Henry Ford: Aviation
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In 1924, Henry Ford, Edsel Ford and Ford Motor Company began a brief but important stint in the budding aviation industry. Before withdrawing in 1933, the Fords built a modern airport and established Midwestern freight, passenger and air mail service. They pioneered navigation systems, sponsored promotional events, and manufactured airplanes. This Expert Set was compiled in 2013 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Henry Ford’s birth.
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Stout Metal Airplane Company Factory, Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan, 1924
William B. Stout established the Stout Metal Airplane Company in 1922. Henry Ford, who took a personal and professional interest in Stout's firm, built this factory for the company in 1924. It was possibly the first building in the United States constructed specifically for the commercial production of airplanes. The building was destroyed by a fire on January 17, 1926.
View ArtifactUnited States Army Airship at Ford Airport, September 18, 1926
In 1925, Henry Ford erected the only privately owned airship mooring mast in the world at Ford Airport in Dearborn, Michigan. This is U.S. Army airship RS-1, the first to dock at Ford Airport. U.S. Navy airship Los Angeles also docked here in October of 1926, but the use of these aircraft declined and the Ford mooring mast was never used again.
View Artifact1925 Fokker F.VII Tri-Motor Airplane, "Josephine Ford," Flown Over the North Pole by Richard Byrd
Explorer Richard Byrd and pilot Floyd Bennett flew this Fokker F.VII Tri-Motor airplane toward the North Pole on May 9, 1926. Though Byrd is generally credited with reaching the pole, controversy remains. Edsel Ford financed the expedition, and Byrd acknowledged his patron by naming the plane Josephine Ford, after Ford's daughter.
View ArtifactAviator Floyd Bennett and Explorer Richard Byrd with Edsel Ford at Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan, 1926
When Richard Byrd proposed a flight over the North Pole with pilot Floyd Bennett, he turned to Edsel Ford for financial support. Not only did Ford provide considerable aid himself, he encouraged other business leaders to contribute as well. Following Byrd's flight, he wrote to Edsel Ford: "I owe more to you than all the rest put together."
View ArtifactFord Flivver Airplane #1, 1926
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.
View ArtifactHarry Brooks with Ford Flivver Airplane #3 at Ford Airport, December 1927
Test pilot Harry Brooks posed with a Ford Flivver airplane in 1927. The Flivver was Henry Ford's attempt to create a small, affordable airplane that almost anyone could fly -- a Model T for the sky. Three or four prototypes were built, but Ford abandoned the project after Brooks died in a Flivver crash near Melbourne, Florida, in 1928.
View ArtifactRadio Beacon Station Building Used at Ford Airport, 1927
Early pilots depended on visible landmarks, preventing reliable navigation in bad weather. Henry Ford's engineers developed a radio beacon that simultaneously transmitted two Morse code letters. Pilots steered until the separate signals merged into one steady hum. The original beacon station building at Ford Airport was removed in 1933 and is now displayed in Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.
View ArtifactDetail of Goniometer Used inside the Radio Beacon Transmitting Station at Ford Airport, 1926
Early pilots depended on landmarks, preventing reliable navigation in bad weather. Henry Ford's engineers developed a radio beacon that simultaneously transmitted two Morse code letters, allowing pilots to steer until the separate signals merged into a steady hum. The original beacon station at Ford Airport (shown here) was removed in 1933 and is now on display inside the museum.
View ArtifactRadio Beacon Transmitter Used at Ford Airport, 1927
The radio beacon may be Henry Ford's most important contribution to aviation. Early pilots depended on landmarks, preventing reliable navigation in bad weather. Ford's engineers developed a radio beacon that simultaneously transmitted the Morse code letter "A" (dot-dash) in one direction and the letter "N" (dash-dot) in another. The pilot steered until the separate signals merged into a steady hum.
View ArtifactRadio Goniometer Used at Ford Airport, circa 1927
The radio beacon may be Henry Ford's most important contribution to aviation. Early pilots depended on landmarks, preventing reliable navigation in bad weather. Ford's engineers developed a radio beacon that simultaneously transmitted the Morse code letter "A" (dot-dash) in one direction and the letter "N" (dash-dot) in another. The pilot steered until the separate signals merged into a steady hum.
View ArtifactFord Tri-Motor Airplane with Cargo of Ford Model T Parts, March 2, 1927
Model 4-AT airliners were designed and built by the Stout Metal Airplane Company, a division of Ford Motor Company. These rugged planes earned a reputation for being safe and dependable. From the late 1920s into the 1930s, they were the backbone of the scheduled airline industry. They could carry either passengers or freight. Here, employees removed a wicker passenger seat, left, to load automotive parts.
View ArtifactHenry Ford and Charles Lindbergh at Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan, August 10, 1927
Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh shook hands during Lindbergh's August 10-12, 1927, visit to the Michigan cities of Dearborn and Detroit. The stop was part of a national tour during which Lindbergh flew the Spirit of St. Louis to every one of the 48 states in the Union at that time.
View ArtifactWilliam B. Stout, Charles Lindbergh, Henry Ford, and Edsel Ford at Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan, August 10, 1927
Months after his historic solo flight across the Atlantic, Charles Lindbergh began a national tour to promote commercial aviation. In August 1927, the "Lone Eagle" touched down in Dearborn, Michigan. This photograph shows Lindbergh (second from the left) standing with William Stout and Henry and Edsel Ford. Stout operated a passenger airline after selling his airplane manufacturing business to the Fords.
