Scott Walker, WGNS Radio, November 11, 2017
Climb aboard one of the first mass-produced airliners and step back in time to aviation’s golden age. A flight on Experimental Aircraft Association’s Ford Tri-Motor is a flight back to an era where air travel was considered a luxury–a time when Murfreesboro’s Sky Harbor was a popular destination. Construction on Sky Harbor’s 152-acres officially opened October 14, 1929 on the Old Dixie Highway.
See and Ride the Ford Tri-Motor
The Tri-motor’s first flight in 1926 came less than 23 years after the Wright Brothers first successful flight of a powered aircraft, December 17, 1903. The Ford A-AT-E Tri-motor will be on display at the Murfreesboro Municipal Airport at 1930 Memorial Boulevard, behind Walmart. Thursday November 9 at 7:00 p.m. through Sunday Nov. 12. The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) sponsors the Ford Trimotor and flies the aircraft throughout the country, offering tickets to ride the plane www.flytheford.org: Adults are $75 and children (age 17 and younger) are $50.
“The amazing thing to me is when you get up into the aircraft where the passengers sit and into the cockpit you are able to see how aviation technology was rapidly evolving,” added Gehrke. “You can actually see where some of the aircraft’s engine instruments and indicators are out on the engine.”
In the DC-3, instruments were moved inside on the aircraft dashboard rather than out on the engine. In addition, the Ford Trimotor did not have the smooth, sleek-looking metal of contemporary aircraft. Most aircraft today is manufactured with composite materials. The Ford Trimotor enables visitors to step back in time for a first-hand glimpse of early aviation technology and see how far the industry has come. In less than 50 years, aviation developed from Kitty Hawk to jet aircraft in what is known as the “golden era.”
For more information about the Ford Tri-motor, visit https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/flight-experiences/fly-the-ford-eaa-ford-tri-motor-airplane-tour or call 877-952-5395.
Revenues from the Ford Tri-Motor tour help cover maintenance and operations costs for the aircraft and aid our ambition to keep the “Tin Goose” flying for many years to come.
New Airport Plans
Murfreesboro Airport officials plan to replace the 1952 facility with a 20,000 square foot, two story Municipal Airport terminal. The $6-million facility is expected to be finished by the fall of 2019. Airport Manager Chad Gerghke noted the new airport will be 5-times larger than our present terminal, and will be able to fill the needs of the state’s fastest growing area.