Museum's Ford Tri-Motor was part of Ohio aviation history

Passengers buying rides on the City of Wichita Ford Tri-Motor owned by Liberty Aviation Museum aren't just riding a vintage airplane.They are riding a plane linked to a milestone in Ohio and U.S. aviation history.The late 1920s, three-engine airplane has been restored to the original markings and interior design that it sported when it was purchased by its original owner — Transcontinental Air Transport. The airline, created with the help of Charles Lindbergh, who had become a national hero after his 1927 solo airplane flight from New York to Paris, was the first attempt to use passenger planes to speed people across the country.TAT, which used 11 of the Ford aircraft, was actually a hybrid air-rail service which bragged that it could speed passengers from New York City to Los Angeles in just 48 hours — faster than the rail service which was the usual method of travel.Westbound travelers would board a train in the evening in New York City, riding it until it passed through Cleveland and stopped at a railroad station in Columbus. Passengers would then board a Ford Tri-Motor which flew west and south, landing to refuel in Indianapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City and Wichita, before finally arriving in the evening to the small town of Waynoka, Oklahoma. The passengers would then board a train for another overnight train trip, to Clovis, New Mexico, where another TAT Ford Tri-Motor awaited to take them to Glendale, Calif.It was not safe to try to fly the Ford Tri-Motor over mountains at night, so the portions of the trip, such as getting across the Rockies, were handled by train, said Jeff Sondles, operations director at Liberty Aviation Museum.The City of Wichita/City of Port Clinton, the aircraft the museum owns, was one of the TAT planes that flew from Columbus to Waynoka, he said. It passed through various hands before the museum bought it and restored it to its original look, he said.The plane spent much of the winter in Florida. It is based at Liberty Aviation Museum near Port Clinton but spends much of its time out of town at various aviation events.Rides aboard the City of Wichita cost adults $70 in advance, $75 the day of the flight, but there's no charge to gaze at the plane, or watch it fly over the area.A late Thursday morning flight provided to members of the press to promote the rides took the plane on a flight path just north of downtown Sandusky and around Cedar Point, giving many residents a good look at it.Those original TAT flights must have been very noisy trips, but in some ways, they were superior to modern flights. The plane has only 10 passenger seats, but each is a window seat, with much bigger windows than modern air passengers are used to. The plane also flies lower than modern jets, giving passengers a good view of the ground. Want to Go?WHAT: Liberty Aviation Museum trips aboard a Ford Tri-Motor.WHEN: Thursday through Monday, May 21-25.COST: Rides are $75 for adults, $50 for passengers 17 and younger, with kids younger than two flying free. Reservations may be made at flytheford.com or by phoning 800-359-6217.Register photo/TOM JACKSON. A Ford Tri-Motor sits on the tarmac at Erie-Ottawa International Airport, awaiting its passengers. Register photo/TOM JACKSON. Passengers aboard a Transcontinental Air Transport Ford Tri-Motor had curtained windows and individual reading lamps. COLUMBUS LANDMARKS FOUNDATION. The Port Columbus airport terminal, where passengers transferred from a train into a Transcontinental Air Transport aircraft.