Ford National Reliability Air Tour
Encyclopedia
The Ford Reliability Tour, properly called "The National Air Tour for the Edsel B. Ford Reliability Trophy", was a series of Aerial Tours sponsored in part by Ford
from 1925 to 1931 and re-created in 2003. Top prize was the Edsel Ford
Reliability Trophy. Henry and Edsel Ford were shareholders in the Stout Engineering Company. In August of 1925, they purchased the entire company, making it the Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company
. Their product, the Stout 2-AT Pullman
, was a featured plane. The plane was also used by their new airline the Ford Air Transport Service
, which started regular flights in April. The Flights out of Ford Airport (Dearborn)
cross-marketed, and showcased Ford's new interest in aviation.
September 28, 1925 to October 4, 1925:
20 Entered, 17 Starters, 11 with a perfect score.
Perfect Scores - (unless noted)
. There was a field of 25 contestants. A new scoring system for time to "stick" and "unstick" aircraft to the ground helped promote the use of brakes which were unpopular at the time.
The new Ford Trimotor
had a prop failure that shook loose one landing gear and a engine on one side. The plane landed hard in a field at Nova, Ohio
. Walter Beech won in a Travel Air aircraft.
The winner was Eddie Stinson in a Stinson SM-1. The Hamilton H-18 Metalplane “Maiden Milwaukee"
placed second.
became the first female air tour pilot flying a Monocoupe. The route placed racers in San Francisco at the same field where Hells Angels
was filming.
Among the aircraft, a Pitcairn PCA-2
autogiro was flown by pilot Jim Ray, bringing rotory winged aircraft to the event.
Time (magazine)
wrote:
The following comes from a New York paper:
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
from 1925 to 1931 and re-created in 2003. Top prize was the Edsel Ford
Edsel Ford
Edsel Bryant Ford , son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was president of Ford Motor Company from 1919 until his death in 1943.-Life and career:...
Reliability Trophy. Henry and Edsel Ford were shareholders in the Stout Engineering Company. In August of 1925, they purchased the entire company, making it the Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company
Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company
Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company was an American aircraft manufacturer founded by William Bushnell Stout. The company was purchased by Ford Motor Company in 1924 and produced the Ford Trimotor. In the height of the Depression, Ford closed the aircraft design and production...
. Their product, the Stout 2-AT Pullman
Stout 2-AT Pullman
The Stout 2-AT "Pullman" or "Air Pullman" was a single engine all-metal monoplane that was used for early airline travel and air mail transport in America.-Development:...
, was a featured plane. The plane was also used by their new airline the Ford Air Transport Service
Ford Air Transport Service
Ford Air Transport Service is a defunct airline based in United States of America. The airline was also registered as Ford Air Freight Lines.- History :...
, which started regular flights in April. The Flights out of Ford Airport (Dearborn)
Ford Airport (Dearborn)
Ford Airport in Dearborn, Michigan was one of the first modern airports in the world. The airport operated from 1924 to 1947, and the site is now part of Ford Motor Company's Dearborn Proving Ground. The airport is about 360 acres in size....
cross-marketed, and showcased Ford's new interest in aviation.
1925 National Air Tour
This was called the First Annual Aerial Reliability Tour, sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers, with prizes for completion. The course was over 1900 miles with stops in 10 cities.September 28, 1925 to October 4, 1925:
20 Entered, 17 Starters, 11 with a perfect score.
Perfect Scores - (unless noted)
- E.K. Campbell - Travel Air A
- C. Bowhan - Travel Air B.6
- Walter Beech - Travel Air B.6
- Fred Melchoir - Junkers F.13LJunkers F.13The Junkers F.13 was the world's first all-metal transport aircraft, developed in Germany at the end of World War I. It was an advanced cantilever-wing monoplane, with enclosed accommodation for four passengers. Over 300 were sold...
