Ford Trimotor

File:NC8407 Ford 4-AT Tri-Motor MD2.jpg

In the early 1920s, Henry Ford, along with a group of 19 others including his son Edsel, invested in the Stout Metal Airplane Company. Stout, a bold and imaginative salesman, sent a mimeographed form letter to leading manufacturers, blithely asking for $1,000 with the line, "For your one thousand dollars you will get one definite promise: You will never get your money back" to convince them. Stout raised $20,000, including $1,000 each from Edsel and Henry Ford.[http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/fordtri.htm "Ford Trimotor."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060423084858/http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/fordtri.htm |date=April 23, 2006 }} Smithsonian. Retrieved: July 14, 2010.

In 1925, Ford bought Stout and its aircraft designs. The single-engined Stout monoplane was turned into a trimotor, the Stout 3-AT with three Curtiss-Wright air-cooled radial engines. After a prototype was built and test-flown with poor results, the "4-AT" and "5-AT" emerged.

The Ford Trimotor using all-metal construction was not a revolutionary concept, but it was certainly more advanced than the standard construction techniques of the 1920s. The aircraft resembled the Fokker F.VII Trimotor (except for being all metal which Henry Ford claimed made it "the safest airliner around").Winchester 2004, p.151. Its fuselage and wings followed a design pioneered by JunkersLarkins 1992, p.29 during World War I with the Junkers J.I and used postwar in a series of airliners starting with the Junkers F.13 low-wing monoplane of 1920 of which a number were exported to the US, the Junkers K 16 high-wing airliner of 1921, and the Junkers G 24 trimotor of 1924. All of these were constructed of aluminum alloy, which was corrugated for added stiffness, although the resulting drag reduced its overall performance. So similar were the designs that Junkers sued and won when Ford attempted to export an aircraft to Europe.Larkins 1992, pp.154–156 In 1930, Ford countersued in Prague, and despite the possibility of anti-German sentiment, was decisively defeated a second time, with the court finding that Ford had infringed upon Junkers' patents.

Although designed primarily for passenger use, the Trimotor could be easily adapted for hauling cargo, since its seats in the fuselage could be removed. To increase cargo capacity, one unusual feature was the provision of "drop-down" cargo holds below the lower inner wing sections of the 5-AT version.[https://books.google.com/books?id=u-IDAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Mechanics+1931+curtiss&pg=PA290 "Plane Carries Mail In Wing To Increase Load"(photo of under wing cargo carriers).] Popular Mechanics, February 1931.

File:FordTriMotorCorrugatedWing.jpg

One 4-AT with Wright J-4 200-hp engines was built for the U.S. Army Air Corps as the C-3, and seven with Wright R-790-3 (235 hp) as C-3As. The latter were upgraded to Wright R-975-1 (J6-9) radials at 300 hp and redesignated C-9. Five 5-ATs were built as C-4s or C-4As.

The original (commercial production) 4-AT had three air-cooled Wright radial engines. It carried a crew of three: a pilot, a copilot, and a stewardess, as well as eight or nine passengers {{#tag:ref| Up to 12 passengers could be accommodated in special configurations.|group=N}}. The later 5-AT had more powerful Pratt & Whitney engines. All models had an aluminum corrugated sheet-metal body and wings. Unlike many aircraft of this era, extending through World War II, its control surfaces (ailerons, elevators, and rudders) were not fabric covered, but were also made of corrugated metal. As was common for the time, its rudder and elevators were actuated by metal cables that were strung along the external surface of the aircraft. Engine gauges were also mounted externally, on the engines, to be read by the pilot while looking through the aircraft windshield. Another interesting feature was the use of the hand-operated "Johnny brake."

Like Ford cars and tractors, these Ford aircraft were well designed, relatively inexpensive, and reliable (for the era).{{citation needed|date=October 2014}} The combination of a metal structure and simple systems led to their reputation for ruggedness. Rudimentary service could be accomplished "in the field" with ground crews able to work on engines using scaffolding and platforms.Winchester 2004, p. 150. To fly into otherwise-inaccessible sites, the Ford Trimotor could be fitted with skis or floats.

File:FordTriMotorControlWires.JPG

The rapid development of aircraft at this time (the vastly superior Boeing 247 first flew at start of 1933), along with the death of his personal pilot, Harry J. Brooks, on a test flight, led to Ford losing interest in aviation. While he did not make a profit on its aircraft business, Ford's reputation lent credibility to the infant aviation and airline industries, and he helped introduce many aspects of the modern aviation infrastructure, including paved runways, passenger terminals, hangars, airmail, and radio navigation.Herrick, Greg A. {{Cite web |url=http://fordtri-motor.com/pdf/Trimotorx3WEB2.pdf |title=The Amazing Story of America's Oldest Flying Airliner |access-date=2019-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628104542/http://fordtri-motor.com/pdf/Trimotorx3WEB2.pdf |archive-date=2017-06-28 |url-status=usurped }} fordtri-motor.com, Yellowstone Aviation, Inc (Jackson, Wyoming), 2004. Retrieved: April 4, 2019. {{#tag:ref| Note: The 28-page booklet, The Amazing Story of America's Oldest Flying Airliner, describes the history of the Ford Trimotor 4-AT-10, C-1077, also known as G-CARC "Niagara". It also describes the restoration process and some general history of Ford's Trimotor, as well as his aviation enterprises.|group=N}}

In the late 1920s, the Ford Aircraft Division was reputedly the "largest manufacturer of commercial airplanes in the world."Head and Pretzer 1990, p. 53. Alongside the Ford Trimotor, a new single-seat commuter aircraft, the Ford Flivver or "Sky Flivver" had been designed and flown in prototype form, but never entered series production. The Trimotor was not to be Ford's last venture in aircraft production. During World War II, the largest aircraft manufacturing plant in the world was built at the Willow Run, Michigan plant, where Ford produced thousands of B-24 Liberator bombers under license from Consolidated Aircraft.Head and Pretzer 1990, p. 57.

