Parked on the tarmac, it looks like an Art Deco travel poster that’s come to life, with its rakish cockpit aimed skyward toward an exotic destination. In the air, it looks not so much like it’s flying but floating, like a model plane suspended from the ceiling of a boy’s bedroom.
The plane parked in front of the Redding Jet Center
Make no mistake about it, though, the Ford Tri-Motor that rumbled into Redding on Thursday is a legitimate aircraft with an accomplished past and a bright future.
“This is a real no-kidding airliner,” said Cody Welch, the pilot and a board member of the Oshkosh, Wisc.-based Experimental Aircraft Association that owns and operates the plane. “It’s been flying steadily since 1985 to give passengers an opportunity to step back in time and see what it’s like to fly a bit of antiquity.”
Welch, a retired B-757 pilot with 48 years of flying experience who now volunteers with the EAA, paused to take questions after giving a handful of folks a 15-minute aerial tour of Redding. He said the plane was the brainchild of celebrated automaker Henry Ford and his son, Edsel.
The Ford Tri-Motor became the country’s first mass-produced, all-metal commercial airliner. Welch credits the “Tin Goose” with launching the airline industry and said it led the way to a host of industry firsts, including paved runways.
The three engines and all metal construction were intended to reassure the flying public (the bulk of whom had seen and read enough about barnstorming mishaps and World War I crashes) that airline travel was safe.
For $75, passengers today can revisit the luxurious thrill of what it felt like to fly back when Prohibition was still in effect. It’s low (cruising altitude is about 1,300 feet) and slow (about 100 mph), but rather graceful.
Each of the plane’s nine seats is next to a large window that affords a panoramic view of the countryside. There is no onboard Wi-Fi or meal service, noted a smiling Jim Bremer, president of the Redding-based EAA Chapter 157, but there is an abundance of legroom.
Sacramento River, Cypress Avenue, Redding Civic Center and ACID canal.
Sundial Bridge
A total of 199 airplanes rolled off Ford’s Detroit assembly line between 1926 and 1933 and the 146th tri-motor, built in 1929, is now the proud ambassador for the EAA, a nonprofit group with more than 180,000 members.
It is in Redding for a four-day visit as part of EAA’s “Experience History” tour and to help promote the EAA’s AirVenture Museum.
The plane visiting Redding, a model 4-AT-E, has a colorful history. Initially it was sold to Pitcairn Aviation’s passenger division and spent its first year of service with Eastern Air Transport, the forerunner to Eastern Airlines.
In 1930 the plane was leased to Cubana Airlines, where it flew passengers between Havana and Santiago. It then saw service in the Dominican Republican as that country’s version of Air Force One.
It made its way back to the U.S. in 1949 for use in barnstorming tours. In 1950, it was moved from Miami to Phoenix and was refitted with more powerful engines for use as a crop duster. With a 450-horsepower Pratt & Whitney radial engine on each wing and a 550-horse engine on its nose, it became the most powerful 4-AT ever flown.
A Pratt & Whitney decal on an engine
It became a “borate bomber” in 1955 and saw service in aerial firefighting. It was modified for use by smokejumpers in 1958. (Welch said a group of 48 active and retired smokejumpers in Redding used the plane’s arrival as an excuse to hold a reunion Thursday morning.)
After more crop dusting work, the plane made its way to Lawrence, Kan., and again found use in barnstorming tours. It also had a featured role in the Jerry Lewis comedy “The Family Jewels.” (The plane’s other Hollywood adventure was a role in the 2009 Johnny Depp film, “Public Enemies.”)
After it was severely damaged in a wind storm in 1973, the EAA purchased it and spent 12 years restoring it. It returned to the air in 1985 and Welch has been flying it since 1993. The Ford Tri-Motor undergoes numerous inspections each year to ensure it remains airworthy, Bremer said.
The Ford Tri-Motor will be offering rides from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Tickets purchased in advance are $70 for adults and $50 for children 17 and under. Walk-up tickets are $75. Book a flight on the Tin Goose by calling (877) 952-5395 or visit www.flytheford.org.
The plane is stationed at the Redding Jet Center, located just south of Redding Municipal Airport at 3375 Flight Ave. off of Airport Road.
Photos by Jon Lewis.
Jon Lewis is a freelance writer living in Redding. He has more than 30 years experience writing for newspapers and magazines. Contact him at jonpaullewis@gmail.com.
