Fly the Ford

I took a ride when it was in West Memphis a couple years ago. It was fun and worth the cost.
 
Having the Ford at KLZU was an incredible experience. On Saturday, I bought a right-seat ticket and got 0.3 hours of SIC in my logbook. Yes, I realize it doesn't count for anything but the fun factor, but hey, that counts!

That afternoon I got to fill a seat in the last flight, which wasn't sold out, so I got to ride in the back, too. :)

Tuesday, I rode along on the ferry flight going to JQF, but we had to turn back just before we hit the SC/GA state line because the ceiling was dropping on us. Another hour in the plane and still had a great time in it. We got back to LZU climbed out in a very light sprinkle, hooked up the towbar and pulled it in the hangar, and then the bottom dropped out. Timing couldn't have been better.

Yesterday, the skies were beautiful, and this time we made it all the way to JQF. Two of us from the chapter went on the Ford, and we split the right seat time. I got another 1.1 hours of stick time in her! What a blast that was! Sitting at the controls of the first plane owned by Eastern Air Transport, which would later become Eastern Airlines, about 23 years after they stranded me in Louisville when they filed bankruptcy, causing me to miss ship's movement! Eastern is long gone, but I got to fly their very first plane! What an experience!
 
Definitely worth the extra bucks to sit in that right seat, with that crazy Model A steering wheel in your hands! :D Flies just like it looks... I'll buy a drink for anybody who uses just the right amount of rudder at the right time the first time they try to turn it. :D
I did OK, except for a tendency to push a little initially, causing it to descend slightly.
 
I love the old iron. Air travel of yesteryear. Takes off at 80, cruise at 85, lands at 80. Gotta love it. :D

Hard to imagine it being state of the art technology back in the day. :yesnod:


Thanks to all who volunteer to man the flying events. The money raised goes toward EAA stuff keeping the old iron in the air.
 
Well, I'm not a pilot (yet - had 3 hours logged in '07), and this was my first time at the controls (or even in the air in a "small" plane) in about 5 years, so there was a lot of tail-wagging going on, but that sure doesn't take away from the fun one bit!

The pilot said that I was a good auto-pilot for that hour I was in the seat. ;)
 
Oh - but at one point, within the first few minutes that I had her, one of the engines "hiccupped" a bit - you could hear it slow for about a second. Not sure which one. I said, "What's that?" He said, "It's not supposed to do that," and started looking at gages and put the mixture at full rich. I said, "Your airplane." He said, "I have it." After a minute, he said he must have had it too lean, and gave it back to me. No further incident in the remaining hour of the flight.
 
hopmedic said:
After a minute, he said he must have had it too lean, and gave it back to me. No further incident in the remaining hour of the flight.
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Not uncommon when a radial gets too lean.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
dbman5 said:
Yeah, just slightly heavier than a 172:rolleyes:

I, too, got 0.3 in my logbook the day I got a ride in it.
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Got one and a half in it, the only multi time in my logbook. It wasn't the heaviness of the controls, but the fact that they really weren't harmonized, a big change from modern aircraft.
 
My first flight was in one of these - I was about 8 years old.

When I was a kid, Island Airways in Port Clinton had a fleet of these they flew regularly. They offered rides, depending on how much cargo they were hauling. They had a light load that day and I flew with my mom & brother. We landed on all the Ohio islands in Lake Erie, including a grass strip on Rattlesnake Island. I remember we dropped of an airplane tire there. On most of the other stops we dropped off mail, as I recall.

I think the flight cost us 5 bucks apiece.
 
On Monday, Memorial Day, while working with the plane, I had the privilege of listening to a WWII vet who had seen his first Tri-Motor when he was 7, and it came to Bradenton, FL. He became a B-17 pilot. He told of how he was shot down in a B-17, and lost two of his 31 men on board, and how that was the only parachute jump he's ever made. He told of how he made it back to Paris with the help of the resistance, and from there, made it to a fishing boat that got him back to wherever it was that he needed to be (sorry, I don't remember, if he even said where).

It was an honor to listen to this man speak, and I consider him and those like him to be a dwindling national treasure. Thank God for these men.
 
hopmedic said:
On Monday, Memorial Day, while working with the plane, I had the privilege of listening to a WWII vet who had seen his first Tri-Motor when he was 7, and it came to Bradenton, FL. He became a B-17 pilot. He told of how he was shot down in a B-17, and lost two of his 31 men on board, and how that was the only parachute jump he's ever made. He told of how he made it back to Paris with the help of the resistance, and from there, made it to a fishing boat that got him back to wherever it was that he needed to be (sorry, I don't remember, if he even said where).

It was an honor to listen to this man speak, and I consider him and those like him to be a dwindling national treasure. Thank God for these men.
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Did you hear that correctly? 10-11 man crew on a B-17. Where did the other 20 come from? Nevertheless, great story on his part and I'm glad he made it home safe from that adventure.
 
Ghery said:
Did you hear that correctly? 10-11 man crew on a B-17. Where did the other 20 come from? Nevertheless, great story on his part and I'm glad he made it home safe from that adventure.
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I hadn't looked up the crew of a B-17, but he clearly said 31. Now, he's up in his years, so he could have made a mistake, but I wasn't there, and don't know the situation, so I don't know... :dunno:
 
Welp, I flew on The Ford today and I was able to sit in the co-pilot seat! I'll upload pics and videos in a bit! :D
 
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