(second prize) - E. G. Knapp - Waco (fourth prize - damaged in forced landing)
- L. O. Yost - Waco
- J. Stauffer - Swallow '25 (second prize)
- Earl Rauland - Swallow '26
- P. Lott - Fokker 3F7Fokker F.VIIThe Fokker F.VII, also known as the Fokker Trimotor, was an airliner produced in the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker, Fokker's American subsidiary Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, and other companies under licence....
- Casey Jones - Curtiss Carrier PigeonCurtiss Carrier Pigeon|-See also:-References:* Bowers, Peter M. Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947. London:Putnam, 1979. ISBN 0-370-10029-8.* . Flight, April 16, 1925, pp. 228–229.* , Flight, November 26, 1925...
- Gy Caldwell - Martin Commercial
- L.B. Richardson - Martin Commercial
- H.C. Mummert - Mercury Jr. (third prize)
- E.G. Hamilton - Stout 2-AT PullmanStout 2-AT PullmanThe Stout 2-AT "Pullman" or "Air Pullman" was a single engine all-metal monoplane that was used for early airline travel and air mail transport in America.-Development:...
. - H.C. Etten - Laird Special (second prize)
- E.A. Goff - Laird Swallow (second prize)
- W.J. Adams - Yackey
1926 National Air Tour
The 1926 Air tour started at Ford Field on August 7, 1926. The event featured the unvieling of the prototype Ford FlivverFord Flivver
The Ford Flivver was a single-seat aircraft introduced by Henry Ford as the "Model T of the Air". After a fatal crash in the prototype, production plans were halted.-Development:...
. There was a field of 25 contestants. A new scoring system for time to "stick" and "unstick" aircraft to the ground helped promote the use of brakes which were unpopular at the time.
The new Ford Trimotor
Ford Trimotor
The Ford Trimotor was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced...
had a prop failure that shook loose one landing gear and a engine on one side. The plane landed hard in a field at Nova, Ohio
Nova, Ohio
Nova is an unincorporated community in central Troy Township, Ashland County, Ohio, United States. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 44859. It lies at the intersection of U.S. Route 224 with State Route 511....
. Walter Beech won in a Travel Air aircraft.
- A Pitcairn PA-2 SesquiwingPitcairn PA-2 Sesquiwing-References:...
won in two of the classes. - Clarence E Clark placed seventh in a Travel Air 3000
- Vance BreeseVance BreeseVance Breese was an American aviation engineer and test pilot.-Early years:Vance Breese was born in Keystone, Washington, on April 20, 1904...
placed eighth in a Ryan M-1Ryan M-1-Bibliography:* Hall, Donald A. www.charleslindbergh.com, July 1927. Retrieved: 3 March 2009.* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1985....
.
1927 National Air Tour
In 1927, fourteen contestants competed in the air tour.The winner was Eddie Stinson in a Stinson SM-1. The Hamilton H-18 Metalplane “Maiden Milwaukee"
Thomas F. Hamilton
Thomas Foster Hamilton was a pioneering aviator and the founder of the Hamilton Standard Company.Since 1930, Hamilton Standard was involved with revolutionizing propulsion technology of propeller-driven aircraft, prior to World War II...
placed second.
1928 National Air Tour
1928 featured destinations as far west as Washington state. The launch was timed the same day at Ford Airfield with the 22nd Annual James Gordon Bennett Balloon Race. Phoebe OmliePhoebe Omlie
Phoebe Jane Fairgrave Omlie was an American aviation pioneer, particularly noted for her accomplishments as an early female aviator...
became the first female air tour pilot flying a Monocoupe. The route placed racers in San Francisco at the same field where Hells Angels
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
was filming.
- The winner was John P. Wood in a Waco 10
1930 National Air Tour
September 11, 1930 to September 27, 1930:- 1 Harry L. Russell
- 2 John H. LivingstonJohn H. LivingstonJohn H. Livingston was an American aviator and air race pilot of the 1920s and 1930s. Livingston placed first in 80 national air races- Early life :...
