Come Fly With Me!

The 1928 Liberty Ford Tri-Motor is a rare bird today and an enjoyable ride into yesteryear. Photo Michael Reed

 

A beautiful bird flew into Eagle Aviation at the Columbia Metro Airport in May: The Liberty Ford Tri-Motor airplane. She’s called the “Tin Goose” and to fly in her is like taking a trip back in time to a simpler world, and perhaps for some a more elegant or exclusive way of living.

This was not just any mid-sized flying machine. This was the first all metal, multi-engined, state of the art commercial airliner. In fact, there were only 199 of these Tri-Motor airplanes ever produced, beginning in 1926 with the Ford 4-AT carrying a sticker price of $42,000, and three 300 horse power Wright Whirlwind radial engines. The Liberty design that landed in Columbia was the 5-AT-B model produced in 1928, with three 420 HP Pratt & Whitney engines. Other models were built until 1933. Today, there are only eight still around. And, they’ve left a unique mark in history.

This beauty is owned by the Liberty Aviation Museum and emblazoned with “City of Port Clinton” on her bow. The plane is technically known as the “Ford Tri-Motor 5-AT-B, serial No. 8”. It was the first plane created to carry commercial passengers rather than mail and made its first flight on December 1, 1928. In January 1929, the plane was sold to Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) and has that designation on the rear fuselage carrying the registration number NC9645.

 

CAPTAIN’S LOG

Through the years the Liberty Ford Tri-Power NC9645 worked for several airlines and other independent owners including Transcontinental and Western Airline (TWA), Grand Canyon Airlines, Boulder Dam Tours, Transportes Aereos del Continente Americano (TACA Airlines) in Honduras, and two unknown operators in Compeche, Mexico. In the mid-1950’s the plane was purchased by Eugene Frank who put it in storage until 1964. Frank sold the plane to Harrah’s Las Vegas Hotel and Casino owner William Harrah who extensively restored the Goose.

Over time the Goose has been registered under several different numbers, had many different owners, and flown across the country and down South of the border. When Harrah died this bird was sold in 1986 to Idahoan Gary Norton. It again moved in 1990 through purchase to Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in Oregon, where it underwent another restoration beginning in 1996. The Liberty Goose was finally purchased in 2014 by Ed Patrick and the Liberty Aviation Museum in Port Clinton, Ohio. Patrick made a lease agreement with EAA and she has been on a country wide travel tour since then with her most recent stop at Eagle Aviation at the Columbia Metro Airport.

 

THE RIGHT STUFF

Upon first gaze the skin of the plane looks like it’s silver colored tin roof material, but in reality it’s corrugated aluminum. This bird is just over 50 feet long with a wing span of just over 77 feet. And, another first in her day was that she was powered by three powerful Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines producing 420 horsepower each to move the almost seven ton flying vessel with ease high above the daily fray below.

Back in the ‘20’s and ‘30’s these three engines allowed the “Goose” to fly higher and faster than other airplanes of the period at a cruising speed of 122 miles per hour. Amazingly fast for the day.

She’s also a “tail dragger” meaning she sits lower in the rear than the front. Upon entering the hatch of the Liberty one must first duck down or risk a bump on the head.

Once entered into her belly you notice the beautiful interior design which includes lighting like you would find aboard a top rated ocean liner along with curtains to dress the windows and block out any unwanted sunlight, or perhaps extraterrestrial peeping-Tom’s.

If your seat is forward you’ve got to climb ‘uphill’ while moving towards the cockpit area. And don’t forget to duck your head again!

Back in her heyday in 1929, titans of business and industry spent upwards of $352 per person, that’s $6,245 in 2023 dollars for a one-way trip coast to coast from New York to Los Angeles for a ride in this fabulous flying machine. That trip included full service with a steward serving coffee, tea, milk, and sandwiches. For modern travelers there is the Tin Goose Diner in Port Clinton. And in 1929, the luxury ride included a lavatory, but didn’t include air conditioning! As pilot Rand said, “in the summer it’s hot and in the winter you’ve got to bundle up.”

The Liberty ship would seat 12 captains of industry comfortably in the original wicker chairs used for the plane seating. It still seats 12, but today those chairs have been replaced and updated with stuffed leather chairs with seatbelts for safety not just to hold you in place.

 

HENRY FORD

Henry Ford had originally gotten into the flying industry by backing an upstart aircraft business by a Dearborn based engineer named William Stout. Stout had created an all aluminum constructed plane and needed money. This aluminum plane earned it the name “Tin Goose”. Ford and son Edsel saw an opportunity and created their mark in the airplane manufacturing business.

