1929 Ford Trimotor At Southwest Michigan Regional Airport This Weekend

20210812_133920
20210812_133920

If you’d like to take a ride on an airplane built in 1928, then you have a chance this weekend at the Southwest Michigan Regional Airport. A 1929 Ford Trimotor is at the airport and offering 15 minute trips around the area. Pilot Ed Kornfield just flew the plane in from Illinois, and tells WSJM News it was used for commercial flights for years.

“Henry Ford wanted to stimulate air travel, which was fairly new,” Kornfield said. “This airplane’s first flight was a year and a half after Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic. He crossed in May of 1927. This was December of 1928. Air travel was relatively new, and they decided they wanted to have three engines to make it safe. You could lose an engine and still have two. They designed the interior to look like a railroad car.”

Kornfield says all of the plane’s seats are both aisle and window seats. The plane was one of the first that could go on coast to coast flights, which took two days. You can head to the airport this weekend and take a ride on the three engine plane for $77. Kids fly for $52. The Ford Trimotor will be at the Southwest Michigan Regional Airport Thursday through Sunday. You can find out more at FlyTheFord.org.