"R. J. (Bob) Van Horn" wrote in message
...
Friend sent me pictures of restored Ford Tri-Motor. What appears to be a
mid-30's manual transmission shift lever is mounted between the pilot and
copilot's seats. He asked if I knew what it was for and I'll admit, I'm a
geezer but not that old. I haven't got a clue. Anybody out there that
might know what it's for?????

--
R. J. (Bob) Van Horn

Long Beach, California


Yep... It is the brake lever. Page 48 of the 1929 POH "Book of Instruction"
shows how it works.
Forward: No Brakes
Left and Partially back: Left Brakes
Right and Partially back: Right Brakes
Fully back in the center: Both Brakes

The POH is available for download at:
http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/oth...nual-5566.html
You gotta register first and it is almost 23Mbytes long, but very
interesting.
Here are some better photos of a restored TriMotor:
http://www.ipass.net/ginkgo/N9612home.html
It is for sale.

Regards,
John Severyn