Earlier this evening, I had to run out to Target to pick up a few things. For some reason, Stephen Fry (my GPS) decided I ought to go to a rather distant Target. As it turned out, Mr. Fry had my best interests at heart. Not only did it take me past a field filled with lovely grazing horses that I stopped to chat with, it took me past the Ohio State University Airport. I happened to glance over and saw a small sign… something about a Ford Tri-Motor?
When I got home, I punched this right into Google and found out that next weekend, a Ford Tri-Motor will be visiting the Columbus area to take hardy souls like myself on plane rides! I am so there. I’m terribly excited about this, and will be sure to report back in detail, with pictures!
The only question now is: Do I dress up for this? After all, this is a step back in time to when going on a plane was a Really Big Deal.
Well, I don’t have that, and I’ve not quite gotten around to getting my seersucker suit made yet. But I can still show up in a suit, tie, and straw fedora, at least! With suspenders/braces, no less. After all, men’s business attire hasn’t changed all that much in the last hundred years or so. Lapels get wider or narrower, as do ties, but the basics stay the same.
I’m afraid that the spectators are several rungs below the seersucker suit on the ladder of antiquated fashion for me, sir. (Which is to say, I’m not going to get the spectators until I have a seersucker suit. :D)
Today was the big day! Showed up at the OSU Airport, got a nice little history lecture about the plane generally and this particular one. Turns out Port Columbus airport was the first stop on TWA’s coast-to-coast in 48 hour service that flew the Ford back in the day–you’d take a night train from NYC to Columbus, then take a series of hops on the Tri-Motor, pick up another night train, then make it the rest of the way to the coast. Cost about $12,000 once you adjust for inflation. One way.
Then the Tri-Motor showed up, with a mighty rumble of Pratt and Whitneys. Safety lecture and we hop on board. First video is the bulk of the checklist and the start up. We taxi out to the runway and–second video–take off. Fifteen minutes of flying around Columbus at about a thousand feet with three very loud prop engines and back to land. Loved every minute of it. It really did feel like stepping back in time to the infancy of aviation.
Checklist and startup. Takeoff! (Needless to say, the audio doesn’t do it justice. But the sound of those engines spooling up to takeoff speed–sweet, sweet music. Oh, and by the way, the cable you can see in the frame is one of the control cables. :D) Pics galore.
I’ve never really lost the sense of wonder with flight, maybe because I’ve still not taken that many of them in my life. But flying on this just made me feel like a little kid again, when I’d look up and see planes going by in the sky–that same sense of awe and wonder.
Sounds awesome. I never knew there was a Kalamazoo Air Zoo (mentioned in the OP’s link), and I go to Kalamazoo once or twice a year for business. Next time I should check it out.
Fellow Columbus-ite here. So this past weekend the “movie” B-17 Memphis Belle was also in town and they were taking people up for rides. Unfortunately, I was unable to swing up to Bolton Field to check it out.
So my wife and I were down at the North Market doing a little shopping and the B-17 goes flying by and this younger (hipster-ish) guy asks what is going on, as he has seen this plane circling around all day. I let him know it is a B-17, the same one used in the movie Memphis Bell, and it is at Bolton Field and taking people for rides. He asks what is a B-17. I say it is a bomber, used heavily in World War II. He gives me this blank stare for a few seconds and then says “Oh, well I don’t watch t.v.” and walks away.
(Which is to say, I’m not going to get the spectators until I have a seersucker suit. :D)
