Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company
Encyclopedia
Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company was an American
aircraft manufacturer founded by William Bushnell Stout
. The company was purchased by Ford Motor Company
in 1924 and produced the Ford Trimotor
. In the height of the Depression, Ford closed the aircraft design and production division in 1936. Ford temporarily re-entered the aviation market with the production of the B-24 during World War II
.
lent 3 factory workers to his 15 year-old son Edsel
, and Edsel's friend Charles Van Auken, to build a monoplane with a Model T engine. The tricycle gear
plane featured wing warping
controls and a radiator perpendicular to the wind. The plane did not fly well in multiple test flights from the Fort Wayne parade grounds − the final flight ended in a tree − and the project was put aside. In World War I
Ford went into the aircraft motor business with production of the Packard
-designed Liberty
engine for the military. Ford completed 3,950 Liberty engines. The newly formed Lincoln
was bought by Ford in 1922.
William Stout was appointed to the board of the Aircraft Production Board in 1917. The board awarded Stout with a contract to build a blended wing fuselage aircraft, the Stout Batwing
, intended for the US Army air service. One example was built and abandoned. In 1919 Stout formed Stout Engineering Laboratories. With money from the Champion Spark Plug
corporation, Stout built the three-passenger Batwing Limousine in 1920. This was eventually re-skinned and had structural components replaced with duraluminum. Stout gave speeches across the country touting that all future aircraft would be metal. Soon after, Stout received a US Navy contract for three Stout ST-1 aircraft. The ST-1 was a twin-engine, all-metal torpedo bomber. A 1922 crash of the prototype canceled the contract. This led to an innovative form of financing for a new venture. He began a letter campaign requesting $1,000 from over 100 prominent businessmen. He got $128,000, including money and support from Henry and Edsel Ford. This started the Stout Metal Airplane company.
After taking over the company, and the less-than-successful performance of the Stout 3-AT, Ford reassigned Stout to speaking engagements and promotional tours. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh
took the Spirit of St. Louis
to Mexico on a promotional tour following its non-stop flight over the Atlantic. Stout arranged with Henry and Edsel Ford to fly Lindbergh's mother to Mexico City to join her son for Christmas and to gain publicity for the new Ford aircraft. In addition to Mrs. Lindbergh, Stout, his wife, other Ford executives and two pilots went on the trip. The Ford Tri-motor they flew, NC-1077, is today in Greg Herrick's Golden Wings Flying Museum near Minneapolis and is the oldest flying metal aircraft in the world.
William Stout left the Metal Airplane division in 1930. He continued to operate the Stout Engineering Laboratory, producing the Stout Skycar
aircraft series and the Stout Scarab
car. In 1954, Stout purchased the rights to the Ford Trimotor in an attempt to produce new examples. A new company formed from this effort brought back two modern examples of the trimotor aircraft, the Stout Bushmaster 2000.
Stout was later to say, "The greatest single thing I accomplished for aviation was to get Mr. Ford interested in it."
become a stockholder in Stout's operations in 1922 at the age of 28. He became the president of the division in 1925. Edsel sponsored many aviation events from Ford Airport, cross-marketing his interests in airlines and aircraft production. The Ford National Reliability Air Tour
gathered manufactures from around the world to compete in order to promote aviation. In 1926, he sponsored Admiral Byrd's
flight to the North Pole in a Fokker F.VII
named the Josephine Ford. In 1928, he sponsored his trip to the South Pole in a Ford Trimotor
named the Floyd Bennett
. The similarity of design between the Fokker trimotor and the later Ford Trimotor was a source of contention between designers Stout and Anthony Fokker
.
in Dearborn, Michigan
. A factory that would house Stout Metal Airplane production would be built if Stout could convince all 128 of the initial investors in his company to sell out to Ford. This was accomplished at a cost of $500,000 to Ford, and the Stout Metal Airplane Company became an official division of Ford Motor Company on July 1, 1925. Ford Then invested an additional $2,000,000 in the venture.
