EAA's 1929 Ford Tri-Motor
Visits Columbus, Indiana - June 11-12-13, 2007
 EAA Chapter 729: http://www.bakalar.org/eaa

For several months, the Columbus Area Aviators – EAA Chapter 729 – have been planning for the Ford Tri-Motor arrival on June 11th, 2007.  This was the second stop on the “pre-AirVenture” tour for the Tin Goose and the first time for the plane in Columbus, Indiana.

Community support was outstanding in all areas.  We initially got significant sponsorship from major businesses in the city and garnered the help of radio public service announcements to get the word out about the rides available to the public.

One of the advantages of a community our size (about 40,000) is knowing many of the people and how they will support activities which help the community overall and the airport specifically.

The EAA Oshkosh staff who organize this tour were extremely helpful as we had hundreds of questions during the planning process.

We had posters at dozens of locations around town and at neighboring airports as far as 50 miles away.  Along with the posters, we made up pocket-size cards with the contact information so people could pick them up wherever the posters where shown.  Radio stations offered excellent support by recording public service announcements beginning a month before the arrival of the plane and playing them several times each day.  One station held a contest for two ride tickets on the Tri-Motor.  The Weather Channel played a scrolled text announcement during the “Local On The 8’s” segment for 10 days before the event.

The Columbus newspaper, The Republic, ran announcements and printed a front page article with photgraphs on the morning of the first full day of public rides.

The EAA Chapter members were out in force to support the event and worked hard in the bright sun (we arranged perfect weather for the tour stop) for three full days.

We were able to give a few special rides with both historical and emotional meaning, but none more significant than the one to Shirley London who had flown a Tri-Motor from a small grass strip south of Columbus when she was 9 years old, in 1935.  She was overjoyed at the repeat experience.

Over the course of 2 ½ days, we took up 45 plane loads of enthusiastic, smiling passengers.  Some were able to fly from the co-pilot seat and were smiling even more widely when they landed.  Flights last about 20 minutes total and were able to cruise over the city, so many people were able to spot their homes and businesses from the air.  And, many folks on the ground saw the plane flying overhead and came to the airport to see what was happening.

The advantage of having an  excellent restaurant in the terminal building at the airport became obvious the first day.  Restaurant patrons were coming to the Ford Tri-Motor ride registration desk to find out if they could get rides, and, passengers were spending time in the restaurant before and after their rides to have breakfast and lunch.  In addition, we were able to host a "Meet The Flight Crew" dinner on Tuesday evening, the second day of the tour stop.

If you have never been a part of a Ford Tri-Motor tour stop you should look up the next locations for this season and try to get to one of the events.  Here are the next stop still available at this writing:

June 18 – 20               New Philadelphia, OH  (PHD)
June 21 – 26               Harrisburg, PA  (CXY)
June 29 – July 4         Sandusky, OH  (SKY)
July 6 – 8                    Madison, WI  (MSN)

We’ve listed our sponsors and event supporters below.  We also want to thank the entire Columbus, Indiana community for their response to this event.

Sponsors and Supporters:
EAA Chapter 729 wishes to express sincere thanks to all of our sponsors and supporters listed below.  However, we cannot sufficiently thank those who we would like to thank the most.  The people of Columbus and other communities who came to the airport for rides, and in some cases just to see the plane, should receive the greatest thanks;  For they are the ones who made this a truly successful event.  Thank You All.

We also would like to thank the many businesses in the Columbus community who participated by allowing us to put up posters and who handed out the "pocket cards" to their patrons.

R. W. Armstrong, Inc.
Columbus Municipal Airport (BAK)
Johnson Ventures, Inc.
Brad Stinebring
Holiday Inn – Columbus
Blackerby’s Hangar 5 Restaurant
Rhoades Aviation – Texaco (The Hiller Group)
Cummins, Inc.
Board Of Aviation Commissioners
White River Broadcasting – WCSI
Reising Radio Partners – WRZQ
The Republic Newspaper
Texas Roadhouse – Columbus
City Hall – Mayor Fred Armstrong’s Office
Columbus Police Department
Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department
Indiana State Police

Pictures from the Experimental Aircraft Association Ford Tri-Motor
Columbus, Indiana Tour Stop June 2007
Click on the picture to show an enlargement

Thanks to all who helped make this a wonderfully successful event. 
You can contact EAA Chapter 729 through the Columbus Municipal Airport of at 812-379-9345,
or through our website: http://www.bakalar.org/eaa