Ford Trimotor

The Ford Tri-Motor, affectionately known as the "Tin Goose," was the largest civil airplane in America when it started passenger service on August 2, 1926, with Stout Air Services. The airplane's all-metal, corrugated aluminum construction and the prestigious Ford name made it immediately popular with passengers and airline operators. Noisy but reliable, the Ford played a major role in convincing the public of the safety and practicality of air travel.The 5-AT, a more powerful version of the earlier 4-AT, was powered by three Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial engines and entered service in 1928.
  • The NASM’s Ford Tri-motor is a 5-AT-B, NC9683, donated by American Airlines. Its long and varied history began when it was sold to Southwest Air Fast Express (SAFE) on April 12, 1929. the thirty-ninth 5-AT built by Ford. It sold for $55,475 in cash. American Airlines bought out SAFE the following year, acquiring the Tri-motor in the process. During 1931, NC9683 flew the routes of Colonial Air Transport, a division of American. Later, it flew on the transcontinental route between Cleveland and Los Angeles. In May 1934 it was transferred to the Chicago base until it was retired from American in 1935.
    In 1936 the airplane was sold to TACA International Airlines, and operated in Nicaragua for several years. In 1946 NC9683 was sent to Mexico, where it was used for passenger and cargo hauling until 1954, When it was resold to a crop-dusting company in Montana.
    During its operations with the crop-dusting company the airplane also flew a cargo route in Alaska until it was resold in Mexico. It finally ended up beside a small airfield in Oaxaca, in use as someone’s living quarters. A wood-burning stove had been installed, and a chimney stuck through the aluminum roof.
    Reacquired by American Airlines, NC9683 was fully restored and was flown on public relations tours throughout the country, including the first regular flight departing from Dulles International Airport, Virginia, in November 1962. At the close of its public relations career, it was donated to the National Air and Space Museum, where it hangs in the Air Transportation gallery.
  • The first South Pole flight, by Comdr. Richard E. Byrd with Bernt Balchen as pilot was accomplished with a Ford Tri-Motor from the Bay of Whales, Little America, over the South Pole and back on November 28–29, 1929. Their Ford Tri-Motor named Floyd Bennett resides beautifully preserved  at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.