Ford Trimotor Comes To Town

EAA brings their Ford Trimotor to town. An airplane that does just about everything at about 80 mph. Takes off, lands, flies. All around 80, I think. But sittin' still, it's sitting still.

Drag reduction did not figure in the engineering goals on this airplane; it's about lift, and it will lift a fair amount. More importantly, unlike the Fokker Trimotor, it's not wood inside, so it won't rot and fall apart in the air.

These airplanes were favored by smoke jumpers. I think the last one went out of service in the sixties. They got you to the job site. They fly slowly, and the tail surfaces are well out of the way for someone who is leaving the airplane in flight.