- 3 Arthur J. Davis
- 4 Myron E. Zeller
- 5 George W. Haldeman
- 6 Walter H. Beech
- 7 J. Wesley Smith
- 8 Eddie August SchneiderEddie August SchneiderEddie August Henry Schneider set three transcontinental airspeed records for pilots under the age of twenty-one in 1930. His plane was a Cessna Model AW with a Warner-Scarab engine, one of only 48 built, that he called "The Kangaroo". He set the east-to-west, then the west-to-east, and the...
in his CessnaCessnaThe Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...
and he wins the Great Lakes Trophy
Among the aircraft, a Pitcairn PCA-2
Pitcairn PCA-2
-External links:*...
autogiro was flown by pilot Jim Ray, bringing rotory winged aircraft to the event.
1931 National Air Tour
July 4, 1930 to July 25, 1930:- 3 Eddie August SchneiderEddie August SchneiderEddie August Henry Schneider set three transcontinental airspeed records for pilots under the age of twenty-one in 1930. His plane was a Cessna Model AW with a Warner-Scarab engine, one of only 48 built, that he called "The Kangaroo". He set the east-to-west, then the west-to-east, and the...
, first in single engine aircraft - 4 Lowell BaylesLowell BaylesLowell R. Bayles was an Air Race pilot of the "Golden Age of Air Racing." He was the winner of the 1931 Thompson Trophy flying the Gee Bee Model Z. Bayles was killed in the crash of the Model Z during an attempt at the landplane speed record when the plane crashed at over mph.-Early life:Bayles...
; Great Lakes Trophy
Time (magazine)
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
wrote:
Sensation of the meet was the youngster Eddie Schneider, 19, who fell into last place by a forced landing of his Cessna and a three-day delay in Kentucky, then fought his way back to finish third, ahead of all other light planes.
The following comes from a New York paper:
The second day of the 1931 National Air Tour for the "Edsel B. Ford Trophy" today, was to find the 14 competing planes and a dozen accompanying planes en route from Le Roy, New YorkLe Roy (town), New YorkLe Roy, or more commonly LeRoy, is a town in Genesee County, New York, United States. The population was 7,790 at the 2000 census. The town is named after one of the original land owners, Herman Le Roy....
, to Binghamton, New YorkBinghamton, New YorkBinghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
. From Binghamton, the tour is to fly south and west as far as San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio, TexasSan Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, returning to Ford Airport July 25, 1931. A holiday crowd of about 5,000 persons witnessed the start of the tour from the Ford Airport Saturday morning. Colonel Clarence M. Young, assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics, came from Cleveland, OhioCleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
to witness the start. Fifteen Army planes from Selfridge FieldSelfridge FieldSelfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens.-Units and organizations:...
stunted over the field just before the takeoff and accompanied the tour planes as far as Walker Airport, Walkerville, OntarioWalkerville, OntarioThe former town of Walkerville Ontario, Canada is now a heritage precinct of Windsor Ontario. Incorporated in 1890, the town was founded by Hiram Walker, owner and producer of Canadian Club Whisky. Walker planned it as a 'model town’ ) that would be the envy of both the region and the continent...
At Walker Airport, where the tour planes stopped for a long luncheon hour, they joined the large number of planes participating in the Trans-Canada Air Pageant there. Most of the racers got off to a bad start from Ford Airport. Only flying a Mercury Chic, Captain William Lancaster, flying a Bird and Eddie Schneider, flying a CessnaCessnaThe Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...
