Stout Air Lines Ford Tri-Motor 4-AT-34 Airplane at Ford Airport, October 1928

Barnstorming aerial performers thrilled audiences in the 1920s with death-defying "aerobatic" stunts. Equipped with war-surplus airplanes and steely nerves, they toured the country giving many Americans their first in-person experiences with aviation. Most barnstormers barely eked out a living, but a few found wealth and fame. By decade's end, aging aircraft, fading novelty, and growing government regulation largely ended the barnstorming era.

In 1925, an airport opened in Dearborn, Michigan. Edsel and Henry Ford conceived the Dearborn Inn as a business opportunity, a first-class hotel hosting pilots and travelers transiting through the Ford Airport. It is noted as one of the first airport hotels. This aerial photograph shows some of the airfield and the inn (bottom). Also note the Henry Ford Museum's clock tower in the distance.

Stout Air Lines advertised direct airplane service between Detroit and Cleveland, but this wasn't strictly true. Stout's "Detroit" terminal was, in fact, Ford Airport in Dearborn, ten miles west of the city. Passengers gathered at a station in Detroit and were shuttled by bus to the Dearborn airport where they boarded the actual plane.

The Ford Tri-Motor was the most popular airliner of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Its rugged dependability led Richard Byrd to choose a Tri-Motor for his attempt to be the first person to fly over the South Pole. On November 28-29, 1929, Byrd and a crew of three achieved that goal in this plane.