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Ford Trimotor - or, what I did Sunday Afternoon

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Great photos, great aircraft, and great music! The 5AT was quite an aircraft for its time. One minor drawback - the crew and passengers were usually deaf and frozen for several hours after a flight due to engine noise and lack of cabin insulation.

Believe it or not, that aircraft has a direct connection to ...

640px-Stout_Scarab.jpg

Were they giving visitors rides in the aircraft? I remember a demo about 20 years ago, with a modern pilot testing the stability and controls of the 5AT. He got to altitude (5000 ft), then yanked back on the yoke. Nothing happened for about five seconds. He pushed the yoke full forward. Nothing happened for about five seconds. He jerked the yoke left, then right - same very slow response. His report: It's very stable. (He also said that the nose engine was pretty much ineffective, and was probably added to give passengers confidence in case one of the wing engines failed.)

Thanks for posting.
 
NutmegCT said:
Were they giving visitors rides in the aircraft?
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Yes - for $75 a pop (or $70 if you bought your ticket online). I thought about it but decided I'd rather just get some pictures of it flying.
 
I had a ride in the tri-motor some years ago at the EAA Show in Oshkosh, WI.
 
Yes, and my grin from ear to ear.
 
True story. Summer 1965. me, a student pilot, less than 20 hours, flying Piper Colt - 2 seat version of Tri-Pacer with no flaps, practicing touch and goes at Westchester County Airport in White Plains (KHPN). Downwind leg. Called tower. "You'll be following a Ford Tri-Motor turning base to final". Huh? I thought it was the twilight zone, but there it was, probably flying slower than I was.
 
pdplot said:
True story. Summer 1965. me, a student pilot, less than 20 hours, flying Piper Colt - 2 seat version of Tri-Pacer with no flaps, practicing touch and goes at Westchester County Airport in White Plains (KHPN). Downwind leg. Called tower. "You'll be following a Ford Tri-Motor turning base to final". Huh? I thought it was the twilight zone, but there it was, probably flying slower than I was.
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Durn' near wet meself laughin'!!!

As for the tri-motor and Basil's vid, my choice for music instead of the "eight to the bar" woulda been THIS.
 
"A buzzard took a monkey for a ride in the air ..."

Yowzah! Beat me daddy, eight to the bar!

(ok - back to my cave)
 
:lol:
 
A neighbor of mine took a ride in a tri-motor when it stopped at our local airport. It didn't bother his hearing - he couldn't hear before he went, or after.
 
Very nice. Not sure why the center motor/prop would be less effective than the wing ones since they appear to be identical. At $75 I'd have been in line twice at least. I paid WAY more than that to get 30 minutes in a B17 about 10 years ago, and don't regret one dime of it. Nothing sounds like multiple radials - shook the batteries out of my camera on taxi, and turned to liquid glass on takeoff.
 
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