View ArtifactAirport Passenger Transportation Service at Ford Airport, February, 1928
The terminal building at Ford Airport featured a well-equipped lounge and ticket office for passengers flying Stout Air Service, a commercial airline established by William Stout after selling his airplane company to Ford in 1925. This Model T bus, left, was part of the very first airport limousine service, which carried customers between Ford Airport and downtown Detroit, Michigan.
View ArtifactInterior of Passenger Terminal at Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan, February, 1928
The airport terminal building at Ford Airport opened in November 1927 for both the Ford Air Transport Service and the Stout Air Service, a commercial airline established by William Stout after selling his airplane company to Ford in 1925. On the first floor, a well-equipped passenger lounge and ticket office served passengers flying Stout's airline.
View Artifact"Highways of the Sky," Advertisement Promoting Commercial Air Travel on Ford Tri-Motor Airplanes, 1928
As the United States expanded in the twentieth century, air travel became an efficient alternative for the transportation of goods, services, and people. This advertisement compares the early days of commercial aviation to the early days of transcontinental rail travel, and predicts that air travel will become hugely popular -- especially on the Ford Tri-Motor airplane.
View ArtifactStout Air Lines Ford Tri-Motor 4-AT-34 Airplane at Ford Airport, October 1928
Model 4-AT airliners were designed and built by engineers of the Stout Metal Airplane Company, purchased from William Stout by Ford Motor Company. These rugged planes earned a reputation for being safe and dependable. Many commercial airlines -- including Stout's newly formed Stout Air Lines -- purchased 4-ATs for passenger travel. Here, one of his airliners takes on well-dressed passengers in Dearborn, Michigan.
View ArtifactFord Tri-Motor Airplane Advertisement, "First Time Up!," 1928
Air travel was something completely new for most Americans in the 1920s. Ford Motor Company offered an exciting -- and reassuring -- description of the experience in its advertisements for Ford Tri-Motor airplanes. Passengers "move twice as fast as the fastest express trains" secure in the knowledge that "if all three (engines) fail the plane has a gliding range of miles."
View ArtifactPassenger Seating inside Ford Tri-Motor 4-AT-4, 1927
Model 4-AT and 5-AT Tri-Motors were designed and built by the Stout Metal Airplane Company, a division of Ford Motor Company. These rugged planes earned a reputation for being safe and dependable; and in the late 1920s and 1930s they were the backbone of the scheduled airline industry. This photograph shows the interior of a 4-AT equipped with lightweight wicker seats used for passenger service.
View ArtifactFord Tri-Motor Assembly inside Factory, Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan, 1929
Henry Ford attempted to apply automobile assembly line techniques to the manufacture of airplanes, and to build them in large numbers. Monthly production peaked at 25 planes in June 1929. The Great Depression forced Ford to re-focus on his core auto business, and the company's commercial aircraft production ended in May 1933.
View ArtifactCockpit Controls inside a Ford Tri-Motor Airplane, 1927-1930
With its large, thick wing, the Ford Tri-Motor was very stable in flight. The three engines provided an excellent safety margin. The plane could fly well with two motors, and it could maintain level flight with only one. Cockpit design was efficient. Dual controls allowed either the pilot or co-pilot -- or, in bad weather, both -- to fly the craft.
View Artifact1928 Ford 4-AT-B Tri-Motor Airplane, "Floyd Bennett," Flown Over the South Pole by Richard E. Byrd
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.
View ArtifactPortrait of William B. Stout, 1929
Engineer William B. Stout established the Stout Metal Airplane Company in 1922 and introduced the first successful all-metal commercial American airplane two years later. Ford Motor Company purchased Stout's firm in 1925. Stout's work contributed to the development of the Ford Tri-Motor, one of the most popular aircraft in early commercial aviation.
View ArtifactFord Tri-Motor 5AT-40 at Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan, 1929
Airplanes are gathered on the tarmac at Ford Airport in Dearborn, Michigan, in this 1929 view. In the distance, at center left, is the mooring mast built for airships in 1925. With paved runways, a modern terminal building, and a hotel (built in 1931) located just across the street, Ford Airport was among the best-equipped facilities of its day.
View ArtifactEdsel B. Ford Reliability Tour Trophy, 1925-1931
From 1925 to 1931, Ford Motor Company sponsored annual tours to promote reliability and safety in commercial aircraft. The tours tested airplanes' abilities to maintain regular speeds and schedules. This trophy, crafted by the Gorham Manufacturing Company, is engraved with names of participants in the first tour. Images on it depict the history of aviation, and transportation in general, to that point.
View ArtifactFord Reliability Tour at Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan, 1930
From 1925-1931, Ford Motor Company sponsored annual air tours to promote reliability and safety in commercial aircraft. Pilots flew to pre-determined cities, and their airplanes were rated on the ability to take off and land quickly and maintain consistent speeds. The 1930 tour included 18 entries and visited 29 cities in the United States and Canada.
View ArtifactAerial View of Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan, 1931
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.
View ArtifactFord Tri-Motor Airplane in Flight over Dearborn Inn, Dearborn, Michigan, 1931
Edsel and Henry Ford conceived the Dearborn Inn as a business opportunity, a first-class hotel hosting pilots and travelers transiting through the adjacent Ford Airport. It is noted as one of the first airport hotels. It also served traveling Ford employees and dealers, and visitors to the nearby Edison Institute (later renamed The Henry Ford).
View ArtifactBrochure, "Economical Groundwork for Airlines of Today," 1932
Ford Motor Company promoted its motor coaches to airlines with this 1932 brochure. Then as now, airports often were located away from city centers. Ford suggested that airlines use its buses to shuttle passengers between downtown districts and airports. The scene is the Ford Airport in Dearborn, Michigan, with a Ford Tri-Motor and Henry Ford Museum in the background.
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