B-17, Ford Tri-Motor May Be Coming To An Airport Near You
A classic Ford "Tin Goose" from the early days of commercial air
travel is joining the Experimental Aircraft Association's restored
B-17 bomber in flying across the nation, wowing spectators and
educating the masses about two of the earliest and most storied
flying machines.
The Tri-Motor tour includes opportunities for aviation
enthusiasts to see and ride in the world's first mass-produced
airliner. It begins in Elkhart, IN on August 24-28, and continues
through Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee and Iowa. A few of the
airports on the tour have not seen the Ford Tri-Motor on their
runways for decades.
"This airplane allows
people to experience true living history of aviation, as well as
learn more about EAA and our mission to help people fully
participate in the world of flight," said Adam Smith, director of
the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, WI. "The tour is a wonderful
opportunity for this region of the country to catch a rare glimpse
of a unique flying machine that changed the way people travel in
America."
The Ford Tri-Motor, nicknamed the "Tin Goose," was built by the
Ford Motor Company in the late 1920s. EAA's airplane underwent a
12-year restoration beginning in the 1970s and since the mid-1980s,
has been based at the EAA museum's historic Pioneer Airport.
At each tour stop, visitors will have the opportunity to take an
eight-minute flight aboard the unique aircraft.
Meanwhile, the Experimental Aircraft Association's restored B-17
bomber "Aluminum Overcast" will continue to thrill aviation
enthusiasts throughout the central and eastern United States during
the second half of its fall tour stops of the 2006 "Keep It Flying"
national tour.
After participating at EAA AirVenture 2006, the tour resumed
with nearly 20 stops starting in the Midwest this month. The B-17
will visit two airports per week through November, including
additional appearances in Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, South Carolina,
Georgia, Arizona, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and
Arkansas.
"The national tour EAA undertakes each year has become the
nation's most popular way to learn about this unique aircraft in an
up-close way," said EAA President Tom Poberezny. "EAA is dedicated
to preserving aviation's magnificent heritage and our B-17 tours
are a major part of that. This year, we also take great pride in
saluting all our nation's veterans through this tour."
At each stop, flight "missions" are available in the airplane,
which allow people to take flights in this spectacular aircraft.
Through the past decade of national tours, the B-17 has created
many emotional reunions for veterans who participated in B-17
operations during World War II... providing many of them their
first "mission" in a Flying Fortress since that era.
For more information regarding these flights -- including ground
tour and flight rates -- visit the respective websites at the FMI
links below.
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