| Model 2A Flivver | |
|---|---|
| Ford Flivver replica | |
| 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 | 6 |
| Variants | Stout Skycar |
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.
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The Ford Trimotor was Henry Ford's first successful commercial aircraft venture in 1925. Following the Model T as a "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. Stout and Mayo wanted nothing to do with the aircraft and it was built in a nearby museum building.[1] The single seat aircraft was designed with Mr. Ford's instructions that it "fit in the size of his office". The first example was displayed at the 1926 Ford National Reliability Air Tour.[2] 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).[3] A New York Evening Sun columnist wrote the following poem showing excitement for the future flying Fords.
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 designer of the plane, Otto Koppen went on to design the Helio Courier.[5]
Ford's chief test pilot was Harry J. Brooks. Brooks flew the Flivver regularly from his home garage to work. He once flew the aircraft in a race against Gar Wood in Miss America V on the Detroit River during the Harmsworth Trophy Races.
Charles Lindbergh flew the Flivver on a visit to Ford field August 11, 1927, and was the only other pilot to fly the Flivver prototype.[6] He later described the Flivver as, "one of the worst aircraft he ever flew".[7]
A third prototype, tail number 3218,[8] 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 in 1928, witnessed by Henry Ford, landed short in Asheville, North Carolina. A second attempt, witnessed by Edsel Ford, landed 200 mi (320 km) short in Titusville, Florida, but still won a record.
Flying the second prototype from a winning record attempt four days earlier on February 21, 1928, Brooks crashed into the ocean off Melbourne, Florida. Investigation of the wreckage disclosed a matchstick had been plugged into the gas cap vent hole, causing an engine stoppage.
Following the death of Brooks, Henry Ford was distraught, and light airplane development was stopped under the Ford brand. In 1931 a new "Air Flivver" or Sky Car was marketed by the Stout division of Ford.[9] 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.
A surviving Flivver resides in the Henry Ford Museum.
The second prototype featured wing struts, a 50-gallon fuel tank, a dihedral increase, and a custom 143-cubic-inch (2,340 cm3), two-cylinder engine using Wright Whirlwind components that produced 26 hp. Crash investigations were based on the pieces of this aircraft that washed ashore.
In 1991 EAA Chapter 159 from Midland, Michigan donated a replica to the EAA AirVenture Museum. The replica was built from careful inspection of the original prototype and advice from Otto C. Koppen, the original designer.[10]
Data from Robert F. Pauley, Sport Aviation
General characteristics
Performance
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