William Stout left the Metal Airplane division of the Ford Motor Company in 1930. He continued to operate the Stout Engineering Laboratory, producing various aircraft. In 1954, Stout purchased the rights to the Ford Trimotor in an attempt to produce new examples. A new company formed from this effort brought back two modern examples of the trimotor aircraft, renamed the Stout Bushmaster 2000, but even with improvements that had been incorporated, performance was judged inferior to modern designs.

File:EAA Ford Trimotor.jpg (EAA) and painted in the colors of Eastern Air Transport]]

Production ran from 1926 and 1933 and 199 were built, including 79 4-ATs, and 117 5-ATs, plus some experimental craft. Well over 100 airlines of the world flew the Ford Trimotor. From mid-1927, the type was also flown on executive transportation duties by several commercial nonairline operators, including oil and manufacturing companies.

The impact of the Ford Trimotor on commercial aviation was immediate, as the design represented a "quantum leap over other airliners."O'Leary 2006, p. 54. Within a few months of its introduction, Transcontinental Air Transport was created to provide coast-to-coast operation, capitalizing on the Trimotor's ability to provide reliable and, for the time, comfortable passenger service. While advertised as a transcontinental service, the airline had to rely on rail connections with a deluxe Pullman train that would be based in New York being the first part of the journey. Passengers then met a Trimotor in Port Columbus, Ohio, that would begin a hop across the continent ending at Waynoka, Oklahoma, where another train would take the passengers to Clovis, New Mexico, where the final journey would begin, again on a Trimotor, to end up at the Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, a few miles northeast of Los Angeles. This demanding trip would be available for only a year before Transcontinental was merged into a combine with Western Air Service.

Ford Trimotors were also used extensively by Pan American Airways, for its first international scheduled flights from Key West to Havana, Cuba, in 1927. Eventually, Pan American extended service from North America and Cuba into Central and South America in the late 1920s and early 1930s.O'Leary 2006, p. 55. One of Latin America's earliest airlines, Cubana de Aviación, was the first to use the Ford Trimotor in Latin America, starting in 1930, for its domestic services.

The heyday for Ford's transport was relatively brief, lasting only until 1933, when more modern airliners began to appear. Rather than completely disappearing, the Trimotors gained an enviable reputation for durability with Ford ads in 1929 proclaiming, "No Ford plane has yet worn out in service." First being relegated to second- and third-tier airlines, the Trimotors continued to fly into the 1960s, with numerous examples being converted into cargo transports to further lengthen their careers, and when World War II began, the commercial versions were soon modified for military applications.

File:FordTrimotor DC.JPG

Some of the significant flights made by the Ford Trimotor in this period greatly enhanced the reputation of the type for strength and reliability. One example was Ford 4-AT Trimotor serial number 10, built in 1927. It flew in the United States and Mexico under registration number C-1077, and for several years in Canada under registration G-CARC. It had many notable accomplishments; it was flown by Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart, among many others. It made the first commercial flight from the United States to Mexico City, as well as the first commercial flight over the Canadian Rockies. After damage on landing in 1936, it was grounded and remained for decades at Carcross, Yukon. In 1956, the wreck was salvaged and preserved, and in the mid-1980s, Greg Herrick took over C-1077 and began restoring it. As of 2006, C-1077 is in flying condition again, restored to its December 1927 appearance.

On November 27 and 28, 1929, Commander Richard E. Byrd (navigator), chief pilot Bernt Balchen, and two other crewmen, the copilot and the photographer, made the first flight above the geographic South Pole in a Ford Trimotor that Byrd named the Floyd Bennett. This was one of three aircraft taken on this polar expedition, with the other two being named The Stars and Stripes and The Virginian, replacing the Fokker Trimotors that Byrd previously used.

In February 1930, a Ford Trimotor was used for the flight of Elm Farm Ollie, the first cow to fly in an aircraft and to be milked mid-flight.{{cite book|author=C. B. Harding|title=The Guernsey Breed: An Illustrated Chronicle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qdkqAQAAMAAJ|year=2000|publisher=Hillsboro Press|isbn=978-1-57736-177-0}}

Franklin Roosevelt flew aboard a Ford Trimotor in 1932 during his presidential campaign in one of the first uses of an aircraft in an election, replacing the traditional "whistle stop" train trips.Larkins 1992, p. 170.

File:NC8407 Ford 4-AT Tri-Motor MD1.jpg

A Ford Trimotor was used in a search for the lost flyers of the Sigizmund Levanevsky trans-polar flight in 1937. Movie stunt flyer Jimmie Mattern flew a specially modified Lockheed Electra along with fellow movie flyer, Garland Lincoln, flying a stripped-down Trimotor donated by the president of Superior Oil Company. With 1,800 gallons of avgas and 450 gallons of oil in the modified cabin, the Trimotor was intended to act as a "tanker" for the expedition. The Electra was able to transfer fuel in the air from the Trimotor, through a hose cast out the 4-AT's door. With the first aerial refueling test successful, the pair of pilots set out for Fairbanks, landing first at Burwash Landing, Yukon Territory, Canada, on August 15, 1937, but the Trimotor ran out of fuel and crashed in inclement weather the following day. The Trimotor was abandoned on the tundra.Wynne 1987, p. 53.

