Ford Tri-Motor plane to be featured at Experimental Aircraft Association

You can pay for a ride on the Tri-Motor during the duration of the show at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport. (Photo Courtesy of Dave Dahl)

By Dave Dahl

If your grandparents were adventurous enough to fly, they just may have ridden on a plane which is the main attraction at the Experimental Aircraft Association show in Springfield Thursday through Sunday.

It’s the Ford Tri-Motor, built in 1928 and sort of a precursor to the DC-3. Organizer John Salz, president of the local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association, says it was Henry Ford’s stab at aviation, believing that three engines – rather than one – would inspire more confidence in potential passengers.

“When you’re flying, you’re not thinking about work,” said Salz. “I enjoy the view; I think of it as getting to see from God’s perspective up there.”

You can pay for a ride on the Tri-Motor during the duration of the show at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport.

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