Ford Flivver Airplane #1, 1926

THF39669 / Ford Flivver Airplane #1, 1926
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Artifact Overview

Just as he put the world on wheels with the Model T, Henry Ford hoped to give it wings with a small, affordable airplane. Three or four prototype Flivver planes were built, but Ford abandoned the project after his test pilot, Harry Brooks, died in a Flivver crash near Melbourne, Florida, in 1928.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Airplane

Date Made

1926

Creator Notes

Designed by Otto Coppen and made by Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan.

Location

at Henry Ford Museum in Heroes of the Sky

Object ID

28.481.1

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Material

Aluminum (Metal)
Leather
Metal
Wood (Plant material)

Dimensions

Height: 6.125 ft
Width: 22.833 ft
Length: 15.333 ft

Inscriptions

Marked in white each side: FORD Tail marked: 268 Wings aluminum painted silk marked underneath: FORD 268.
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Related Content

  • Aerial View of Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan, 1931
    Set

    Henry Ford: Aviation

    • 29 Artifacts
    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.