Ford Tri-Motor N414H History

Do your part to keep N414H in the air by purchasing a desk model replica of our Ford Tri-Motor today. This spectacular hand crafted, aged Philippine mahogany model is so detailed you'll find yourself daydreaming, thinking your looking at the real airplane! From the rainbow to the external flight control cables, to the fuel caps and engine exhausts, you'll be absolutely amazed at the preciseness and quality of this piece of art! Most importantly, ALL PROCEEDS & DONATIONS RAISED GO DIRECTLY TO THE MAINTENANCE AND UPKEEP OF FORD TRI-MOTOR N414H! Only a small quantity have been made so if you are interested in purchasing a desk model, please email john@valleairport.com to make arrangements.

Ford Tri-Motor 5-AT-74, N414H The Ford Tri-Motor and the Grand Canyon. Unforgettable histories? (Read more about GCA history here) By John C. Dillon, President & General Manager, Grand Canyon Airlines October 2007 "Clear, One!" yells Captain Bryan Godlove as the cough and sputter of the first of three powerful 450hp Pratt and Whitney Wasp R-985 engines start and all 27 cylinders crank an incredible roar from the front of the vintage 1929 Ford Tri-Motor airplane. It’s her birthday and what a way to celebrate! Serial number 74 and the 155th of 199 Ford Tri-Motor’s ever built, found flight for the first time on September 4, 1929 and probably with as much excitement surrounding it as it does even today. I think to myself, “I hope I look this good when I’m seventy-five!” Out of possibly seven remaining air worthy Tri-Motors and even after 78 years, the “Tin Goose” still takes to the air a few times a year under the command of a select few with the skills to handle her. With Bryan in the left seat and me as his co-pilot in the right, I make a mental note that both of our ages combined are still just short of the age of the airplane. In the cabin, the excited group of ten passengers stares outside at the crowd as we taxi for departure. We all can only imagine what it must have been like to fly a similar Ford Tri-Motor from coast-to-coast taking over 48 hours in its prime in 1929 on the first transcontinental flight from New York to Los Angeles. Acquired in 1977 by John Seibold, former co-owner of Grand Canyon Airlines (GCA) and founder of the modern Scenic Airlines, this Ford Tri-Motor (N414H, 5-AT-74) now spends most of her time on the ground giving visitors a good close up look at her corrugated aluminum skin, external control cables, immaculate authentic interior, and beautiful radial engines. She has a wingspan of 77 feet 10 inches (only a few people ever notice that her left wingtip is squared off and not round), a length of 49 feet 10 inches, and a height of 13 feet 8 inches. She usually thirsts for about 80 gallons of fuel an hour. Not as heavy as she appears, she is only 9,188 pounds empty and certified up to 13,250 pounds max. She would typically carry up to 15 passengers and 2 crewmembers. Purchased new in 1929 she required a price of $55,000. Today, one could only guess as to her value. This stately antique is carefully tended to as she resides at her summer home at the private Grand Canyon Airlines terminal at Grand Canyon Airport (GCN). During the winter months she can be seen on display at the Valle Airport (40G).  Grand Canyon Airlines, the direct descendant of Scenic Airways, began the first sight seeing flights of the Grand Canyon in 1927, and acquired its first of several Ford Tri-Motors from the Ford Motor Company in May of 1928. Later that fall the company set up operations in Phoenix, Arizona by purchasing five adjacent cotton farms from which it carved out an airport and named it Sky Harbor. On November 18, 1928, the first commercial flight from Sky Harbor was aboard the Ford Tri-Motor with the Rocky Point Fishing Club bound for Mexico. Company founder, Parker Van Zandt began an industry that now provides the sightseeing experience of Grand Canyon air tours to nearly 800,000 visitors a year, and Sky Harbor is one of the largest international airports in the United States with over 545,000 take-offs and landings a year with an annual economic impact of over 24 billion dollars. “Because of his personal love of aviation and his interest in the history of Grand Canyon air tours, John Seibold acquired two Ford Tri Motors to recreate the unique passenger experiences’. That fleet consisted of Tri-Motors N414H (Serial 5-AT-74), and N76GC, formerly N9637 (Serial 5-AT-11),” said Alan Stephen, Vice President of Grand Canyon Airlines. “Neither of the two Tri-Motors were in the original Scenic Airways or Grand Canyon Airlines fleet, but both were used for Grand Canyon air tours for several years in the late 70’s and early 80’s with GCA and Scenic Airlines. Unfortunately N76GC was significantly damaged on the ground in a Las Vegas windstorm in February of 1981 and Mr. Seibold donated it to the San Diego Aerospace Museum in California where it has been fully restored but unfortunately has not flown since. Meanwhile Mr. Seibold has made sure N414H has been faithfully maintained and extremely well cared for. It is in outstanding condition.” If 5-AT-74 could speak, the stories she could tell of her incredible history. In her infancy from 1929 to 1931, she was one of the first Tri-Motors equipped with twin metal floats, accumulating nearly 250 hours as the Ford Motor Company's factory demonstrator as a seaplane on the Detroit River. Then sold to Pan Am in 1931, she flew scheduled routes out of Miami into Central America. In 1935, 5-AT-74 moved south of the border and began operations in Mexico City, for Cia Mexicana de Aviacion registered as XA-BCX and later XA-BKS. It came back to Pan American in 1936 and then back to Cia Mexicana de Aviacion. In May 1941, it moved further south to Guatemala operating for Cia Guatemalteca de Aviacion in Guatemala City. 5-AT-74 stayed in Guatemala operating as LG-AFA until 1950. Recovered by Robert Waltermire in March 1950, 5-AT-74 was returned to the United States and was reconditioned for use as an aerial sprayer fighting a grasshopper plague. At this time Northwest Agricultural Aviation Corp out of Choteau, Montana operated it. Between 1956 and 1959, 5-AT-74 had a series of owners before finally falling into dereliction and disrepair in Florida. 