Henry Ford's Contributions to Aviation History

Ford Airport dedicated in January 1925 was considered one of the finest in the country at the time the following views represent various phases of the airport between 1925 and 1932 in the foreground is the derable moing Mast erected in the summer of 1925 the letters in the Ford name along the runway were spelled out in white crushed stone 200 ft High to help Pilots determine their location moving right to left you see the first small hanger built in 1924 and the new larger hanger and the first assembly line building both built in 1926 in 1929 Ford Airport became the first in the world to provide concrete runways made possible by brakes and tail wheels and airplanes both of which were patented by Ford engineers at the extreme left is a Dearborn Inn built to accommodate air passengers at the top of the field you can see the Henry Ford Museum in Greenfield Village in the foreground is the Ford airplane Factory with its twin assembly line buildings in late 1929 Bill Stout was the first in the United States to build an all metal airplane his first commercial all metal plane was the 28 seen here and was named the maiden Detroit that is made in Detroit the location of his Factory the second plane was made in the new Ford factory in Dearborn and was of course named the maiden Dearborn the first plane was sold to the US Post Office with the next five being used by Ford's Air transport service started in April 1925 to carry Ford Freight between their facilities in Dearborn and Chicago Ford's air service was announced as an experiment to demonstrate the safety and reliability of commercial Aviation to the public at Large not many modern conveniences you started them just like the old model T cars hand cranked they were open cut planes typical of the period powered by a surplus World War I 400 horsepower Liberty engine originally built by Ford in 1918 there were a total of 11 of these planes produced by the time production ended in December 1925 this is a public relations film produced by Ford to convince the public of the safety and reliability of commercial Aviation Ford's first scheduled air service was started in April 1925 between Dearborn and Chicago in July the Deerborn to Cleveland route was inaugurated and a Dearborn to Buffalo route was added later for the first time planes adhered to a strict time schedule as Henry Ford would have it no other way by August 1925 Stout had sold his Stout all metal airplane company to Henry Ford as he realized it would require the organization and funds that only Ford could provide to make it successful Henry Ford now had an airport an airplane manufacturing plant as well as a scheduled Air Freight Service giving commercial Aviation a tremendous shot in the arm the value of the Ford name in the eyes of the public should not be underestimated the prevailing attitude was that Henry Ford was a financial genius and because he made the automobile affordable to nearly everyone he was a friend of the average person if Ford was involved in it it must be okay all operational information gained in operating the airport the air freight service and the airplane manufacturing was freely and willingly shared with others in fact Ford did not charge for the use of the many Aviation patents his Engineers were granted including the most important the radio Beacon that allowed planes to fly in most types of weather in addition Ford spent nearly $4 million during this period to promote Aviation and the Ford plane Ford pilot William dewald returning from the Chicago run is greeted by Henry Ford while Henry Ford was very interested in his aviation project he gave most of the credit for its success to his son etel Ford pilot Leroy Manning gets ready for his flight to Cleveland Manning would become the airport manager in November 1928 and ding the crash of an experimental Ford trotor bomber in September 1931 in the 7 years of operation there were only five fatal crashes claiming eight lives two crashes in operating the Air transport service and three in testing the new Ford planes Henry Ford and Clara Ford and their guests watch the departure of the Cleveland bound plane the crowds at the Cleveland Airport are indicative of the Public's interest in both Aviation and Henry Ford's new venture as these planes had no breaks local people had to rush out to slow the plane down and help steer it to a stop with a lack of safety regulations apparent in most of these films you can understand why there were many accidents at airports in the early years never one to pass up the opportunity to attract attention Ford used these highly polished shiny trucks to carry company Freight and mail between his plants and the airport when the federal government started licensing pilots and airplanes in 1928 this plane was declared unairworthy in spite of the fact that one had flown over 132,000 Mi and collectively the 28s had just one weather related fatality Henry Ford terminated his Air transport service in August 1932 declaring there was now sufficient commercial service available to handle his needs during that 7 and 1/2 years Ford Pilots completed 98% of the 9700 flights attempted they flew for over 20,000 hours covering nearly 2 million miles and carried almost 13 million PBS of freight with only two fatal accidents quite a record for those years this model of a three motor