Ford Air Transport Service
{{Infobox Airline
| airline = Ford Air Transport Service
| image =
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| IATA =
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| founded = {{Start date and age|1925}}
| commenced = {{Start date and age|1925}}
| ceased = {{End date and age|1932}}
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| fleet_size = 5
| destinations = 3
| parent = Ford Motor Company
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| headquarters = Detroit, Michigan
| key_people = Henry Ford, Edsel Ford
| website =
}}
Ford Air Transport Service is a defunct airline based in United States of America. The airline was also registered as Ford Air Freight Lines.
History
Henry Ford initiated Ford Air Transport Service—the world's first regularly scheduled commercial cargo airline—in 1925.{{cite web |title=Henry Ford, Ford Motor Company Founder And Aviation Pioneer |url=http://www.countdowntokittyhawk.com/sponsors/ford/henryford.html |access-date=2010-10-01 |archive-date=2010-10-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101021011525/http://countdowntokittyhawk.com/sponsors/ford/henryford.html |url-status=dead }}
Ford Air Transport Service started with Stout 2-AT Pullman aircraft in 1925. Henry and Edsel Ford had an investment in Stout Engineering that became the Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company later that year in August. The first 2-AT was built at the Stout factory in Dearborn and called the "Maiden Detroit".{{cite news|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Fords Will Transfer Freight by Airplane|date=12 April 1925}} The other aircraft in the fleet were also 2-AT's, named "Maiden Dearborn I, II, III and IV". Initially the aircraft were for Ford's company use.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} The airline's first scheduled commercial flights in America were begun when the "Maiden Dearborn" flew 1,000 lbs. of freight between factories in Detroit and Chicago on April 13, 1925.{{cite news|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title=AIR EXPRESS LINE OPENS Success Scored by Ford Plane Regular Service Connecting Chicago and Detroit is Inaugurated Half-Ton of Freight Carried Between Cities in Less Than Three Hours|date=April 14, 1925}}
Ford Air Transport served routes between Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland.{{cite book|title=Air Transportation|url=https://archive.org/details/airtransportatio00kane|url-access=registration|author=Robert M. Kane|year=1975 |isbn=9780840301703 }} The airline logged over 1000 scheduled flights in its first year.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}
Image:CAM 6 First Flight Feb. 15, 1926.jpgThe aircraft operated out of Ford Airport off of two grass runways with night lighting.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}
The safety and predictability of the first cargo flights were used to advantage in securing the first airmail contracts under the Kelly Act. The "Madien Detroit" entered Contract Air Mail service on February 15, 1926 with Henry and Edsel Ford loading the first bag of mail.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} The aircraft flew from Detroit to Cleveland under fighter escort to become the first commercial transport of air mail. L.G. "Larry" Fritz piloted the aircraft with Ford and Stout as passengers for the one-hour-seventeen-minute flight.{{cite journal|journal=AAHS Journal|date=Summer 1997|title=Maddux Air Lines 1927–1929|author=Ed Betts}}{{cite book|title=Airlines and air mail the post office and the birth of the commercial|url=https://archive.org/details/airlinesairmailp00frob|url-access=registration|author=F. Robert Van der Linden|year=2002 |isbn=9780813122199 }}{{cite book|title=The Tin Goose.|author=Owen Bombard}}{{cite book|title=The Ford century Ford Motor Company and the innovations that shaped the world|author=Russ Banham}} The routes would be known as CAM-6 (Detroit to Cleveland), and CAM-7 (Detroit to Chicago).{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}
In 1928 Ford sold the airmail routes to Stout who also was operating his own airline with Stout-Ford built aircraft.{{cite web|title=Air cargo's foundation|url=http://www.joc.com/joc_inc/history/p19.html}} The last official flight was in 1932.{{cite web|title=Ford Airport|url=http://www.dearbornarealiving.com/attractions.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925230742/http://www.dearbornarealiving.com/attractions.shtml|archive-date=2010-09-25}}
Most of the 2-AT's eventually were sold to Florida Airways, the forerunner of Eastern Airlines.{{cite book|title=Tin Goose, The Fabulous Ford Trimotor|author=Douglas J. Ingells with Ralph Dietrick}}
Destinations
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2016}}
Fleet
File:Ford Tri-Motor 4-AT-1.webp
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2016}}
The Ford Air Transport Service fleet consists of the following aircraft:
| class="toccolours sortable" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="margin:1em auto; border-collapse:collapse"
|+ Ford Air Transport Service Airlines Fleet |
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!Aircraft !Total !Routes !Notes ! |
| Stout 2-AT Pullman
|5 |Detroit-Chicago, Detroit-Cleveland | |
| 4-AT-01
|1 | |Crashed May 12, 1928 |
Accidents and incidents
- On May 18, 1926, a Ford Air Transport 2-AT Maiden Deaborn I was involved in the first fatal accident for a commercial US aircraft in Argo, Illinois.{{cite journal|journal=AAHS Journal |volume=39 |publisher=American Aviation Historical Society}} The Contract Air Mail pilot crashed and was killed due to flight into poor weather conditions.
- On May 12, 1928, a Ford Air Freight 4-AT-01, NC 1492 crashed on takeoff from Dearborn Michigan killing the only two passengers on board the aircraft.{{cite book|title=The Ford Tri-Motor 1926–1992|author=William T. Larkins}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Portal bar|Companies|Aviation}}
{{Airlines of the United States}}
Category:Airlines established in 1925
Category:Airlines disestablished in 1932
Category:American companies established in 1925
Category:American companies disestablished in 1932