One of the major uses of the Trimotor after it was superseded as a passenger aircraft by more modern aircraft like the Boeing 247 (1933) or the Douglas DC-2 (1934), then DC-3, was the carrying of heavy freight to mining operations in jungles and mountains. The Trimotor was employed for decades in this role.Jardine, T. F. [https://books.google.com/books?id=IikDAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1932+plane&pg=PA22 "Airplanes Help Mine Gold" (photos of Trimotor hauling freight to mine operations in Andes).] Popular Science Monthly, March 1935.

In 1942, during the Battle of Bataan, a Trimotor was used in evacuations. The aircraft would haul 24 people nearly 500 miles a trip, twice daily. The aircraft was eventually strafed and destroyed by Japanese aircraft."Those Fabulous Fords." Popular Mechanics,June 1953.

File:Former Royal Australian Air Force (33 Squadron) Ford 5-AT-C A45-1 displayed at the National Museum and Art Gallery, Port Moresby.jpg (33 Squadron) Ford 5-AT-C A45-1 displayed at the Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery, Port Moresby]]

In postwar years, the Ford Trimotors continued in limited service with small, regional air carriers. Scenic Airways Ford Trimotor N414H was used for 65 years as a sightseeing aircraft flying over the Grand Canyon.

;2-AT Pullman: Stout's monoplane with a single {{cvt|400|hp}} Liberty L-12 V-12 engine, developed into 3-AT. 11 Built.

;3-AT: Stout's tri-motor prototype with three {{cvt|200|hp}} Wright J-4 Whirlwind radial engines. Outboard engines on wings, and nose engine mounted very low. One built.

;4-AT: Prototype with three {{cvt|200|hp}} J-4 Whirlwinds, with outer engines below wings. Two pilots in open cockpit, and eight passengers given half-round windows. One built.

;4-AT-A: Production enclosed-cockpit version with rectangular windows with top corners rounded. 14 built.

;4-AT-B: 4-AT-A with three {{cvt|220|hp}} Wright J-5 Whirlwind radials. Carried 12 passengers. 39 built.

;4-AT-C: 4-AT-B with nose engine replaced by a {{cvt|400|hp}} Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp radial. One built.

;4-AT-D: 4-AT-B with lengthened {{cvt|78|ft|0|in}} wings and fitted with various engines and other minor modifications. One built and two modified.

;4-AT-E: 4-AT-B with three {{cvt|300|hp}} Wright J-6-9 Whirlwind nine-cylinder radials. 24 built with rectangular windows as used on 5-AT-A.

;4-AT-F: 4-AT-E but stressed for higher loads. One built.

;5-AT-A: 4-AT-E with longer {{cvt|77|ft|10|in}} wing and fuselage with an extra window on each side, powered by three {{cvt|420|hp}} Wasps. Carried 13 passengers. Three built.

File:EL-2002-00560.jpg

;5-AT-B: 5-AT-A powered by {{cvt|420|hp}} Wasp C-1 or SC-1 radials. Carried 15 passengers. 41 built.

;5-AT-C: Improved version with engine cowlings and wheel pants, similar to the Ford 5-AT-A. Carried 17 passengers. 51 built.

;5-AT-CS: 5-AT-C floatplane with twin Edo floats. One built.

;5-AT-D: Wings {{cvt|8|in|cm}} higher for taller cabin, and weights increased. Powered by three {{cvt|450|hp}} Wasp SC radials. 20 built.

;5-AT-DS: 5-AT-D floatplane with Edo floats. One built.

;5-AT-E: Version with outboard engines moved to wing leading edges. One 5-AT-C modified for tests, but converted back.

;6-AT-A: Economy 5-AT-A with reduced power, load and performance. Three {{cvt|300|hp}} Wright J-6-9 Whirlwind radials. Three built.

;6-AT-AS: 6-AT-A floatplane with Edo floats. One modified.

;7-AT-A: 6-AT-A with {{cvt|420|hp}} Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial in the nose.

;8-AT: 5-AT-C converted to single-engine freighter. Six different engines ranging from {{cvt|575|to|700|hp}} installed. One built.{{cite journal|last=|first=|journal=AAHS Journal|date=Spring 2004|page=41}}

;9-AT: 4-AT-B with three {{cvt|300|hp}} Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engines. One built.

;10-AT: Project for larger aircraft with two engines above fuselage and two on wings. None built but developed into 12-AT and built as 14-A as a trimotor.

;11-AT: 4-AT-E with three {{cvt|225|hp}} Packard DR-980 Diesel radial engines. One built.

;12-AT: Project, development of 10-AT, not built.

;13-A: 5-AT-D with two {{cvt|300|hp}} Wright J-6-9 Whirlwind radials, and a {{cvt|575|hp}} Wright Cyclone radial in the nose. 1 built.

File:Ford_14_AT_L'Aerophile_May_1932.jpg

;14-A: Similar to 10-AT and 12-AT, 1 built but not flown, was to have carried 32 passengers.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

;XC-3: One 4-AT-A evaluated by the USAAC.Andrade 1979, p. 95.