plane represented the fact that Ford realized the need for larger more powerful planes and developed into the 38 model designed by Bill Stout one of the single engine Stout planes was modified by lengthening the wing installing three of the new 200 horsepower right engines and strengthening the fuselage and landing gear the First Flight of the 38 in November 1925 it proved to be as aerodynamically unsound as it was ugly and Ford's Chief test pilot refused to fly anymore following the disastrous Flight of the 38 Henry Ford was quoted as saying for the first time in my life I've bought a lemon and I don't want the world to know about it this is the factory forded built for Bill Stout's metal airplane company in late 1924 and this is the factory in January 1926 with the ugly 38 still inside just 6 weeks after Henry Ford's comments about alemon the building burned down conveniently destroying the 38 and eliminating Ford's failure this didn't deter Ford's interest in aviation as he immediately started a new much larger airplane Factory in Hangar here is the first small hanger with the Ford Airport sign on top the new larger hanger which was considered the largest and most modern in the world with spaces for 15 planes the doors on either side slid into the ends of the building next is the new airplane Factory as it was before the second section was added in late 1929 next is the terminal building to handle Forge Air transport service for company Freight and Bill Stout's new Stout Airline dedicated to sightseeing and passenger service between Dearborn and Grand Rapids and later Cleveland and Chicago the two Air Services were independent of each other Ford ran his Freight operation and stout ran as passenger service all Ford airplane buildings as well as most of Ford's other Automotive facilities were designed by the noted architect Albert Khan additional luggage and mail storage was provided by external Wing bins installed in most of the commercial airline Tri Motors the dear born in one of the first hotels built to handle air passengers was opened in 1931 and is still owned by Ford Motor Company in April 1926 Ford announced he would henceforth build only three engine airplanes this was for safety reliability and capacity it was a remarkable decision as the only other three-engine plane being built was the new Folker made of wooden fabric these scenes are of the First Flight of the Ford design trotor in June 1926 it was a complete success and was obviously a real thrill for Henry and etel Ford considering the disaster of the 38 only 6 months before Ford's little fli plane was also developed and flight tested about the same time the first three Tri Motors were built with open cck pits and tail skids but were later rebuilt to enclose the cockpit and add the tail wheel and brakes they all had the inertia starter for the engines in place of the hand cranking shown earlier Bill Mayo chief engineer of Ford Motor Company was largely responsible for the success of Ford's airplane Venture he was an officer of several Aviation organizations and a member of the board of directors for many of the newly created Aviation companies and Airlines the all metal three engine plane backed by the Ford name revolutionized The public's conception of safety and air travel Ford airplanes dominated the commercial aviation industry until Ford abandoned airplane production in 1932 and relinquished the business to the new Douglas DC3 the most famous of the tri Motors was a plane used by Admiral bird on his historic flight over the South Pole in 1929 this plane is preserved in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn Michigan Ford planes were built with wheels pontoons and skis this sea plane is undergoing tests on the Rouge River by the huge Ford assembly plan this 1931 view of 5at 100 one of the last Tri Motors built reflects the many modifications and streamlining over the first Ford Tri motor that took to the air in 1926 the corrugated light duralumin metal skin an alloy of 94% aluminum and 4% copper came in plain sheets that were heat treated and then corrugated just prior to use giving it the strength of steel wings sections were assembled vertically to save space the wings were nearly 3 ft thick giving the plane en lift for a quick takeoff ideal for operations on the small early airfields Ford was the first airplane manufacturer to set up a car-like production line for airplanes and reached a high point in June 1929 with 25 planes produced a total of 197 Ford triot planes were built before production ceased in 1932 Ford's decision to quit Aviation was influenced by a number of things first there were fewer and fewer buyers for large commercial planes he was advised that he could build enough planes in 6 months to provide all the commercial airplanes that would be needed by the US industry for the next 4 years second with the onset of the depression Ford had seen his automobile sales decline from nearly 2 million vehicles in 1929 to less than 400,000 vehicles in 1932 he had to get back to his Core Business there are currently five Ford Tri Motors in flying condition four others fully restored in museums and three or more in the process of restoration Henry Ford realized very early that larger planes would be needed to make commercial Aviation pay and by June 1930 had his designers working on this airplane designated 148 designed to