5-AT-74's salvation came at the hands of John and Katherine Louck of Monmouth, Illinois. When Louck found the aircraft in Florida, it was in less than pristine condition being described as "full of frogs, snakes, bugs, etc." He worked for two weeks cleaning and making the aircraft airworthy to ferry it to Monmouth, Illinois. A myriad of problems caused the trip to take 68 days covering 1700 miles. Louck bought 5-AT-74 with the intention of barnstorming it, and he did! It was reported that in one year 5-AT-74 carried 17,000 passengers, 2800 of which were carried in one five day period at Rockwell, Illinois. Louck carried a total of 100,000 passengers in 5-AT-74 while he owned it. During 1963, it was leased to TWA for a cross-country series of flights starting from Los Angeles, California to Newark, New Jersey. Total time in the air was 27 hours, 48 minutes and total en route was 54 hours, 7 minutes. In February 1965 Louck sold 5-AT-74 to American Airlines in New York City. 5-AT-74 was present at the New York City World's Fair in 1965. Chuck LeMaster purchased her for barnstorming in the early 1970’s before selling her to Mr. Seibold for “a fairly large amount” in 1977. Shortly afterward repeated its 1965 cross-country trek. This time it made the cross-country flight in company with a Scenic Airlines Twin Otter that was operating as a camera ship. Starting in Long Beach, California it flew to Las Vegas, Nevada. From there 5-AT-74 flew over Lake Mead and Hoover Dam and on to fly the length of the Grand Canyon. 5-AT-74 finished its cross-country trip in 7 days ending at New York's Kennedy Airport. While in New York, 5-AT-74 flew over New York Harbor and past the Twin Towers and the Statue of Liberty. Later it flew on to East Hartford, Connecticut to appear at Pratt and Whitney's 60th anniversary celebration before returning to Las Vegas, Nevada. During 1983, 5-AT-74 was flown out of the San Fernando Airport by Art Scholl and Bernie Godlove during a brief movie career in which it appeared in the movie "To Be or Not To Be". It's beautiful rainbow was temporarily painted out by dozen's of cans of women's silver hairspray in order for it to represent Hilter's personal German Ju-52. Bernie was the senior (number 1) captain at United Airlines system wide, with over a thousand hours in the Ford. He also headed up a 'type rating' program, as a type rating was required to fly the airplane commercially. Many commercial pilots simply wanted the honor of having "FO-5" (the designator of the Ford Tri-Motor 5AT series) stamped on the back of their licenses. One of those commercial pilots was Bernie's son, Bryan, who is the Captain of the Ford today! Bryan has been at the controls for over twenty years and also has over one thousand hours in the Ford. Bryan's thirteen-year-old son, Kelby, is an up and coming pilot and hopes to someday be the third generation Godlove at the controls of 5-AT-74. In June 2003, by special invitation, 5-AT-74 participate at the Ford Motor's Company's 100 Year Centennial Anniversary Celebration in Dearborn, Michigan. It joined the EAA's Ford Tri-Motor 4-AT, NC8047, in a special event where the Ford Tri-Motors landed at the original Ford Airport and what was first paved runway in the world (now the FMC Dearborn Proving Grounds) which was the hallowed ground where both airplanes first took flight over seventy fives years ago. A few weeks later 5-AT-74 also participated at Oshkosh Air Venture 2003 flying in a 'Tri-Motor Reunion' with the EAA Ford Tri-Motor, a Bushmaster 2000, a Stinson Tri-Motor and a JU-52. In September of 2003, 5-AT-74 joined nearly 30 other historic golden age aircraft in the recreation of the National Air Tour from 1932, flying over 4500 miles in 18 days. The National Air Tour 2003 was simply an experience of a lifetime for everyone involved and could easily have volumes written about it. In the mean time, you can read much more at www.nationalairtour.org. In November 2003, 5-AT-74 returned to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport at the request of the City of Phoenix to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first flight in a Ford Tri-Motor from the airport that Grand Canyon Airlines (initially known as Scenic Airways) on November 18, 1928. Guests on board was the honorable Mayor of Phoenix, Skip Rimza. On September 4, 2004, Grand Canyon Airlines celebrated the 75th birthday of 5-AT-74 by offering rides to the public along with GCA employees, friends, and family members. One of the highlights was being honored with special guest Janie Stanton, the grand-daughter of William B. Stout who designed the Ford 80 years earlier. Janie sat in the right seat on the first flight of the morning, 75 years to the day of 5-AT-74's first flight in Dearborn, Michigan. Mr. Seibold has begun plans for a Grand Canyon air tour history section in the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Valle (40G) to show his collection of a 1917 Standard J-1, a 1927 Stinson Detroiter SM-1, a 1928 Curtis Robin, a 1929 Travelair 6000A, and of course the 1929 Ford Tri-Motor. He is currently on a quest to acquire at least one of every airplane known to fly air tours for Scenic Airways and Grand Canyon Airlines. The purpose of the display will be to educate the Grand Canyon visitors of the rich aviation history and evolution of the air tour industry of the Grand Canyon. Ironically, the battle continues as the latest round of rules and restrictions from the National Park Service and Federal Aviation Administration have imposed a nearly fatal blow to the air tour operators. “It’s a travesty,” John Seibold says. “Now after over 80 years of providing millions of visitors the most spectacular and least intrusive way to see the Grand Canyon, our Government and the extreme environmentalists want to remove our service from the list of solutions to preserve and protect it. I truly believe many want to eliminate air tours completely. Our industry has evolved from the early, arguably much noisier and intrusive Tri-Motors to extremely safe and ultra-quiet VISTALINERS, yet we are still punished for what I believe is a user conflict of the Grand Canyon. If he were alive today I wonder what Parker Van Zandt would say if he knew that the industry he began is now in jeopardy of its extinction. The Tri-Motor began a marvelous mode of enjoyment of seeing the Grand Canyon from the air. I want our public to be educated about this issue and understand that the Ford Tri-Motor and Grand Canyon have intertwined histories that should not be forgotten.” Currently 5-AT-74 is in its winter home and can be viewed at the Valle Airport (40G) which is located between Williams and Grand Canyon on HWY 64. GCA is believed to be the oldest air tour company in the world still in continuous operation, just exceeding eighty years this year. GCA operates year-round at Grand Canyon, Las Vegas (Boulder City airport), Page, Rainbow Bridge, Monument Valley, and beyond.  GCA offers air tours, river tours, room packages, charters, and the GCN full service FBO and welcomes your visit. Visit the history of the Ford Tri-Motor and Grand Canyon Airlines on the Internet at www.grandcanyonairlines.com or call toll free (866) 2-FLY-GCA for reservations and information. John C. Dillon President \ General Manager GRAND CANYON AIRLINES, INC. Email: jdillon@grandcanyonairlines.com