The airport site chosen was 260 acres on Dearborn's Oakwood Boulevard. Ford Airport also featured an airship mooring station and hangar to test the Ford-sponsored ZMC-2
metal-hulled airship.
On January 16, 1926 Hicks asked Tome Towle to bring all drawings of the 3-AT to the Ford Engineering Laboratory. At about 6am the next morning, a fire destroyed the Stout factory and all aircraft in it, including 13 new Wright Whirlwind engines, several 2-AT Pullmans and the Stout 3-AT Prototype. Damages were claimed to be $500,000 in 1926 dollars.
Tom Towle
was placed in charge of engineering, and hired MIT graduate Otto C. Koppen
, John Lee, and James Smith McDonnell
(co-founder of what is now McDonnell Douglas
). Together they refined the 3-AT into what is now recognizable as the "Tin Goose", the Ford Trimotor.
Ford visited and encouraged Stout that this was an opportunity to build a even better facility. The new factory had two buildings with the largest doors in the world at the time.
was started in 1925 to carry passengers and mail on the lucrative new airmail routes
. It was assigned the first airmail routes, Cleveland-Detroit (CAM-6) and Chicago-Detroit (CAM-7). The regularly scheduled service used six Stout 2-AT aircraft. Ford became the first regularly scheduled airmail service and air freight operator.
The Ford Trimotor entered production and became a popular choice for the new airlines serving airmail contracts.
In 1927, Ford became the first company to use an assembly line for aircraft production.
Ford tried his hand at engineering in the company as well. Working along with engineer Karl Shultz, Ford submitted U.S. Patent no. 1749578 for a Ford Trimotor sized aircraft with separate sets of propellers providing thrust and lift. Similar to the Berliner helicopter
or the modern V-22 Osprey, the mechanism was far too heavy to see practical use. One example was worked on in the shop and abandoned.
In 1929 Richard Byrd used a 4-AT-13 in his fleet on a expedition to be the first to fly over the South Pole.
, and Hicks had left the company. Ford Trimotor sales lagged as the depression set in. The Used Trimotors flooded the market at prices between $10,000 and $40,000. As the recession eased, Ford explored a radical flying wing design in the Ford Model 15-P using its new V-8 automobile engine from the Ford Model B
. After a crash of the prototype, the effort was dropped.
Most noteworthy is Ford's production of the B-24. Up to 650 units a month were produced at Ford's Willow Run
plant until 1945. Ford also produced 2418 Waco CG-4
gliders under license for the war effort.
In 1956 Ford started the Aeronutronic
division, specializing in space and defense communications. The company combined with Philco
to produce space communications gear for NASA
. The Ford Aerospace Corporation division was sold to Loral in 1990.
In 2001 Ford sponsored the EAA's
Countdown to Kitty Hawk Ford has remained a sponsor of the EAA Airventure airshow since this event. Ford is also a major contributor to the Young Eagles
program.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
aircraft manufacturer founded by William Bushnell Stout
William Bushnell Stout
William Bushnell Stout was an inventor, designer whose work in automotive and aviation fields was notable. Stout designed an aircraft that eventually became the Ford Trimotor and was an executive at the Ford Motor Company.-Early years:William Bushnell Stout was born March 16, 1880 in Quincy,...
. The company was purchased by Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
in 1924 and produced the Ford Trimotor
Ford Trimotor
The Ford Trimotor was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced...
. In the height of the Depression, Ford closed the aircraft design and production division in 1936. Ford temporarily re-entered the aviation market with the production of the B-24 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Early Ford Aviation Interest
In 1909 Henry FordHenry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
lent 3 factory workers to his 15 year-old son Edsel
Edsel Ford
Edsel Bryant Ford , son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was president of Ford Motor Company from 1919 until his death in 1943.-Life and career:...