carry 32 passengers in luxury it cost Ford over $1 million about 10% of his total Aviation expenditures while it never flew they learned a lot about engineering large aircraft and it marked Ford's final effort in commercial Aviation While most of the Public's attention was centered on the trotor Ford also dabbled in making small personal planes dubbed by some fliers of the air the first aerial fliver was introduced to the public in July 1926 it was powered by a 3-cylinder 35 horsepower French an zani engine and flown Only by forge's Chief test pilot Harry Brooks and once by Charles Lindberg Harry Brooks was the favorite pilot of Henry Ford and used the little plane as one would use a company car commuting from Ford Airport to his home in Birmingham Michigan he was a contemporary of Charles Lindberg and because of people's interest in aviation gained a great deal of notice by the local press this plane now hangs in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn Michigan in September 1927 a new larger fli with a two-cylinder 29 horsepower Ford engine was built to break the Light plane longdistance record in February 1928 Brooks took off from Ford Airport heading for Miami Florida running out of gas he was forced down in Titusville Florida cra in his propeller and Landing but he had set a new world's record 4 days later Brooks took off from Miami and crashed in the Atlantic Ocean the wreckage of the plane was recovered but Brook's body was never found nor was the cause of the accident ever determined this Ford twin engine amphibian designed by Stout never flew while this Stout designed Ford five passenger plane did fly it did not fly well the last Ford plane was this two- seat flying wing built in 1936 powered by a Ford V8 aluminum engine it proved difficult to control and it quietly disappeared in August 1927 Charles Lindberg visited Ford Airport on tour of the United States following his historic solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean to Paris it was during this visit that Lindberg took Henry Ford and then etel Ford for their first airplane rides in his Spirit of St Louis airplane this visit would lead to a lifelong friendship between Henry Ford and Lindberg and resulted in Ford hiring Lindberg in 1941 as an adviser to help build B24 bombers at Ford's massive Willow Run plant during World War II there were many celebrities and attendance including Eddie rickenbacher America's top World War I a seen here on the right just prior to departure Bill Mayo Bill Stout and Henry and etel Ford say goodbye to Lindberg one of Ford's Top Flight mechanics Carl wiell in the white coveralls would be another of the casualties of Ford Aviation dying in a crash of the Ford Tri motor in November 1930 in 1925 believing in the future of the lighter than airships and hoping to entice the Navy durables to Dearborn Ford built the only privately owned moing mast in the world the Army's semi- rigid Airship rs1 was the first to hook up in October 1926 nearly 300 ft long with a displacement of over 750,000 cbic feet it was a relatively small Airship a month later in November 1926 the Navy's rigid Airship Los Angeles docked it was a much larger ship at 650 ft in length and with a displacement of 2 1/2 million cubic feet these would be the only two two times the mass would be used as numerous deficiencies were noted by the Navy exit was through through this door in the nose of the Airship and then an elevator ride down the Ming Mass to ground level a unique rotating hdown device had been installed in the tower to allow entry of the Airship at ground level however it never operated properly and was one of the deficiencies noted by the Navy the decision to build the moing Mast was generated by a visit to Fort airport in October 1924 by Dr Hugo ekner the foremost commander of the German Zeppelin airships Henry Ford invited him to bring his Airship with him on his next visit to Michigan Dr ekner replied he would like to but Ford had no moing Mast Henry Ford replied that's easy I'll build one Ford men spent the month of June 19 25 working 24 hours a day to finish the mast in time for the planned visit of the Navy's Airship shenendoa on July 4th the trip was delayed until September and unfortunately the big Airship was destroyed in a storm over Southeast Ohio the day before it was scheduled to tie up at to Ford mast These Are banks of helium tanks for refilling the gas bags in the Los Angeles during the visit of the Los Angeles Harry Brooks buzzed the air ship in the little Ford fliver it is amazing the Navy would let any aircraft that near their pride and joy the toppling of The Mooring mast in October 1946 represented the end of an era at Ford and the end of a landmark for Dearborn cables were attached to four heavyduty trucks and on command they proceeded to pull the 210 ft Tower over Henry Ford and his wife Clara watched the tower come down and what was one of his last public appearances as he died in April 1947 Ford Airport had been active during World War II and was serving as the base for for Ford's new air transportation office for company planes it closed in 1947 becoming the Dearborn test track and ending Ford's involvement in commercial Aviation

Channel: Barden Aviation

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Length: 40min 22sec (2422 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 27 2016