;C-3: 4-AT-A redesignated from XC-3 following evaluation

;C-3A: 4-AT-E with three {{cvt|235|hp}} Wright R-790-3 Whirlwind radials. Seven built, all converted to C-9 standard.

;C-4: One 4-AT-B for evaluation.

File:Ford C-4 Tri-Motor.jpg

;C-4A: 5-AT-D, with three {{cvt|450|hp}} Pratt & Whitney R-1340-11 Wasp radials. Four built

;C-4B: Single C-4A re-engined with three {{cvt|450|hp}} R-1340-7 Wasps.

;C-9: Redesignation of C-3As fitted with {{cvt|300|hp}} Wright R-975-1 Whirlwind radialsAndrade 1979, p. 96.

;XB-906: 5-AT-D modified into bomber with three {{cvt|500|hp}} Wasps for United States Army Air Corps. One built.

;XJR-1: One 4-AT-A evaluated by the United States NavyAndrade 1979, p. 197.

;JR-2: U.S. Marine Corps 4-AT-E transport, with three Wright J-6-9 engines. Two built, redesignated RR-2 in 1931.

;JR-3: 5-AT-C for U.S. Navy (one) and U.S. Marine Corps (two). Three built.

File:EL-2002-00549.jpg

;RR-1: XJR-1 redesignated in 1931.Andrade 1979, p. 218.

;RR-2: JR-2 redesignated in 1931.

;RR-3: JR-3 redesignated in 1931.

;RR-4: Single 5-AT-C for Navy.

;RR-5: 4-AT-Ds, one each for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines.

File:Scenic Trimotor.JPG

;{{COL}}

• SACO
• SCADTA

;{{flag|Canada|1921}}

• BYN Co.(British Yukon Navigation Company) CF-AZB flew in the Yukon from April 1936 until damaged in August 1940.{{cite news|url=http://www.tc.gov.yk.ca/digitization/public/search_detail.php?imageId=137193#|title=Yukon Archives Image CF-AZB|work=tc.gov.yk.ca|last=Tidd|first=Claude|access-date=July 26, 2017}}

;{{ROC}}

• China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) operated at least three 5-ATs{{harvnb|Best|2007|pp=72–73}}

;{{CUB}}

• Cubana

;{{CZS}}

• Czechoslovak Airlines

;{{DOM}}

• Dominicana de Aviación, Dominican Republic airline flew Ford Trimotors in the early 1930s.[http://www.flydominicanrepublic.com/ "Ford Trimotor Videos."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427064520/http://www.flydominicanrepublic.com/ |date=2011-04-27 }} Fly Dominican Republic. Retrieved: July 14, 2010.

;{{flag|Mexico|1934}}

• Mexicana

;{{flag|Spain|1923}}

• First CLASSA, then LAPE, after Iberia

;{{flag|USA|1912}}

• American Airways
• Eastern Air Transport
• Grand Canyon Airlines
• Island Airlines, Bass Islands, Ohio
• Maddux Air Lines
• Northwest Airways
• Pan American Airways
• Southwest Air Fast Express (S.A.F.E.way)
• Star Air Service
• Texaco
• Transcontinental Air Transport
• Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA)
• United Air Lines
• Wien Air Alaska

;{{VEN}}

• AVENSA

File:RCAF Ford 6-AT-A trimotor G-CYWZ msn 6-AT-1.jpg

;{{AUS}}

• Royal Australian Air Force
• No. 24 Squadron RAAF

;{{flag|Canada|1921}}

• Royal Canadian Air Force operated a single 6-AT-A/6-AT-AS.

;{{COL}}

• Colombian Air Force

;{{flag|Spain|1931}}

• Spanish Republican Air Force

;{{UK}}

• Royal Air Force
• No. 271 Squadron RAF operated a single 5-AT-D during 1940.March 1998, p. 250.

