Air enthusiasts to have the chance to fly on a vintage Ford Tri-Motor airliner

Aviation enthusiasts will be offered a rare chance to fly on one of the world’s earliest commercial airliners when one of the last airworthy examples of the iconic type performs a US-wide national tour during the summer of 2025. Offering the chance to revisit a bygone era of air travel dating back to the 1930s, those keen on vintage aircraft will be able to take a short pleasure flight in the three-engine monoplane, as it travels across the United States, ending its tour at the legendary EAA AirVenture 2025 event being held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in July 2025.

While Henry Ford may have revolutionized ground transportation with his iconic Model T ‘Tin Lizzie’ first automobile between 1909 and 1926, his interests also lay in other forms of transportation. Recognizing the huge potential of air travel following World War One, Ford introduced his Tri-Motor aircraft which was affectionately known as the ‘Tin Goose’. The new airliner aimed to create and stimulate a whole new market for airline travel when it was introduced.

With three engines and providing unprecedented passenger-focused comfort levels,  Ford’s Tri-Motor addressed concerns about reliability and comfort which had up until that point hampered the growth of airline travel. From 1926 to 1933, Ford Motor Company produced 199 Tri-Motors which served with several major US carriers of the age.

EAAThe Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) of the US, which also organizes the annual AirVenture extravaganza, will offer flights its Ford Tri-motor in 2025 to enable more people to experience what flying must have been like in the early days of airline travel. Its aircraft, a Ford model 4-AT-E had an illustrious career, first flying in 1929 and later becoming the flagship of Eastern Air Transport, precursor to Eastern Airlines.

Following its airline career in the US, EAA’s Tri-Motor ventured to Cuba and served routes to the Dominican Republic. It underwent various transformations once it returned to the US, from crop dusting to firefighting to carrying smoke jumpers. Following its survival after a disastrous thunderstorm in 1973, the Tri-Motor was eventually restored by EAA staff, volunteers, and other Ford Tri-Motor operators nationwide after an intensive 12-year effort. It eventually returned to the skies in 1985 at the EAA fly-in convention marking a new chapter in its long flying career.

EAA’s Tri-Motor has also appeared in two feature films, Jerry Lewis’ 1965 comedy ‘The Family Jewels’, and the 2009 crime drama ‘Public Enemies’ starring Johnny Depp.

According to the EAA, having been displayed briefly in the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, the Tri-Motor will resume its mission of flying passengers in 2025 which will include stopovers in cities such as St Louis (Missouri), Little Rock (Arkansas), Springfield (Illinois), Bolton (Mississippi), and St Cloud (Minnesota). The tour will end with a triumphant homecoming back at the Tri-Motor’s base at Wittman Regional Airport (OSH) in Oshkosh at the EAA AirVenture event being held between July 21 and 25, 2025.

At certain appearances, not only will visitors be able to visit the Tri-Motor and see it up close but also take a short sightseeing flight over the local area. Tickets will be sold for Tri-Motor flights priced at $105 for adults and $85 for children (aged 17 and under). Given the aircraft’s unique cabin design, every seat is a window seat, with each flight experience lasting approximately 30 minutes, of which about 15 minutes will be in the air, plus a briefing from the crew. Given the lack of soundproofing in the antique plane, passengers are advised to bring ear defenders or earplugs!

For those especially keen to try some different flying, the Tr-Motor will be accompanied at some of its appearances by EAA’s wartime bomber, its B-25 Mitchell Bomber named ‘Berlin Express’. EAA’s B-25 was first accepted by the US Army Air Force in December 1943. The airplane served in World War 2 as an administrative aircraft, stationed at bases in Washington, Colorado, and California. The Berlin Express name and accompanying markings come from the airplane’s appearance in the 1970 satirical war film ‘Catch-22,’ based on the Joseph Heller novel of the same name.

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