Restored 1929 Ford 4-AT-E trimotor "NC8407" owned by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and painted in the colors of Eastern Air Transport
A total of 199 Ford Trimotors were built between 1926 and 1933, including 79 of the 4-AT variant, and 117 of the 5-AT variant, plus some experimental craft. Well over 100 airlines of the world flew the Ford Trimotor.
Published on Saturday, January 24, 2009
Man sells vintage plane for $1 million
GOLDSBORO — A Korean War fighter pilot who owned a rare 1929 Ford Tri-Motor airplane in North Carolina has sold it at auction for more than $1 million Eighty-one-year-old Dolph Overton of Goldsboro bought the plane 40 years ago and said he fulfilled a dream after restoring it several years ago. Fewer than 10 Tri-Motors are thought to be still flying, including Overton’s. The plane could carry eight passengers and a flight attendant.
The News & Observer reported Friday that about 200 Tri-Motors were made by Henry Ford beginning in 1925. The planes served as the first passenger planes as the commercial airline industry tried to show the public that flying was safe.