;{{flag|USA|1912}}

• United States Army Air Corps
• United States Marine Corps
• United States Navy

• On March 17, 1929, a Colonial Western Airways 4-AT-B Tri-Motor, NC7683, suffered a double engine failure during its initial climb after takeoff from Newark Airport in Newark, New Jersey. It failed to gain height and crashed into a railroad freight car loaded with sand, killing 14 of the 15 people on board the aircraft. At the time, it was the deadliest airplane accident in American history. In addition, the surviving pilot also became the earliest known sole survivor of a commercial aircraft accident.{{cite book |last1=Larkins |first1=William T. |title=The Ford Story: A Pictorial History of the Ford Tri-Motor, 1927-1957 |date=1958 |publisher=Robert R. Longo Company |location=Wichita, Kansas |page=133 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015002911553?urlappend=%3Bseq=149 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015002911553?urlappend=%3Bseq=149 |access-date=8 April 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19290317-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident Ford 4-AT-B Tri-Motor NC7683 Newark Airport, NJ (EWR)|first=Harro|last=Ranter}}
• On April 21, 1929, a Maddux Air Lines 5-AT-B Tri-Motor, NC9636, collided with a United States Army Air Service (USAAS) Boeing PW-9D fighter, 28-037, over San Diego; all six on board both aircraft died. The pilot of the Boeing PW-9D was performing stunts and then attempted to pass in front of the airliner, but misjudged the speed of the Maddux aircraft and his aircraft struck the cockpit of the Ford Tri-Motor.{{cite web|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19290421-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident Ford 5-AT-B Tri-Motor NC9636 San Diego Airport, CA (SAN)|first=Harro|last=Ranter|access-date=8 April 2019}}
• On September 3, 1929, a Transcontinental Air Transport 5-AT-B Tri-Motor, NC9649, named City of San Francisco, crashed into Mount Taylor near Grants, New Mexico in a thunderstorm; all eight people on board died.{{Cite book|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001527079|title=The Ford story; a pictorial history of the Ford Tri-motor, 1927-1957.|first=William T.|last=Larkins|series=A Longo publication,2 |date=February 2, 1958|publisher=R. R. Longo Co.|via=HathiTrust}}{{cite web|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19290903-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident Ford 5-AT-B Tri-Motor NC9649 Gallup, NM|first=Harro|last=Ranter|access-date=8 April 2019}}
• On January 19, 1930, a Maddux Air Lines 5-AT-C Tri-Motor, NC9689, operating as Flight 7, crashed near Oceanside, California due to adverse weather conditions, killing all 16 on board.{{cite web|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19300119-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident Ford 5-AT-C Tri-Motor NC9689 Oceanside, CA|first=Harro|last=Ranter|access-date=8 April 2019}}
• On August 12, 1930, a ČSA Československé Aerolinie Ford 5-AT-C Tri-Motor, OK-FOR, hit the ground in poor visibility after a sharp turn to avoid a chimney and caught fire, in an attempt to stay clear of a thunderstorm, killing 12 of 13 on board.{{cite book |last1=Larkins |first1=William T. |title=The Ford Story: A Pictorial History of the Ford Tri-Motor, 1927-1957 |date=1958 |publisher=Robert R. Longo Company |location=Wichita, Kansas |page=134 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015002911553?urlappend=%3Bseq=149 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015002911553?urlappend=%3Bseq=149 |access-date=8 April 2019}}{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=ASN Aircraft accident Ford 5-AT-C Tri-Motor OK-FOR Jihlava (Iglau) |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19300822-0 |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=aviation-safety.net}}
• On January 24, 1933, a Pacific Air Transport Ford Trimotor on a cargo flight crashed on takeoff, killing 2 out of the 3 occupants on board.{{ASN accident|id=19330124-0|title=NC431H|accessdate= August 14, 2023.}}
• On June 24, 1935, Tri-Motor 5-AT-B of SACO Servicio Aéreo Colombiano registered F-31 collided with a Tri-Motor of SCADTA, (Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes Aéreos), registered C-31, at Olaya Herrera Airfield near Medellín, Colombia; of the 20 on board both aircraft, only three passengers survived. Among the dead was the tango singer Carlos Gardel.{{cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19350624-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident Ford 5-AT-B Tri-Motor F-31 Medellín-Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport (EOH)|first=Harro|last=Ranter}}

{{outdated|section|date=April 2025}}

In 2011 18 Ford Trimotors still existed, eight of which had current FAA airworthiness certificates.Wiggins, Arthur B. {{Cite web |url=http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |title=Ford Tri-Motor List |access-date=October 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116113044/http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}. trimotors.awiggins.com, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.{{#tag:ref| Note: The Ford Tri-Motor List is an enthusiast's register of existing Ford Trimotors, Bushmasters and Stinson Trimotors.|group=N}}

