COLUMBUS, Ind. — A different event will be taking place this weekend in Columbus, focusing on a passion for flight.
From today through Sunday, Columbus Municipal Airport will hold “The Flying Fords”. The four-day event is named for its main attraction: a 1928 Ford Tri-Motor 5-AT-B that will be offering rides, courtesy of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA).
Ford only manufactured 199 Tri-Motors, and there are only 18 left in the United States. The same Tri-Motor coming to Columbus this weekend also made a brief stop at the airport in early May, with a few select community members going for a ride.
This particular Ford Tri-Motor or “Tin Goose” (as the planes are sometimes called) belongs to the Liberty Aviation Museum in Port Clinton, Ohio, and is leased to the EAA for tours. Ed Kornfield, an EAA pilot for the Tri-Motor, said in a previous interview that a tour stop in another town was canceled due to some problems with hangar availability, so the plane ended up making a pit stop in Columbus instead.
It was too last-minute to put together an event at that time, said Payne, but airport officials were able to hangar the plane before it departed and made its way to Owensboro, Ky. for another tour stop — and able to make plans for a return.
The EAA had another opening in its schedule and asked the airport if it would be interested in hosting a Ford Tri-Motor event.
“We thought it was a good opportunity to showcase aviation and showcase some history of aviation here at the airport,” Payne said. “So we took that opportunity and ran with it.”
If you go
More information about The Flying Fords, including a schedule, is available at columbus.in.gov/airport/ and on the event’s Facebook page. Updates, including any cancellations due to adverse weather, will be posted on Facebook, Payne said.
To learn more about the Ford Tri-Motor and register for a ride in advance, visit flytheford.org. Walk-ups are also available.
For the complete story, see Thursday’s Republic.