Henry Ford’s involvement made the passenger airline business a reality. Ford, and son Edsel, had a reputation of quality built cars, and that “reputation lent credibility to the infant aviation and airline industries.” In fact, without Ford’s help much modernization of aviation infrastructure, would have not happened as fast or at all. History was made with Ford innovating many firsts in the flight world. Ford standardized “paved runways, passenger terminals, hangars, airmail, and radio navigation.” Ford’s entry into the airline business in 1928 eventually cast his company into the lead position as a B-24 bomber manufacturer in WWII.

 

NOTEWORTHY CAPTAINS

The “Tin Goose” altered the course of personal travel for thousands of passengers over her time in the sky. It changing the outlook and destiny of modern flight and those who fly. Among her pilots have been Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Rand Siegfried and of course this writer. Earhart was an inaugural pilot who piloted the Ford Tri-Motor in the skies above Detroit and the first woman aviator to fly across the Atlantic Ocean aboard a Ford Tri-Motor. Lindbergh flew mail in the “Tin Goose” for American Airlines and TAT where he also was laying out air routes. Siegfried has been flying the Ford Tri-Motor for 16 years. Reed briefly flew a dozen sightseeing passengers over Lexington, SC!

 

Other interesting facts are that astronaut Neil Armstrong took his first airplane ride in a Ford Tri-Motor when he was around 5 or 6 years old. And, in 1929 Admiral Richard Byrd flew over the South Pole in a Ford Tri-Motor airplane.

Personal Experience Onboard

When I first saw the Liberty Ford Tri-Motor sitting inside the terminal gate at Eagle Aviation I thought of the 1958 Frank Sinatra song “Come Fly With Me”. The song and the flight are both light, airy, and delightful. Makes you feel like taking a trip.

The friendly and knowledgeable gate crew was comprised of flight volunteers from around the country who quickly issued a ticket and guided me to a briefing with the Captain and an air historian. After the briefing with our Captain Rand Siegfried, I boarded the Liberty on a perfectly clear and bright sunny afternoon. As I moved toward the pilot’s cabin I had to remember to duck my head or meet the roof with my head. The cockpit was also a relatively spacious fit for two at 4 feet 6 inches wide, it was comfortable.

The cockpit looked the same as it was originally outfitted except for an electronic GPS update. The cockpit would accommodate two not too tall pilots with ease. I was fortunate enough to occupy the co-pilot’s seat for the flight alongside pilot Captain Rand Siegfried. Photo Michael Reed

 

Once all were onboard and strapped in we taxied onto the tarmac, and in seconds we were aloft. We flew over the airport area and headed toward Lake Murray. The big bird hummed as all the passengers gazed in comfort out the accoutered windows.

Familiar landmarks, ballfields, cars on highways and people walking around shopping centers were all in miniature form from the bird’s eye view. In this plane you can hang your arm out the window, but I was cautioned “don’t get your camera phone outside, it might not survive the fall.” Great advice, and well taken, apparently from experienced observation.

The Liberty Ford Tri-Motor airplane is 95 years old this year. But, don’t let her birthday fool you, this beautiful

ship is still full of vim and vigor and I was among a full passenger list to ride her into the sky when she came to town. In fact, Captain Siegfried gave me a turn on the wheel of this Grande dame of the sky. She did not disappoint and gave me a brief taste of what so many before have experienced with her in the sky.

The Liberty Ford Tri-Motor is on an EAA 2023 Nationwide tour. She made her first stop in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, April 6th, and is continuing her trek this year already flying excited patrons at Evansville, Indiana, and Columbia, SC. The Tri-Motor returns to its home in Port Clinton for two stops between June 30-July 2. The Liberty Ford Tri-Motor will be at the EAA AirVenture, July 24-30, for the entire week. That’s where thousands of planes and pilots from around the world will fly-in to Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the world’s largest airshow.

Following EAA’s AirVenture, the Liberty Goose will take to the air again September 1-3, at Port Clinton. Other stops will be publicized as they are finalized. Check in at EAA to see where the Liberty Ford Tri-Motor will be near you.

The Liberty Ford Tri-Motor airplane beckons potential adventurers to ‘come fly’ to another world from long ago. Trust me, it’s worth every minute you’ll spend in the air!

 

Michael Reed is Publisher of The Standard newspaper, print and online. You may find our video available on Rumble. The bulk of TheStandardSC video media channel has been censored by dominant social media groups like YouTube. YouTube, owed by Alphabet (Google), removed and destroyed all of our video work without permission or remuneration. That has stopped all potential donations from our many supporters on that venue. If you want to continue to see independent thought and reports please “like”, comment, share with a friend, and donate to support The Standard on this page to assure the continued availability of news that is ignored too often by the dominant media.

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