This folder contains a repaint for the Ford Trimotor by Microsoft, in the colors of Trimotor NC9637 of Pan American, as it can be seen in the San Diego Air & Space Museum. The Museum’s Ford Trimotor has a very extensive provenance that illustrates well the great versatility and durability of the aircraft. It was the eleventh 5-AT to come out of Ford’s Dearborn Michigan plant, and was first purchased by Pan American Airlines in December of 1928 for their popular Miami to Cuba route. Four months later, it was transferred to Compañía Cubana de Aviación, a Pan American affiliate, to the fly the Brownsville to Mexico City route. After five years with the company, it was sold to TACA Nicaragua and used as a cargo carrier. By 1945, the craft was with Compañia Dominicana. From there, title went to a Burbank California company, and then to the San Luis Mining Company of San Francisco and Durango, Mexico, where it was used for 16 years to carry mail, freight and passengers to the company’s mines in Mexico. In 1966, it was sold to Arizona Automotive of Tucson, and several years later, title went to Island Airlines of Port Clinton, Ohio. In 1968, the Trimotor became an exhibition in the air when it was restored to its original Pan American scheme by Wheels and Wings Museum of Santee, South Carolina. Eight years later, it was purchased by Scenic Airlines of Las Vegas for air tours over the Grand Canyon and the Las Vegas Strip. While with Scenic Airlines, it was blown from its tie-downs by a strong wind storm and ended up in a drainage ditch twisted and mangled, and seemingly damaged beyond repair. By that time, the Trimotor had logged 24,043 hours of flight time.
The Trimotor 5-AT-11 was then donated by Scenic Airlines to the San Diego Air & Space Museum in August of 1983. It was stored at North Island Naval Air Station until late 1984, when it was moved to the basement of the Ford Building for a long and arduous restoration process. Under the leadership of Tim Cunningham, the restoration volunteers spent nearly 15 years, and tens of thousands of hours, painstakingly remanufacturing and crafting every detail of the plane to assure a historically accurate restoration, one that would represent the original Trimotor of 1928, when it was owned by Pan American Airlines. The corrugated aluminum panels were formed from the original Ford Trimotor dies. The cockpit and the beautiful all-wood interior were replicated in nearly every detail, including exact reproductions of the passenger seats, paneling, window frames and lavatory. The three Pratt and Whitney Wasp engines were rebuilt and put in operating condition, with their original cowlings and instrumentation. Today you can see the Ford Trimotor 5-AT-11 on exhibition in the Pavilion of Flight of the Ford Building, next to the museum’s two 1930s V-8 Ford cars, as a testament to Ford’s major role in the development of transportation in the 20th Century, both on the ground and in the air. Repaint by Jan Kees Blom.
NezNok
Any chance to get PAA or TWA's B307 Stratoliner?
jankees author
11 months ago
RayProudfoot
FndrStrat06
mikejr91
jankees author
11 months ago
johnpooky84
However, as I was getting ready for today's leg from Greenland to Iceland, I discovered that the fuselage is now a pink-and-purple checkerboard, but the wings and tail look ok.. There was a Tri-Motor update recently, and I think it may have screwed up the livery 😞. Parts of the cockpit also look kind of pink.
FndrStrat06
12 months ago
Mr4DMachinist
jankees author
11 months ago
wcs33
Thanks so much, this is so nice! I hope that you can consider an Eastern Air Transport (restored, so we have some good pics for color refs) and TWA! 😊
Ginete
Thank you!
Jujoloma
It's awesome, the livery is simply great! Is it possible for you to do the livery of my ex flag-carrier airline "Scadta"?
jankees author
11 months ago
SkyStinger
Yes! this is exactly what I have been missing! Nothing like having the legendary PAA colors on a legendary Aircraft!
RF86_kojak
レトロな質感が良く出ている塗装です。ATC AIRLINE をCLIPPERにすればコールサインとなり、更に雰囲気が出ると思います。It is a painting that has a good retro texture. If ATC AIRLINE is set to CLIPPER, it will become a call sign, and I think it will bring out more atmosphere.