File:Ford 4AT Trimotor.JPG

File:Air Zoo December 2019 046 (Ford Tri-Motor).jpg

• C/N:10 tail number: NC1077 (4-AT-A, September 1927) "NC1077, G-CARC Niagara" Currently owned by Greg Herrick's Yellowstone Aviation. Oldest flying Trimotor, C/N (Construction Number) 10.Herrick, Greg. {{Cite web |url=http://fordtri-motor.com/ |title=Ford Tri-motor 4-AT-10, C-1077, a.k.a G-CARC 'Niagara' |access-date=April 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325103519/http://fordtri-motor.com/ |archive-date=March 25, 2018 |url-status=usurped }}. fordtri-motor.com, Yellowstone Aviation, Inc (Jackson, Wyoming), 2004. Retrieved: April 4, 2019. It is based at the Golden Wings Museum,[http://www.goldenwingsmuseum.com/collection/AC-Pages/Ford-1077.htm "Ford Trimotor."] Golden Wings Museum. Retrieved: July 14, 2010. near Minneapolis, Minnesota, US.Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{Cite web |url=http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |title=N1077 |access-date=October 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116113044/http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.[http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N1077.html "Aircraft N1077 Profile."] "Airport-Data.com", 2012. Retrieved: April 9, 2012. This aircraft featured in the 2009 film Amelia (a biopic of aviator Amelia Earhart).{{Cite web|url=http://www.australianflying.com.au/news/amelia-earhart-s-aircraft-wrangler|title=Amelia Earhart's aircraft wrangler - Australian Flying|website=www.australianflying.com.au}}
• C/N:42 tail number: NC9610 (Formerly NC7684) (4-AT-B, September 1928) Currently owned by Yankee Air Force, based in Belleville, Michigan, US.{{Cite web |title=Aircraft Inquiry |url=https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N9610 |access-date=2022-06-19 |website=registry.faa.gov}}{{cite magazine |author= |title=The Mighty Tri-Motor Joins the Air Adventures Pedigree |url=https://yankeeairmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/YAM_Approaches-Spring-2020-DIGITAL.pdf |magazine=Approaches |location= |publisher= |date=Spring 2020 |access-date=2022-06-19}}
• C/N:55 tail number: NC9612 (4-AT-E, 1929) The "City of Richmond" Originally owned by: Mamer Flying Service, Spokane, WA. Currently owned by: Scott Glover, Mid America Flight Museum. It is based in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, US.Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{Cite web |url=http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |title=N9612 |access-date=October 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116113044/http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.[http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N9612.html "Aircraft N9612 Profile."] "Airport-Data.com", 2012. Retrieved: April 9, 2012.{{Cite web|url=https://midamericaflightmuseum.com/portfolio-items/ford-4at-tri-motor/|title=Ford 4AT Tri-Motor|first=William|last=Jones}}
• C/N:69 tail number: NC8407 (4-AT-E, 1929) Originally owned by: Eastern Air Transport Currently owned by: The Experimental Aircraft Association is based at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, US. It tours the United States performing at airshows and other aviation events.[https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/flight-experiences/fly-the-ford-eaa-ford-tri-motor-airplane-tour/ "Ford Tri-Motor Tour"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713050354/https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/flight-experiences/fly-the-ford-eaa-ford-tri-motor-airplane-tour |date=July 13, 2017 }} Experimental Aircraft Association. Retrieved: July 26, 2017.Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{Cite web |url=http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |title=N8407 |access-date=October 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116113044/http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.[http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N8407.html "Aircraft N8407 Profile."] "Airport-Data.com", 2012. Retrieved: April 9, 2012.
• C/N:8 tail number: NC9645 (5-AT-B, 1928) "City of Wichita/City of Port Clinton" Currently owned by: Liberty Aviation Museum. It is dressed in Transcontinental Air Transport livery. It is based at the Erie-Ottawa International Airport in Port Clinton, Ohio, US.{{Cite web|url=http://www.libertyaviationmuseum.org/cofw.html|title=Liberty Aviation Museum|website=www.libertyaviationmuseum.org}} It was previously owned by Evergreen Vintage Aircraft, Inc., and previously based at the Evergreen Aviation Museum, McMinnville, Oregon, US.Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{Cite web |url=http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |title=N9645 |access-date=October 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116113044/http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011.[http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N9645.html "Aircraft N9645 Profile."] "Airport-Data.com", 2012.
• C/N:34 tail number: N9651 (5-AT-B, 1929) - The "City of Philadelphia" Originally owned by: Trans Continental Air Transport. Currently owned by: Kermit Weeks. It is based at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida, US. This aircraft has made many film appearances, including Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.{{cite news|url=https://www.fantasyofflight.com/collection/aircraft/currently-not-showing-in-museum/golden-age/1929-ford-5at-tri-motor/|title=1929 Ford 5AT Tri-Motor|work=fantasyofflight.com|access-date=July 26, 2017}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |title=N9651 |access-date=October 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116113044/http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.[http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N9651.html "Aircraft N9651 Profile."] Airport-Data.com, 2012. Retrieved: April 9, 2012.
• C/N:58 tail number: NC8419 (5-AT-C, 1929) Originally owned by: Northwest Airlines. Currently owned by: Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum. Based at The Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan, US. The airplane combined several 5-AT airframes, one of which served with five carriers before being used by the United States Forest Service between 1951 and 1959. The original crashed and burned on August 4, 1959, while landing at a remote strip in the Nez Perce National Forest, killing two smokejumpers.[http://www.airzoo.org/ "Ford Trimotor."] Kalamazoo Air Zoo. Retrieved: July 14, 2010.Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{Cite web |url=http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |title=N8419 |access-date=October 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116113044/http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.[http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N8419.html "Aircraft N8419 Profile."] "Airport-Data.com", 2012. Retrieved: April 9, 2012.{{cite journal | last = National Smokejumpers Association| year = 1997| title = Missed Flight - Ralph Johnston, RDD '63 | journal = The Statis Line | volume = 4-2| issue =April| url = http://smokejumpers.com/documents/magazine_pdfs/staticline-1997-04-10.7MB.pdf| access-date =September 6, 2013}}
• C/N:74 tail number: N414H (5-AT-C, 1928) Originally owned by: Ford Motor Co. Previously owned by Sopwith, Ltd. It was based at Valle Airport in Valle, Arizona, US. It was used in 2008 and 2009 for flight instruction and type ratings.[http://www.valleairport.com/fordtrimotor/typerating.htm "Time machines do exist!"] ValleAirport.Com, Grand Canyon Valle Airport (40G), 2008–2009. Retrieved: March 15, 2009.Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{Cite web |url=http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |title=N414H |access-date=October 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116113044/http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.[http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N414H.html "Aircraft N414H Profile."] "Airport-Data.com", 2012. Retrieved: April 9, 2012. It is now owned by, and based at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon, US.{{Cite web|url=https://www.columbiagorgenews.com/gorge-life/ford-trimotor-joins-waaam-collection/article_d438623e-8df4-11ec-9d3a-8b6d38aec457.html|title=Ford Trimotor joins WAAAM collection|website=Columbia Gorge News|date=February 16, 2022 }}

