Monday, December 6, 2021

Trimotor

 


9 comments:

  1. There was one kept at the local aerodrome. Seeveral times I conversed with the pilot/mechanic. It was a labor of love, something he did on the side, mostly as a friendly gesture for his friend who was the owner. The mighty C-150 could fly circles around this thing, thou of course not carry the payload. Oh, to say it was noisey both on the ground and in the air is an understatement. That it had three engines was nothing less than to double down on the hope and prayer which carried it aloft. I want to call it a monstrsity except that it was instrumental in the evolution of civilian commercial aircraft.

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    1. The best they could muster with the engineering and available equipment. Some versions had engine instruments for #1 and #3 on the pylon. In the west they were known to fly at nearly 0 groundspeed with headwinds.

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  2. affectionally known as "Auntie Ju"

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    1. The pictured is a Ford Tri-Motor. Your reference is for the JUnkers Ju-52 tri-motor which is a low wing beastie.

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  3. If I'm not mistaken, and I'm no expert, we took a flight out of Buchanon Field in Concord, CA some years back in a Trimotor. First passenger plane. I have the videos of this flight and it was thoroughly enjoyed.

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  4. I paid extra to ride co-pilot's seat in EAA's Tri-Motor a couple years ago. Well worth the extra money to sit up front. Go and do thou likewise if you ever get the chance. It was a bit like riding in a Chinook and it was amazing how small the front glass is.

    I asked the pilot how many people on the planet were type-rated in the Fords. He said somewhere around 26 or 27. I said with that small of a population, he must know most of them and he indicated there were a couple he hadn't met but he knew the rest.

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  5. One of them was still in commercial service in the 1970's in Ohio taking people out to the islands near Port Clinton. It crashed and was scrapped.

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  6. Back in 1962 or 1963, I got a ride in one at the EAA national Fly-in that was being held in Rockford, IL at the time instead of Oshkosh, WI where it is now held. It was an amazing ride for me when I was 10 or 11.

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  7. The one used in the 2nd? "raiders of the lost ark" movie was based in Morgan Hill, CA (south of San Jose) back in the 80's. Big restaurant there that had a airplane/vehicle museum on site, and their grass airstrip was camouflaged by a golf course.

    Unfortunately, a large porch overlooking the field and hiway 101 collapsed with a number of patrons on it. Everything got sold off to pay the resulting lawsuits.

    Got to look at the Trimotor after it arrived back from filming. One side was artfully detailed to look like it had been operating on a muddy field for filming purposes. Looked like it was painted on, probably detailed by a pro from Hollywood, at a guess. Right-hand side, IIRC.

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