Ford Flivver
| 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 | 5 |
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.
The Ford Trimotor was Henry Ford's first successful commercial aircraft venture in 1925. Following the Ford Model T as an "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. Both Stout and William Benson Mayo, head of Ford's Aircraft Division wanted nothing to do with the aircraft and it was built in a nearby museum building in the Ford Laboratories.
The single-seat aircraft was designed with Mr. Ford's instructions that it "fit in his office". The first example was displayed at the 1926 Ford National Reliability Air Tour. 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). 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 steel landing gear was fastened to the wing and used rubber doughnuts in compression for shock absorption. The designer of the aircraft, Otto Koppen, went on to design the Helio Courier.
Ford unveiled the Flivver on his 63rd birthday, July 30, 1926. Ford's chief test pilot was Harry J. Brooks, a young employee who had become a favorite of Ford. Brooks flew the Flivver regularly from his home garage to work at the Ford Laboratory, and later, used the second Flivver to move about the Ford properties. He once flew the aircraft in a race against Gar Wood in Miss America V on the Detroit River during the Harmsworth Trophy Races.
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Wikipedia