From President Doug Fee

Wandering down the road, in the America of the 1920s, you might have seen a number of "Tin Lizzies", or Model T Fords, chuffing along the highway. And looking up in the sky, you might have also seen a "Tin Goose" grinding along overhead. Certainly a bygone era. However that era is going to make a brief visit to Auburn in April. The Experimental Aircraft Association's Ford 4-AT-ETri-motor will be here giving rides from Friday the 26th until Sunday the 28th. This airplane is truly a flying piece of aviation history. The first of these three-engine transports came off the assembly line in 1926, and they were a mainstay of the U.S.commercial aviation industry until they were ultimately replaced by the DC-2 and -3 some years later. Today there are only 18 Ford Tri-motors left, and less than half of those are currently flyable. At a time when we take it for granted that we can fly in shirt-sleeve comfort, and have a glass of wine with our hot dinner as we cruise along at Mach .85 above the weather, the Tri-motor is an anachronism. Unpressurized, noisy and bumping along at about 100 mph in your wicker basket seat, it was a different world. Or, to look at it another way, the airplane has approximately the same performance as a Cessna 150. So, imagine a coast-to-coast flight in a two-place Cessna, and that's about how long a trans-continental trip in a Ford Tri-motor would have taken back in the day. Amazingly, as ubiquitous as this icon of American aviation history was, there were actually only 199 of these Fords ever built. The EAA owns and operates NC8407, a Tri-Motor that was originally flown by Eastern Air Transport--a forerunner of Eastern Airlines. Seats will not be reserved, but will be available on a first come, first served basis for the day of purchase. Only 180 seats will be available over the three days of their operation here in Auburn. Purchase tickets online here. If you are interested in a springtime aviation adventure right here in Auburn, maybe this is the opportunity you are looking for. It is an exciting event for our airport!

Blue skies, Doug