, and Edsel's friend Charles Van Auken, to build a monoplane with a Model T engine. The tricycle gear
Tricycle gear
Tricycle gear describes an aircraft undercarriage, or landing gear, arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one wheel in the front, called the nose wheel, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity...
plane featured wing warping
Wing warping
Wing warping was an early system for lateral control of a fixed-wing aircraft. The technique, used and patented by the Wright brothers, consisted of a system of pulleys and cables to twist the trailing edges of the wings in opposite directions...
controls and a radiator perpendicular to the wind. The plane did not fly well in multiple test flights from the Fort Wayne parade grounds − the final flight ended in a tree − and the project was put aside. In World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Ford went into the aircraft motor business with production of the Packard
Packard
Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...
-designed Liberty
Liberty L-12
The Liberty L-12 was a 27 litre water-cooled 45° V-12 aircraft engine of 400 horsepower designed both for a high power-to-weight ratio and for ease of mass production.-History:...
engine for the military. Ford completed 3,950 Liberty engines. The newly formed Lincoln
Lincoln Liberty engine
Henry Leland's Lincoln Motor Company was formed with the sole purpose of building the Liberty engine.As the United States entered World War I, the Cadillac division of General Motors was asked to produce the new Liberty aircraft engine, but William C. Durant was a pacifist who did not want General...
was bought by Ford in 1922.
Stout
Stout Batwing
The Stout Batwing was a low aspect ratio flying wing aircraft designed by William Bushnell Stout. The aircraft was the first example of wood veneer construction on American aircraft and an early practical example of "thick wing" or blended wing fuselage design. The internally braced wing was also...
, intended for the US Army air service. One example was built and abandoned. In 1919 Stout formed Stout Engineering Laboratories. With money from the Champion Spark Plug
Champion (spark plug)
Champion is an American brand of spark plugs.Originally Champion was a Fortune 500 Company founded by Robert A. Stranahan and Frank D. Stranahan in 1908 in Boston, MA and then moved to Toledo, OH in 1910 to be close to the Willys-Overland Auto Company....
corporation, Stout built the three-passenger Batwing Limousine in 1920. This was eventually re-skinned and had structural components replaced with duraluminum. Stout gave speeches across the country touting that all future aircraft would be metal. Soon after, Stout received a US Navy contract for three Stout ST-1 aircraft. The ST-1 was a twin-engine, all-metal torpedo bomber. A 1922 crash of the prototype canceled the contract. This led to an innovative form of financing for a new venture. He began a letter campaign requesting $1,000 from over 100 prominent businessmen. He got $128,000, including money and support from Henry and Edsel Ford. This started the Stout Metal Airplane company.
After taking over the company, and the less-than-successful performance of the Stout 3-AT, Ford reassigned Stout to speaking engagements and promotional tours. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
took the Spirit of St. Louis
Spirit of St. Louis
The Spirit of St. Louis is the custom-built, single engine, single-seat monoplane that was flown solo by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris for which Lindbergh won the $25,000 Orteig Prize.Lindbergh took off in the Spirit from Roosevelt...
to Mexico on a promotional tour following its non-stop flight over the Atlantic. Stout arranged with Henry and Edsel Ford to fly Lindbergh's mother to Mexico City to join her son for Christmas and to gain publicity for the new Ford aircraft. In addition to Mrs. Lindbergh, Stout, his wife, other Ford executives and two pilots went on the trip. The Ford Tri-motor they flew, NC-1077, is today in Greg Herrick's Golden Wings Flying Museum near Minneapolis and is the oldest flying metal aircraft in the world.
William Stout left the Metal Airplane division in 1930. He continued to operate the Stout Engineering Laboratory, producing the Stout Skycar
Stout Skycar
-External links:*...
aircraft series and the Stout Scarab
Stout Scarab
The Stout Scarab is a unique 1930s U.S automobile produced in small numbers by Stout Engineering Laboratories and later by Stout Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan...
car. In 1954, Stout purchased the rights to the Ford Trimotor in an attempt to produce new examples. A new company formed from this effort brought back two modern examples of the trimotor aircraft, the Stout Bushmaster 2000.
Stout was later to say, "The greatest single thing I accomplished for aviation was to get Mr. Ford interested in it."
