European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 04, 1969, Darmstadt, Hesse                                I / it 4e  Tiv Wjk sri Jirjos a shh ljfi1 in Vlf a re v n if " \. Of " t Vav i$4s i?3 a v " " that i _ a a a a " rugged All Metal trim Tor started new Era in air transport Industry. By John Reese staff writer lot of people who know that Henry Ford was the Man who put Amer Ica behind the steering wheel Don t know that he also had much to do with putting americans in the  famed Ford Model t tin Lizzy had its airborne counterpart in the Fordt Ramotor tin Goose the first successful All Metal commercial airplay and the plane that got most Early air lines started. In fact three of the Vener Able planes Are still flying on regular schedules with the Island airlines port Linton Ohio. According to Douglas j. Ingells author of tin Goose recently published by Aero publishers inc., there Are still 12of the old Ford trim Tor ships around. Some still Fly others Are relegated to museums. The predecessor air planes to the tin Goose were built by the Stout Metal air plane co. In Dearborn Mich in the Early 1920s. It was William b. Stout an Early aircraft designer who first inter ested Henry Ford in air planes. Stout approached Henry Ford and number of other wealthy americans Many of them in the automobile Indus try. In a letter to Edsel Ford who in 1923 was virtually running his father business Stout wrote "1 should like a thousand dollars and i can Only prom ise you one thing. You will never see the Money again fascinated by Stout s Candor Edsel Ford sent him a Check from his Persona funds. His father also sent a thousand. Those checks thrust the Fords into Theair plane business and within three years Ford was building a Safe All Metal trans port. He was also operating his own freight and passenger airline and flying the first commercial airmail. Ford Well known in financial Cir Clesas an astute investor aroused the in Terest of Wall Street the budding Avia Tion Industry got a tremendous shot in the Arm and prestige it had never be fore enjoyed. The first project of the Stout Metal air plane co. Was the building of a four place plywood and fabric monoplane called the air  equipped wit Only a 90-horsepower engine the air Sedan wag grossly under powered an never amounted to much but it led the Way to More successful designs. On april 13, 1925 a Stout built 2at"air transport took off from the Field Ford had built at Dearborn loaded with1,300 pounds of Auto parts destined for the Ford Plant in Chicago. It landed right on schedule thereby inaugurating the world s first regularly scheduled air line devoted solely to the business of one  the transport service ran on a two flights daily schedule and Henry Ford kept a close Check on timetable re liability 12 in february 1925, the Ford air trans port service under contract to the . Postal service became the first private contractor to Fly . Air mail. Ford flew the mail Between Detroit and Chi Cago and Detroit and Cleveland. At the inaugural ceremony at Ford Airport Henry Ford said i sent a letter on the first mail plane to my Friend Thomas Edison in which i told him i thought this was a great step  it was in the same year that Ford who had bought out the Stout company told Stout to go ahead with a design fora trim Tor All Metal plane the sat. This Stout did but came up with a awkward appearing fuselage with a sin Gle High Wing. Two motors were mount Don the Forward edges of the wings and the third on the nose which somebody observed looked like it had been stuck on As an  Ford called the plane a monstrosity. Stout was sent on a lecture tour to promote aviation and Ford hired other engineers who turned out the design forthe 4at, which is the Ford trim Tor in the configuration Best known and on which became the airline s Workhorse. Among three Young Massachusetts Institute of technology graduates whom Ford hired was James Mcdonnell no president of the Mcdonnell Douglas air Craft co. Plans were scrapped and off the drawing Board came a ship which looked like a chinese copy of the ply Wood and fabric trim tors designed Tyanthony Fokker the dutchman who built warplanes for the Kaiser in world War i the trim Tor Fokker were making a name for themselves. In fact Henry Ford left and Bill Stout it was a Fokker the Josephine Ford named after Edsel s wife in which com Mander Richard e. Byrd flew Over the North pole. Henry Ford strongly impressed with the Fokker s performance sent word Down to his plane builders to build one like that Only make Ito  the first Model 4at, the original tin Goose was an open cockpit Job with a spacious Cabin behind and below the Pilot but later this was changed to move the pilots into a closed cockpit faired Back into the characteristically thick Wing. Outboard engines were Slung in a strut arrangement in conical Nacelles below the wings. The third engine was set into the nose. On june 11, 1926, the new plane went up for its test flight and performed admirably. From that moment a whole line of Ford trim tors made aviation history. There were Many versions big Ger and better with improved Stream lining and heftier Power packages but the Basic design like the Model to never lost its  last of the famed tin geese was the Ford sat which was the Sam Basic design but larger. The wingspan of the sat was about four feet greater than the 4at s and the fuselage two feet longer. It carried 13 to 15 passengers or a payload of 3,800 pounds almost double of that of the 4at. And it was five to 10 Miles faster All of which made the sat Appeal to the airlines which paid around $55,000 each for them. However it was one of the older 4atswhich took Byrd and Bernt Balchen Over the South pole on thanksgiving Day,1929. It was named the Floyd Ben Nett after the Pilot who had flown Over the North pole with Byrd earlier. One of the most amazing parts of the South pole Story was the fact that the the Floyd Bennett was buried in the Snow at Little America for some 20 years. Byrd returned dug the old ship out fits snowy temporary grave thawed it put and flew it. Today the plane rest sin the Ford museum at Greenfield Vil Lage Dearborn Mich. The appearance of the douglasdc1, a sleek fast liner followed by the dc2 and dc3 in the 1830s marked the decline of the Ford trim Tor As Queen of the airlines production of the Forstr motors ceased in 1933, one Hundred and  we reproduced and 13 Are still around some of them still making regular flights the. Aviation Industry was to Benefit again from the Ford Genius when news papers announced in 1840, with work War ii Clouds becoming thicker  Over the us that he could mass produce air planes like he built Gaff Kord first got uitojhe.,r if Al p"b9� vf.,3". I a variations of Ford trim Tor included Tholf Pontoon equipped Mode feb trip 4, 1969 a 4 the Floyd Bennett trim Tor buried in Antarctic for 20 years was dug out reflow. Trim tors still Fly provide Island hopping service around Lake Erie. Takeoff just before Sunset. The tin Goose just flies on and on and on. The stars and stripes p9 13