Ford Flivver

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Flivver

The Ford Flivver was a single-seat aircraft introduced by Henry Ford as the
"Model T of the Air". After a fatal crash of a prototype into the ocean off
Melbourne, Florida, U.S., production plans were halted.

The Ford Trimotor was Henry Ford's first successful commercial aircraft venture
in 1925. Following the Ford Model T as an "everyman's" vehicle, the Ford Flivver
was designed to be a mass-produced "everyman's" aircraft. The idea was first
proposed to William Bushnell Stout, manager of Ford's acquired aircraft division
in 1926. Both Stout and William Benson Mayo, head of Ford's Aircraft Division
wanted nothing to do with the aircraft and it was built in a nearby museum
building in the Ford Laboratories.

The single-seat aircraft was designed with Mr. Ford's instructions that it "fit
in his office". The first example was displayed at the 1926 Ford National
Reliability Air Tour. The press and public flocked to see "Ford's Flying Car," a
single-seat aircraft that had very little in common with the popular Model T
"Flivver." Comedian Will Rogers posed for press photos in the aircraft (although
he never flew one). A New York Evening Sun columnist wrote the following poem
showing excitement for the future flying Fords.

I dreamed I was an angel

And with the angels soared

But I was simply touring

The heavens in a Ford

The aircraft was a welded steel tube fuselage, with wood wing construction with
fabric covering. The steerable rudder mounted tailwheel was also the only wheel
with a brake. The exhaust was routed through a special manifold to a stock Model
T exhaust. The steel landing gear was fastened to the wing and used rubber
doughnuts in compression for shock absorption. The designer of the aircraft,
Otto Koppen, went on to design the Helio Courier.


Role
Light aircraft

National origin
United States

Manufacturer
Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company

Designer
Otto C. Koppen

Introduction
1927

Number built
5


Ford unveiled the Flivver on his 63rd birthday, July 30, 1926. Ford's chief test
pilot was Harry J. Brooks, a young employee who had become a favorite of Ford.
Brooks flew the Flivver regularly from his home garage to work at the Ford
Laboratory, and later, used the second Flivver to move about the Ford
properties. He once flew the aircraft in a race against Gar Wood in Miss America
V on the Detroit River during the Harmsworth Trophy Races.

In an attempt to draw on his popularity, Charles Lindbergh was invited to fly
the Flivver on a visit to Ford field, August 11, 1927, and was the only other
pilot to fly the Flivver prototypes. He later described the Flivver as "one of
the worst aircraft he ever flew.

A third prototype, tail number 3218, with "long" wings was built to win a long
distance record for light planes in 440 to 880 lb (200 to 400 kg) "C" class. The
race was set from Ford Field in Dearborn Michigan to Miami, Florida. A first
attempt launched on 24 January 1928, witnessed by Henry Ford, landed short in
Asheville, North Carolina. A second attempt, flying the second prototype,
witnessed by Edsel Ford, Brooks launched from Detroit on February 21, 1928 but
landed 200 mi (320 km) short in Titusville, Florida, where the propeller was
bent, but still achieved a 972 mi (1,564 km) record.

During his overnight stay at Titusville, Brooks had repaired the aircraft, using
the propeller from the aircraft involved in the forced landing. He had also
placed wooden toothpicks in the vent holes on his fuel cap to prevent moist air
from entering and condensing overnight. On February 25, Brooks took off to
complete the flight, circled out over the Atlantic where his motor quit and he
went down off Melbourne, Florida. The wreckage of the Ford Flivver washed up,
but the pilot was never found. Investigation of the wreckage disclosed that the
toothpicks had plugged the fuel cap vent holes, causing an engine stoppage.

Following the death of Brooks, Henry Ford was distraught at the loss of his
friend, and light aircraft development was stopped under the Ford brand. In
1931, a new "Air Flivver" or Sky Car was marketed by the Stout division of Ford.
Ford went back into light plane development in 1936 with the two-seat Model
15-P. The prototype crashed during flight testing and did not go into
production.

Specifications (Ford Model 2A Flivver)

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Capacity: 1
Length: 15 ft 6 in (4.72 m)
Wingspan: 21 ft 9 in (6.63 m)
Airfoil: Gottingen 387
Empty weight: 500 lb (227 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Anzani Radial, 36 hp (27 kW)

Performance
Maximum speed: 78 kn; 145 km/h (90 mph)
Stall speed: 26 kn; 48 km/h (30 mph)



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