• C/N:15 tail number: NX4542 (4-AT-B, 1928) Richard E. Byrd's South Pole aircraft. Originally owned by: Ford Motor Company. Currently owned by: Henry Ford Museum. It is on display at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, USA.Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{Cite web |url=http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |title=NX4542 |access-date=October 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116113044/http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
• C/N:46 tail number: NC7861 (4-AT-B, Unknown) Originally owned by: Union Electric, St. Louis. Currently owned by: National Museum of Naval Aviation Pensacola, Florida, USA. Displayed as Navy RR-5 serial A-9206.{{cite web |title=Ford 4-AT-E Tri-Motor |url=https://www.airliners.net/photo/Untitled/Ford-4-AT-E-Tri-Motor/2160102 |website=Airliners.net |access-date=9 April 2020}}
• C/N:11 tail number: NC9637 (5-AT-B,1929) Originally owned by: Pan Am. Currently owned by: the San Diego Air & Space Museum in San Diego, California, USA.{{cite news|url=http://sandiegoairandspace.org/collection/item/ford-trimotor-5-at|title=Ford Trimotor 5-AT|work=San Diego Air & Space Museum|access-date=July 26, 2017}}
• C/N:39 tail number: NC9683 (5-AT-B, 1929) Originally owned by: American Airlines. Currently owned by: The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.{{cite news|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/multimedia-gallery/97-15367hjpg|title=Ford 5-AT Tri-Motor, America by Air|work=National Air and Space Museum|access-date=July 26, 2017}} in Washington, D.C.Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{Cite web |url=http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |title=N9683 |access-date=October 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116113044/http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
• C/N:60 tail number: none - ex-RAAF (5-AT-C, 1929) Originally owned by: Ford Motor Company; in England. Currently owned by: Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery. Possible rebuild.

• C/N:38 tail number: N7584 (4-AT-B, January 1928) Originally owned by: Robertson Aircraft, St Louis. Currently owned by: Kermit Weeks. It was badly damaged in Florida by Hurricane Andrew, in the fall of 1992. Currently Located: Vicksburg, Michigan, USA.Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{Cite web |url=http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |title=N7584 |access-date=October 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116113044/http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
• C/N:58 tail number: NC9642 (4-AT-E, January 1929) Originally owned by: Mohawk Airways, NY. Currently owned by: Maurice Hovius' Hov-aire, Inc. Possible rebuild. Sale reported. Currently Located: Vicksburg, Michigan, USA.Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{Cite web |url=http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |title=N9642 |access-date=October 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116113044/http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
• C/N:62 tail number: NC8400 (4-AT-E, January 1929) Originally owned by: Mohawk Airways, NY. Currently owned by: Maurice Hovius' Hov-aire, Inc. Possible rebuild. Currently Located: Vicksburg, Michigan, USA.Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{Cite web |url=http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |title=N8400 |access-date=October 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116113044/http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
• C/N:65 tail number: NC8403 (4-AT-E, May 1929) The "Ptarmigan II" Originally owned by: Mamer Flying Service. Currently owned by Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum. Possible restoration. As of February 10, 2005, currently Located at Golden Wings Museum near Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{Cite web |url=http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |title=N8403 |access-date=October 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116113044/http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.
• C/N:13 tail number: NC9667 (5-AT-B, 1929) The "AN-AAR" Originally owned by Southwest Air Fast Express (S.A.F.E.way). Currently owned by: Maurice Hovius' Hov-aire, Inc. This is a restoration project undertaken by the "Tin Goose Chapter", EAA 1247, in Port Clinton, Ohio, USA.Wiggins, Arthur Brenton. {{Cite web |url=http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |title=N9667 |access-date=October 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116113044/http://www.trimotors.awiggins.com/fordlist.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}. The Ford Tri-motors!, August 12, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2019.[http://www.tingoose.org/trimotorproject.html "EAA "Tin Goose" Chapter 1247."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100727014145/http://www.tingoose.org/trimotorproject.html |date=2010-07-27 }} tingoose.org. Retrieved: April 9, 2012.

From 1954 onwards, efforts were made to modernize the Trimotor as the Stout Bushmaster 2000.[http://205.188.238.181/time/magazine/article/0,9171,843204,00.html "Return of the Tin Goose."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110529221505/http://205.188.238.181/time/magazine/article/0,9171,843204,00.html |date=2011-05-29 }} Time, January 6, 1967. Retrieved: July 29, 2008. Saddled with financial, management and marketing problems, only two examples were completed with a third fuselage started but never completed.O'Callaghan 2002, p. 124.

File:EAA Ford TriMotor NC8407.ogg

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=Flight International 14 November 1930{{cite journal |title=Ford Three-Engined Monoplanes : Two Types Described |journal=Flight |date=14 November 1930 |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1930/untitled0%20-%201308.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417105340/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1930/untitled0%20-%201308.html |archive-date=2018-04-17 |volume= XXII. No. 46. |issue= 1142 |pages=1233–1237 |format=pdf}}

|prime units?=imp

|crew=3 (pilot, co-pilot, flight attendant)

|capacity= 11 passengers

|length ft=49

|length in=10

|length note=

|span ft=74

|span in=0

|span note=

|height ft=11

|height in=9

|height note=

• Cabin length: {{cvt|16|ft|3|in|0}}
• Cabin width (average): {{cvt|4|ft|6|in|0}}
• Cabin height (average): {{cvt|6|ft|0|in|0}}
• Cabin volume: {{cvt|461|cuft|0}}

|wing area sqft=

|wing area note=

|aspect ratio=

|airfoil=root: Göttingen 386; tip: Göttingen 386 {{cite web |last1=Lednicer |first1=David |title=The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage |url=https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html |website=m-selig.ae.illinois.edu |access-date=16 April 2019}}