, got away on time. Leonard Flo, flying a Bird cabin plane, was delayed more than a half hour when he broke a tail skid just before the takeoff and the two Ford entries were 15 minutes late. The racers were timed from the minute they were supposed to take off. Other entries are Charles F. Sugg, Captain Walter Henderson and Jack Story, flying BuhlBuhl Aircraft CompanyThe Buhl Aircraft Company was founded in 1925 by the Buhl family of Detroit. The family owned the Buhl Stamping Company and the Buhl Building. Buhl manufactured the first aircraft to receive an Approved Type Certificate. Certificate #1 was awarded to Buhl for the Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster in March...
entries; James H. Smart and Harry Russell, flying Ford trimotors; Joseph Meehan, flying a Great Lakes; Lowell Bayles, flying a Gee BeeGranville Brothers AircraftGranville Brothers Aircraft was an aircraft manufacturer in operation from 1929 until its bankruptcy in 1934. The firm was located at the Springfield Airport in Springfield, Massachusetts...
; Eddie Stinson, flying a Stinson and George DicksonGeorge DicksonGeorge Dickson is a retired American football player and coach was the head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League for the first two games of the 1976 season.-Early life:...
, flying an Aeronca. Among the well-known pilots flying accompanying planes are Major James H. Doolittle, referee of the tour, who is accompanied by Mrs. Doolittle and Mrs. Ray W. Brown, wife of the assistant tour starter; Capt. Lewis A. Yancey, who flew with Roger Q. WilliamsRoger Q. WilliamsRoger Quincy Williams was an American aviator, born in Brooklyn, New York.In July 1929 Williams, with Lewis Yancey, broke the over-water flying record by making a non-stop flight from Old Orchard Beach, Maine to Santander, Spain. The 3,400 mile flight took 31 hours and 30 minutes...
across the Atlantic in 1928, who is piloting an autogiro in the tour; Walter E. Lees, Detroit pilot who holds the world's non-refueling endurance record, and George Haldeman, who attempted to fly the Atlantic with Ruth Elder. Major Thomas G. Lanphier, former commandant at Selfridge FieldSelfridge FieldSelfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens.-Units and organizations:...
, is accompanying the tour as far as Binghamton as a passenger. Night stops after tonight will be as follows: Monday, Bradford, PennsylvaniaBradford, PennsylvaniaBradford is a small city located in rural McKean County, Pennsylvania, in the United States 78 miles south of Buffalo, New York. Settled in 1823, Bradford was chartered as a city in 1879 and emerged as a wild oil boomtown in the Pennsylvanian oil rush in the late 19th century...
; Tuesday, Wheeling, West VirginiaWheeling, West VirginiaWheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
; Wednesday, Huntington, West VirginiaHuntington, West VirginiaHuntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
; Thursday, Knoxville, TennesseeKnoxville, TennesseeFounded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
; Friday, Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
; Saturday, Birmingham, AlabamaBirmingham, AlabamaBirmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
; July 12, Montgomery, AlabamaMontgomery, AlabamaMontgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
; July 13, New Orleans; July 14, Shreveport, LouisianaShreveport, LouisianaShreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
; July 15, Houston, TexasHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
; July 16, San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio, TexasSan Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
; July 17 and 18, Fort Worth, TexasFort Worth, TexasFort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
; July 19, Ponca City, OklahomaPonca City, OklahomaPonca City is a small city in Kay and Osage counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, which was named after the Ponca Tribe. Located in north central Oklahoma, it lies approximately south of the Kansas border, and approximately east of Interstate 35. 25,919 people called Ponca City home at the...
; July 20, Kansas CityKansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
; July 21, Lincoln, NebraskaLincoln, NebraskaThe City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
; July 22, Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, NebraskaOmaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
; July 23, Davenport, Ia.; July 24, Kalamazoo, MichiganKalamazoo, MichiganThe area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
; July 25, Detroit, MichiganDetroit, MichiganDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. The tour will cover more than 6,000 miles, visiting 18 states. The Ford Trophy will go to the pilot whose plane performs most efficiently, as judged by the scoring formula, over the entire distance. A separate trophy, the Great Lakes Light Plane Trophy, will go to the pilot of the plane of less than 510 cubic inches engine displacement which makes the best score.