The Model T of the air - Henry Ford's Flivver Plane

Henry Ford had a vision- of which he had many. However this vision was to make the skies accessible in the same manner than he did with the Model T making land travel accessible for everyone.

In the mid 1920's Ford was starting production on the famous Ford Tri-Motor airplane, but Henry Ford wanted something smaller that the average person could own, maintain & fly without putting a strain on the budget. His answer was the Flivver Plane.

The fact that Ford had never been up in an airplane before, his first two & only flights were in 1927 when Charles Lindbergh gave him a ride in the Spirit of St. Louis and later in the day a ride in a Ford built Tri-Motor craft did not deter him from being a supporter of air travel. Even into the early 1940s Ford was oft quoted saying  that a combination car & airplane would be the coming thing.

While that never materialized, one of the byproducts of his vision was the Flivver Plane. Weighing only 350 pounds and powered by a 3 cylinder Anzani engine that propelled the plane at 85mph.

You can see an original Flivver Plane at the Henry Ford Museum, or clicking this link.

There is at least one replica Flivver Plane built by chapter 159 of the EAA. Clicking on the link will give a very good short history & specifications that I didn't type here to avoid repetition.

Book Review - Ford the Men & The Machine by Robert Lacey

This book holds a great place for me. This is the first scholarly Ford book I ever read. At the tender age of 8 no less. I got made fun of at school for reading it instead of comic books, but I didn't care, Ford books rule over any other kind of book.

With any book there are negatives & positives. Negatives such as the rather rushed last couple chapters, the rather obvious author's stance on politics & unions- his views show in the writing on chapters dealing with Labor Relations, The Peace Ship, and Presidents Roosevelt & Coolidge.

The positives include presenting new information, an easy to read format suited to the general public and Ford Scholar alike, and a few never before published photographs.

This book was the basis for the bloody awful(at least from a Ford Historian perspective) made for TV movie that starred Cliff Robertson as Henry Ford. We will cover that in the next post.

All in all, this is a good addition to your Ford books shelf if you don't have it already and you can pickup a used hardback copy for under $5.

Henry Ford - Practical Joker

What's so funny about this picture?

Henry Ford had a great sense of humor and for the most part this has been well documented over the years. From his early working career-
He would blow sulfur fumes into a closed room through a broken out knothole.
He nailed down a slovenly worker's shoes to the floor as a lesson to take more care in picking up after himself
He hot wired the urinals so one would get a rather nasty jolt upon using said urinal.

As the years progressed his humor remained unchanged. One yarn tells the story where Henry Ford was showing a student around Greenfield Village, then under construction. As they drive around the complex in Ford's Model T Coupe, the back wheels started spinning on ice. Henry gives the old T some gas, the heat from the spinning tire melts the ice and splashes mud all over a nearby wall. Ford looking over at this tells his passenger, "That's OK. It'll give the guys something to do tomorrow." And then proceeds to do it a few more times at various places in the village.

A long time executive shows up at the office one day with a covered bird cage containing a bird for the employee to give his wife for an anniversary present. Henry Ford being a bird lover was naturally interested in this and he goes to the man's office to check it out for himself. Upon seeing the songbird in the cage, Ford tells his employee "I just got in a fine new stock of herringbone. Go over and have my tailor make you up a suit, you need an anniversary suit." (Ford gave away suits the same way Rockefeller passed out dimes) He did as obeyed and when he was gone Ford went out and caught a black crow and switched out birds in the cage.

On a trip to New York in 1908, Henry Ford conspired with the maids to shortsheet James Couzens' bed at the hotel.

These are just a small fraction of the jokes Henry Ford liked to pull and from time to time we will revisit the topic and post a few more!

PS- The joke is on the camera man. Henry Ford was left handed........

Announcing A New Site.

As I've been in the process of digitizing my photo archives of past car shows, I thought I'd create a new site and post some photos there for everyone's enjoyment. Naturally the emphasis is on Ford products, but there will be a wide variety of cars featured. My archives spans from 1970 to present day. with over 80,000 photos in my collection there's something for everyone!

As of today I only have a few sets of photos up, but I will be adding more sets today & this evening. Also look for a large update to Vintage Ford Facts this evening as well!

The new site for car show photos is Car Show Photos.  or  www.carshowphotos.blogspot.com

Now For Something Different!

I have been compiling a map with locations of former Henry Ford residences, along with those of executives, assembly plants, Ford Farms, and anything else related to Ford History. This is a work in progress and I will be adding things to it everyday, so be sure to bookmark it and check back for updates!

Ford History Map

How to drive a Model A Ford

1929 Model A Ford Blindback Fordor photo taken at Zephyrhills Winter Auto Fest 2010

I'm sure some of the readers here at Vintage Ford Facts either own or have driven a Model A. Model A's have the benefit of being one of the easiest of all vintage cars to drive, I have a few myself that I enjoy driving.

Paul Modlin has created a very nice site showing how everything works when it comes to driving a Model A. It looks like he's still adding pages & information, but stop by over there and take a look at his site. It's informative and fun to read!  Paul's Model A Basics Website.

Harry Bennett's Colt .32

Harry Bennett was Henry Ford's right hand man, or as they say in Modern Times his 'yes man'. It's no secret that Bennett carried guns and he was a crack shot, even to the extent he could shoot the eraser off a pencil and in one case shot a cigar out of Michigan boxing commissioner Tom Bigger's mouth.

So what did he carry? He carried many types of guns, and was reported to have a Tommy Gun under the seat of his Franklin. As far as concealed carry pieces, he favored the .38 & .32 revolvers.

This surviving example posted at Sam Lisker's Colt Autos shows a Colt .32 and remnants of gold plating. Quite possibly this was a gift from Henry Ford, as Henry Ford gave Harry Bennett a few guns over the years.