Ford Tri-Motor 5-AT-74, N414H Serial Number: 74 First Flown: September 4, 1929 Price new: $55,000 Total airframe hours: 16,000 SPECIFICATIONS Powerplants: 3 Pratt & Whitney R985, 450hp each Propellers: Hamilton constant speed Length: 49 feet 10 inches Height: 13 feet 8 inches Wingspan: 77 feet 10 inches Wing area: 835 square feet Wing loading: 16.1 lbs / square foot Power loading: 9.25 lbs / hp Seats: Originally 15 + 2 crew (now 10 +2) Empty weight: 9,188 lbs Gross weight (single pilot): 12,500 lbs Gross weight, special conditions: 13,250 lbs Useful load: 3,312 lbs Payload with full fuel: 2,130 lbs Fuel capacity: 355 gallons Oil Capacity: 9 gallons per engine Baggage capacity: 1,240 lbs PERFORMANCE Rate of climb, sea level: 1,100 feet per minute One-engine-out rate of climb (MSL): 200 feet per minute Max level speed, sea level: 144 mph IAS Normal cruise: 95 mph IAS Service ceiling: 17,500 feet Absolute ceiling: 18,800 feet Fuel burn: 60 – 90 gallons per hour Noise level in cockpit: What did you say? VALUE OF AIRCRAFT Price new in 1929: $55,000 Price in 2008: Priceless

NEXT SCHEDULED EVENTS There are no upcoming events planned for N414H until the spring of 2009. Please return often for updates to this website. N414H is current on display at the Valle Airport (40G) Museum Planes of Fame. See more at www.valleairport.com or www.planesoffame.org.

At birth 1929	At birth 1929	Detroit River 1929
Detroit River 1929	In TWA Colors	In TWA Colors
In TWA Colors	TWA Anniversary 1985	Chuck LeMaster's "Kansas Clipper"
Johnny Louck	N76GC & N414H Over Hoover Dam	John Seibold in 1977 with N414H & N76GC
Owner John Seibold	Microsoft Flight Simulator Patch	Microsoft Flight Simulator Patch
N414H RC	With BA Concord	N414H, 1984 TWIN TOWERS
N414H, 1984 TWIN TOWERS	AOPA PILOT NOVEMBER '87	Over The Canyon
Ticket to Ride	Oshkosh 2003	National Air Tour In Iowa 2003
Bryan Godlove Eric Lindbergh John Dillon National Air Tour 2003	Over Kittyhawk 2003	Over Migs Field Chicago 2003
Captain Bryan Godlove & family	First Officer John Dillon & family	Interior
Cockpit Panel	At Home at GCA 75th Birthday Sept 4, 2004