|empty weight lb=6500

|empty weight note=

|gross weight lb=10130

|gross weight note=

|max takeoff weight lb=

|max takeoff weight note=

|fuel capacity={{cvt|231|USgal|impgal l|0}}

|more general=

• Oil capacity: {{cvt|24|USgal|impgal l|0}}

|eng1 number=3

|eng1 name=Wright J-6-9 Whirlwind

|eng1 type=9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines

|eng1 hp=300

|eng1 note=for take-off

|prop blade number=2

|prop name=fixed-pitch propellers

|prop dia ft=

|prop dia in=

|prop dia note=

|max speed mph=132

|max speed note=

|cruise speed mph=107

|cruise speed note=at 1,700 rpm

|stall speed mph=57

|stall speed note=

|never exceed speed mph=

|never exceed speed note=

|minimum control speed mph=

|minimum control speed note=

|range miles=570

|range note=

|combat range miles=

|combat range note=

|ferry range miles=

|ferry range note=

|endurance=

|ceiling ft=16500

|ceiling note=

• Absolute ceiling: {{cvt|18600|ft|0}}
• Absolute ceiling on 2 engines: {{cvt|7100|ft|0}}

|climb rate ftmin=920

|climb rate note=

|time to altitude={{cvt|7200|ft|0}} in 10 minutes

|wing loading lb/sqft=

|wing loading note=

|fuel consumption lb/mi=

|power/mass=

|more performance=

}}

{{Main|Aircraft in fiction#Ford Trimotor}}

{{aircontent

|related=

• Stout Bushmaster 2000

|similar aircraft=

• Fokker F.VII
• Junkers G 24
• Junkers G 31

|lists=

• List of aircraft of World War II
• List of civil aircraft
• List of military aircraft of the United States
• List of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962)

|see also=

}}

{{Reflist|group=N}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• Andrade, John. U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. {{ISBN|0-904597-22-9}}.
• Barth, Jack E. "Talkback". Air Enthusiast, No. 10, July–September 1979, p. 79. {{ISSN|0143-5450}}
• {{cite magazine |last=Best |first=Martin S. |title=The Development of Commercial Aviation in China: Part 2 : China National Aviation Corporation (pre-WWII) |magazine=Air-Britain Archive |date=Summer 2007 |pages=51–80|issn=0262-4923}}
• Head, Jeanine M. and William S. Pretzer. Henry Ford: A Pictorial Biography. Dearborn, Michigan: Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, 1990. No ISBN.
• {{cite magazine|last=Hoy|first=Bruce D.|title=Talkback|magazine=Air Enthusiast |date=April–July 1980|issue=12 |pages=49–50 |issn=0143-5450}}
• Larkins, William T. The Ford Tri-Motor, 1926–1992. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, 1992. {{ISBN|0-88740-416-2}}.
• {{cite magazine|last=Larkins|first=William T.|title=Talkback|magazine=Air Enthusiast |date=April–July 1980|issue=12 |page=50 |issn=0143-5450}}
• March, Daniel L. British Warplanes of World War II. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1998. {{ISBN|1 874023-92-1}}.
• O'Callaghan, Timothy J. The Aviation Legacy of Henry & Edsel Ford. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Proctor Publications, 2002. {{ISBN|1-928623-01-8}}.
• O'Leary, Michael. "When Fords Ruled the Sky (Part Two)". Air Classics, Volume 42, No. 5, May 2006.
• Winchester, Jim, ed. "Ford Trimotor". Civil Aircraft (The Aviation Factfile). London: Grange Books plc, 2004. {{ISBN|1-84013-642-1}}.
• Wynne, H. Hugh. The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. {{ISBN|0-933126-85-9}}.

• {{cite journal |last=Lee |first=John G. |date=Summer 2014 |title=Early Days of the Ford Trimotor: Recollections of a Participant |journal=AAHS Journal |publisher=American Aviation Historical Society|volume=59|issue=52 |pages=128–134 }}
• {{cite journal |last=Towle |first=Tom |date=Summer 2014 |title=Designing the Ford Trimotor |journal=AAHS Journal |publisher=American Aviation Historical Society|volume=59|issue=52 |pages=122–127 }}
• Weiss, David A. The Saga of the Tin Goose: The Story of the Ford Trimotor. Brooklyn, New York: Cumberland Enterprises, Incorporated, 1996. {{ISBN|0-9634299-2-2}}.
• Litwak, Jerry: 'Skinning a Tin Goose ... the hard way'. Pages 251 and 252 of 'Air International' magazine, May, 1978 describe the rebuilding of Scenic Airway's Tin Goose 5AT, owned by John Seibold, after it groundlooped in Nevada on February 6, 1977. Per the article, it was supposedly ready to fly again by late 1978.

{{Commons category|Ford Trimotor}}

• [http://www.fordtrimotor.org Ford Trimotor "a tribute to the Ford Tri-Motor", and contains facts, pictures, bibliography and more.]
• [http://vintagetin.net/FordTri-Motor/ EAA's Ford Trimotor 4AT-E virtual tour detailing the entire aircraft]{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• [http://airbum.com/pireps/PirepTrimotor.html "The Tin Goose Lives up to Her Name"] (pilot report), Budd Davisson, June 1986, Air Progress, Vol.45, No. 5, transcribed at Airbum.com

{{Stout/Ford aircraft}}

{{AircraftDesignationNavboxShell

|1={{USAF transports}}

|2={{USN transports}}

|3={{USN utility aircraft}}

|4={{Wright Field project numbers}}

|5={{ADF aircraft designations}}

}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Aircraft first flown in 1926

Trimotor

Category:High-wing aircraft

Category:Trimotors

Category:1920s United States airliners

Category:1920s United States military transport aircraft

Category:Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear

Category:Three-engined piston aircraft