Edsel Ford
Edsel FordEdsel Ford
Edsel Bryant Ford , son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was president of Ford Motor Company from 1919 until his death in 1943.-Life and career:...
become a stockholder in Stout's operations in 1922 at the age of 28. He became the president of the division in 1925. Edsel sponsored many aviation events from Ford Airport, cross-marketing his interests in airlines and aircraft production. The Ford National Reliability Air Tour
Ford National Reliability Air Tour
The Ford Reliability Tour, properly called "The National Air Tour for the Edsel B. Ford Reliability Trophy", was a series of Aerial Tours sponsored in part by Ford from 1925 to 1931 and re-created in 2003. Top prize was the Edsel Ford Reliability Trophy. Henry and Edsel Ford were shareholders in...
gathered manufactures from around the world to compete in order to promote aviation. In 1926, he sponsored Admiral Byrd's
Richard Evelyn Byrd
Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., USN was a naval officer who specialized in feats of exploration. He was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics...
flight to the North Pole in a Fokker F.VII
Fokker F.VII
The Fokker F.VII, also known as the Fokker Trimotor, was an airliner produced in the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker, Fokker's American subsidiary Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, and other companies under licence....
named the Josephine Ford. In 1928, he sponsored his trip to the South Pole in a Ford Trimotor
Ford Trimotor
The Ford Trimotor was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced...
named the Floyd Bennett
Floyd Bennett
Floyd Bennett was an American aviator who piloted Richard E. Byrd on his attempt to reach the North Pole in 1926.-Biography:...
. The similarity of design between the Fokker trimotor and the later Ford Trimotor was a source of contention between designers Stout and Anthony Fokker
Anthony Fokker
Anton Herman Gerard "Anthony" Fokker was a Dutch aviation pioneer and an aircraft manufacturer. He is most famous for the fighter aircraft he produced in Germany during the First World War such as the Eindecker monoplanes, the Fokker Triplane the and the Fokker D.VII, but after the collapse of...
.
Ford Airport
In 1924 Ford and Stout negotiated the building of Ford AirportFord Airport (Dearborn)
Ford Airport in Dearborn, Michigan was one of the first modern airports in the world. The airport operated from 1924 to 1947, and the site is now part of Ford Motor Company's Dearborn Proving Ground. The airport is about 360 acres in size....
in Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...
. A factory that would house Stout Metal Airplane production would be built if Stout could convince all 128 of the initial investors in his company to sell out to Ford. This was accomplished at a cost of $500,000 to Ford, and the Stout Metal Airplane Company became an official division of Ford Motor Company on July 1, 1925. Ford Then invested an additional $2,000,000 in the venture.
The airport site chosen was 260 acres on Dearborn's Oakwood Boulevard. Ford Airport also featured an airship mooring station and hangar to test the Ford-sponsored ZMC-2
ZMC-2
The ZMC-2 was the only successfully-operated metal-skinned airship ever built. Constructed at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile by The Aircraft Development Corporation of Detroit, the ZMC-2 was operated by the U.S. Navy at Lakehurst, New Jersey from 1929 until its scrapping in 1941...
metal-hulled airship.
The Fire
The Model 3-AT trimotor was heavily promoted by Henry Ford as the airplane of the future. Test flights proved otherwise, with the underpowered aircraft barely able to maintain altitude. After witnessing the tests, Henry Ford left disgusted, and shortly afterward reassigned Stout away from engineering.On January 16, 1926 Hicks asked Tome Towle to bring all drawings of the 3-AT to the Ford Engineering Laboratory. At about 6am the next morning, a fire destroyed the Stout factory and all aircraft in it, including 13 new Wright Whirlwind engines, several 2-AT Pullmans and the Stout 3-AT Prototype. Damages were claimed to be $500,000 in 1926 dollars.
