Did you know that at one time the Ford Motor Company produced airplanes?! And they were so beautiful! Meet the Ford 4-AT, aka the Ford Trimotor, also known as the Tin Goose.

The Ford Trimotor is a passenger all-metal trimotor monoplane that was produced in series from 1927 to 1933 by the Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company, which was part of the Ford Motor Company. A total of 199 Ford 4-AT and improved Ford 5-AT aircraft were produced. At one time, they were used by American Airways, Northwest Airways, Pan American Airways, Texaco, TWA, United Air Lines, Cubana, Mexicana and others.

The Stout Metal Airplane company was founded in 1922 by the talented engineer William Bushnell Stout, the same one who ten years later created the world’s first minivan – the incredible Stout Scarab. In 1924, the company was acquired by the Ford Motor Company.

Unfortunately, despite the popularity of the Ford Trimotor and the interest of Edsel Ford himself (son of Henry Ford and president of the Ford Motor Company from 1919 to 1943) in aviation, the company did not survive the Great Depression, when hundreds of inexpensive used airplanes appeared on the market, including and Ford Trimotor. The Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company was closed in 1936.

But during World War II, Ford returned to building airplanes. Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers and Waco CG-4 amphibious gliders were assembled at the Ford plant in Willow Run. Every month, the Willow Run factory shipped 650 (!) new B-24s to the US Air Force.

It’s a shame that Ford’s aviation history has come to an end. But you have the opportunity to see the Ford Trimotor in many aviation museums around the world and even take the Ford 4-AT Trimotor into the air in Microsoft Flight Simulator. What’s more, from June 23rd to June 30th, 2023, this aircraft can be downloaded from the Microsoft Flight Simulator Marketplace for FREE.