Ford Tri-motor: Books - History and Models

The Ford Tri-motor, 1926-1992

During the 1920s and 1930s, many people in the United States took their first flight in a Ford Tri-Motor, an aircraft still regarded as an important example of engineering and industrial planning.
Ford applied a modified assembly-line method to a design that was constantly improved, supported by strong advertising that focused on safety. At a time when reliability was essential, this approach placed Ford ahead of its competitors.

The all-metal structure, highlighted in Ford's late-1920s campaigns, proved its value in the following years. Aircraft at that time generally had a short service life, which made Ford's 1929 claim that "no Ford plane has yet worn out in service" notable and credible.

This book by aviation historian William T. Larkins offers the most complete reference on the Ford Tri-Motor. It covers design and construction, model designations, cross-indexes of U.S. and foreign registrations, a guide to military Tri-Motors, accident summaries, and listings of Ford factory staff and Tri-Motor pilots.

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Instruction Manual for Ford Trimotor Airplane

First introduced in 1925, the Ford Trimotor quickly influenced commercial aviation. It allowed Transcontinental Air Transport to begin coast-to-coast flights in the United States and supported Pan American Airways in opening routes to Central and South America.

Designed by William B. Stout, whose company was purchased by Ford in 1924, the aircraft used three Wright radial engines and featured an all-metal structure. It could be equipped for passengers or cargo and was considered dependable and robust for its time. Its limited capacity and rapid progress in aircraft design, however, led to the end of production in 1933.

A total of 199 aircraft were built, later flying with more than one hundred airlines around the world and serving the U.S. military and other air forces.

Originally published in 1926 as "Suggestions on the Operation of the Ford Trimotor", this flight manual offers a detailed view of the cockpit and operating procedures of one of aviation's most important early aircraft.

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The Saga of the Tin Goose - The Story of the Ford Tri-Motor (3rd Edition)

Created by Henry Ford and inventor William Bushnell Stout, the Ford Tri-Motor - known as the "Tin Goose" - was the first all-metal passenger aircraft built in the United States.
Only 199 were produced, yet the type introduced regular scheduled air service in America and helped establish many features that define modern air travel, including flight attendants and paved runways.

Major U.S. airlines began their operations with this aircraft. Admiral Byrd used one on his South Pole expedition, and Franklin D. Roosevelt travelled in another to the Chicago convention where he received the presidential nomination. Charles Lindbergh inaugurated the first transcontinental air service in a Tri-Motor.

Even after faster Boeing and Douglas aircraft replaced it on main routes, the Tin Goose remained in commercial use for decades. It carried passengers on short flights across the country, supported crop-dusting and firefighting in the Midwest, and transported people and cargo into remote areas of Central America and across the Andes.

This revised and updated edition of "The Saga of the Tin Goose" recounts the full history of this notable aircraft from its development in the 1920s to the present day and indicates where surviving Ford Tri-Motors can still be seen and flown.

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