Tom Towle
Thomas Towle (engineer)
Thomas Towle was an American aircraft designer in charge of developing the Ford Trimotor.- Early life :Towle was raised in Dayton, Ohio and graduated Yale university in 1920...
was placed in charge of engineering, and hired MIT graduate Otto C. Koppen
Otto C. Koppen
- MIT :Koppen was the professor emeritus of aeronautical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1929 Koppen returned to teach stability and control at MIT, where he remained until his retirement in 1965 As part of the course, Koppen took students up in a Fairchild 24 to...
, John Lee, and James Smith McDonnell
James Smith McDonnell
James Smith "Mac" McDonnell was an American aviation pioneer and founder of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, later McDonnell Douglas.-Early life:...
(co-founder of what is now McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...
). Together they refined the 3-AT into what is now recognizable as the "Tin Goose", the Ford Trimotor.
Ford visited and encouraged Stout that this was an opportunity to build a even better facility. The new factory had two buildings with the largest doors in the world at the time.
Production
Ford Air Transport ServiceFord Air Transport Service
Ford Air Transport Service is a defunct airline based in United States of America. The airline was also registered as Ford Air Freight Lines.- History :...
was started in 1925 to carry passengers and mail on the lucrative new airmail routes
Airmails of the United States
Airmails of the United States or U.S. Air Mail relates to the servicing of flown mails by the U.S. postal system within the United States, its possessions, and/or territories, marked as "Via Air Mail" , appropriately franked, and afforded any then existing class or sub-class of U.S...
. It was assigned the first airmail routes, Cleveland-Detroit (CAM-6) and Chicago-Detroit (CAM-7). The regularly scheduled service used six Stout 2-AT aircraft. Ford became the first regularly scheduled airmail service and air freight operator.
The Ford Trimotor entered production and became a popular choice for the new airlines serving airmail contracts.
In 1927, Ford became the first company to use an assembly line for aircraft production.
Ford tried his hand at engineering in the company as well. Working along with engineer Karl Shultz, Ford submitted U.S. Patent no. 1749578 for a Ford Trimotor sized aircraft with separate sets of propellers providing thrust and lift. Similar to the Berliner helicopter
Henry Berliner
Henry Adler Berliner was a United States aircraft and helicopter pioneer. Sixth son of inventor Emile Berliner, he was born in Washington, D.C....
or the modern V-22 Osprey, the mechanism was far too heavy to see practical use. One example was worked on in the shop and abandoned.
In 1929 Richard Byrd used a 4-AT-13 in his fleet on a expedition to be the first to fly over the South Pole.
Decline
The Trimotor sales dropped from a peak of 86 a year in 1929 to only two sales in 1932. Losses from the aircraft division totaled six million dollars. By 1933 Stout, MayoWilliam B. Mayo
William Benson Mayo was chief power engineer for the Ford Motor Company.-Biography:Mayo was born in Chatham, Massachusetts on 7 January 1866 to Andrew Benson and Amanda Nickerson Mayo. He worked initially as a sign painter in Boston, but accepted a position as an office boy for a manufacturer of...
, and Hicks had left the company. Ford Trimotor sales lagged as the depression set in. The Used Trimotors flooded the market at prices between $10,000 and $40,000. As the recession eased, Ford explored a radical flying wing design in the Ford Model 15-P using its new V-8 automobile engine from the Ford Model B
Ford Model B (1932)
The Model B was a Ford automobile with production starting with model year 1932 and ending with 1934. It was a much updated version of the Model A and was replaced by the 1935 Ford Model 48...
. After a crash of the prototype, the effort was dropped.
