In 1925 the "Stout Metal Airplane Company" was purchased by Ford and one of it's single engine all-metal designs was modified to take three Wright radial engines, the resultant aircraft was soon popularly known as the "The Tin Goose" or "Tri-Motor". The Ford Tri-Motor was a rugged aircraft with all outer surfaces being skinned with corrugated aluminium, whilst this resulted in a very strong design it also caused a lot of drag and left the aircraft with worse performance than designs coming from rival manufacturers. 199 Ford Tri-Motors were built, the first leaving the production line in 1926 and the last in 1933, surprisingly six of these are still maintained in flying condition although the majority of surviving Ford Tri-Motor survivors are now displayed statically as non flying museum exhibits. It is interesting to note that many air-forces purchased the Ford Tri-Motor because it's ruggedness was particularly appealing, major users included the USAAC, RAF, RCAF and the RAAF. Ford 5-AT Tri-Motor Specifications: - Crew: 3
- Capacity: Eight passengers
- Length: 50 ft 3 in (15.32 m)
- Wingspan: 77 ft 10 in (23.72 m)
- Height: 12 ft 8 in (3.86 m)
- Empty weight: 7,840 lb (3,560 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 13,500 lb (6,120 kg)
- Engines: Three 420 hp (313 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp C 9-cylinder radial engines
- Maximum speed: 150 mph (241 km/h, 130 kts)
- Cruise speed: 90 mph (145 km/h, 78 kts)
- Stall speed: 64 mph (103 km/h, 56 kts)
- Range: 550 mi (885 km, 478 nm)
- Service ceiling: 18,500 ft (5,640 m)
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