right between the two engines and it was quite an experience.

Are you willing to post a few photos of your Revell kits?

Regards,

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Sure I’ll snap a few pics of my kits afterwork today. And you can bet I will have my camera on the flight. [:)]

9

the tri-motor I rode in still had wicker seats! it looks like the eaa one has leather seats?

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Yes, and they didn’t have arms either. They were comfortable, though, and are probably a concesion to modern safety and comfort. That plane gives a lot of rides to a lot of people!

Regards,

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Airfix has/had a 1/72 5-AT .

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Here are the pics as requested [;)] I built these back in middle school I think (about 10 years ago). OOB. Brush painted. The corrugated skin makes brush painting very easy.

And here is the real one for conparison, hehe.

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I’m currently building the Revell 1/77 model of the Trimotor and I have to say it has to be one of the worst models I have ever built. Very poor fit, a lot of flash, missing some details (like exhaust on the outboard engines), however for less than $15 I can’t really argue!

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I took a ride on the same plane (same seat too) two years ago. Got me hooked. Last year I took a ride on the PAM (Praire Aviation Museum) DC-3 down in Bloomington Il. Actually a C-53 painted up in ‘Ozark’ colors. Great fun also. I plan to get to Freeport Il on July 21 for the ‘Great American Barnstorming Tour’ it’s offering a chance at rides in a Travelair or New Standard. I never flew in an open cockpit or a bi-plane before. I did ride on a amphibious Cessena off of Lake of the Ozarks Mo. as a kid. My wife doesn’t approve of my new hobby. Oh well, next year a glider?

Gary Bonolo

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Hey, those look pretty good – especially considering the comments on how hard they are to build.

Airfix just rereleased their Tri-Motor, and I think I’m going to pick up a copy. It’s in a pack with two other civil airplanes, so I think it would be a good deal.

I just need to build more models now so I have more room in my stash for additional acquisitions!

I’m also thinking about lighting the model with cabin lights. I found some small bulbs in the model railroad section of my local hobby shop that might work. However, I’ve never done anything like that before, so first I have to buy the model, and then figure out what I’m going to do with it. [:)]

Regards,

16

Well I went for a ride yesterday, and it was a blast! This aircraft is beautifully restored. I was very impressed with the detail in the interior. I was amazed with how short the take off roll was. This baby just jumped right up!

Here are a couple of pics I snapped:

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Those are some great photos, TAdan!

I finally got my photos developed. Here are some of the best:

Here are three of the exterior:
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Here are three of the interior:
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And finally, three out my window at the beautiful city of Harrisburg, PA (my home):
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Regards,

18

Great pics there, I would love to have an opportunity like that. I wonder if the EAA has a stop schedule on their website?

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Yup! The schedule is here: http://www.airventuremuseum.org/fordtrimotor/

Regards,

20

Sounds like a lot of fun, Drew. My brother flew on the plane last week while it was in Manassas, Virginia, and emailed me some photos. He really enjoyed it as well. It’s really not a bad price when one considers you get to fly in a piece of history. I was fortunate to fly on the Collings Foundation’s B-25 ‘Tondelayo’ last month while it was in Sacramento, California, and I’m still thinking about how much fun I had!

Mark