Aircraft
The AT moniker originates from the Stout 2-AT "Air Truck"| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stout Batwing Stout Batwing The Stout Batwing was a low aspect ratio flying wing aircraft designed by William Bushnell Stout. The aircraft was the first example of wood veneer construction on American aircraft and an early practical example of "thick wing" or blended wing fuselage design. The internally braced wing was also... |
1 | Experimental blended-wing craft (not produced) | |
| Stout Batwing Limousine | 1 | Experimental blended-wing passenger aircraft (not produced) | |
| Stout ST-1 | 1 | All metal twin engine torpedo bomber (not produced) | |
| Stout 1-AS Air Sedan | 1 | All metal single engine transport (not produced) | |
| Stout 2-AT Pullman Stout 2-AT Pullman The Stout 2-AT "Pullman" or "Air Pullman" was a single engine all-metal monoplane that was used for early airline travel and air mail transport in America.-Development:... |
11 | 9 Passenger single engine | |
| Stout 3-AT | 1 | Pullman style trimotor with open cockpit for pilot | |
| Ford 4-AT Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced... |
79 | Trimotor with 200 hp-300 hp engines | |
| Ford Flivver Ford Flivver The Ford Flivver was a single-seat aircraft introduced by Henry Ford as the "Model T of the Air". After a fatal crash in the prototype, production plans were halted.-Development:... |
6 | Single seat (not produced) | |
| Stout Dragonfly | 1 | Highly staggerd twin engine biplane without an elevator | |
| Ford Executive | 1 | 5 place executive transport (not produced) | |
| Ford 5-AT Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced... |
121 | Trimotor with 420 hp-450 hp engines | |
| Ford 6-AT Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced... |
2 | Trimotor | |
| Ford 7-AT Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced... |
1 | Trimotor with one 420 hp engine and two 300 hp engines | |
| Ford 8-AT Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced... |
1 | Trimotor converted to a single engine freighter | |
| Ford 9-AT Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced... |
1 | 4-AT Trimotor upgraded to 300 hp engines | |
| Ford 10-AT Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced... |
1 | 4 engined design (not produced) | |
| Ford 11-AT Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced... |
1 | Trimotor with three 225 hp Packard DR-980 diesel engines | |
| Ford 12-AT Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced... |
1 | Trimotor with one 1000 hp and two 575 hp engines (not produced) | |
| Ford 13-AT Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced... |
1 | Trimotor with one 575 hp and two 300 hp engines | |
| Ford 14-AT | 1 | Trimotor with one 1000 hp and two 715 hp engines in wings (not produced) | |
| Ford 15-P | 1 | Two seat flying wing (not produced) | |
Post History
Ford Motor Company stopped production of new aircraft designs with the closure of the Stout Metal Airplane Division. Ford has continued to be involved in aviation in the much more profitable production role, and also has marketed its automotive products with its aviation heritage though high profile events.Most noteworthy is Ford's production of the B-24. Up to 650 units a month were produced at Ford's Willow Run
Willow Run
The Willow Run manufacturing plant, located between Ypsilanti and Belleville, Michigan, was constructed during World War II by Ford Motor Company for the mass production of the B-24 Liberator military aircraft....
plant until 1945. Ford also produced 2418 Waco CG-4
Waco CG-4
The Waco CG-4 was the most widely used United States troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4 by the United States Army Air Forces, and named Hadrian in British military service....
gliders under license for the war effort.
In 1956 Ford started the Aeronutronic
Aeronutronic
Aeronutronic was a defense and space related division of Ford Motor Company set up in 1956. In 1961 Ford purchased Philco and merged the two companies in 1963. Aeronutronic provided major support for the development of Project Space Track...
division, specializing in space and defense communications. The company combined with Philco
Philco
Philco, the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company , was a pioneer in early battery, radio, and television production as well as former employer of Philo Farnsworth, inventor of cathode ray tube television...
to produce space communications gear for NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
. The Ford Aerospace Corporation division was sold to Loral in 1990.
In 2001 Ford sponsored the EAA's
Experimental Aircraft Association
The Experimental Aircraft Association is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since its inception it has grown internationally with over 160,000 members and about 1,000 chapters worldwide....
Countdown to Kitty Hawk Ford has remained a sponsor of the EAA Airventure airshow since this event. Ford is also a major contributor to the Young Eagles
Young Eagles
Young Eagles is a program created by the US Experimental Aircraft Association designed to give children between the ages of 8 to 17 an opportunity to experience flight in a general aviation airplane while educating children about aviation. This program is offered free of charge with donations and...
program.