'This plane's had nine lives'

'This plane's had nine lives' A 1929 Ford Tri-Motor, named the "Tin Goose" by Henry Ford, visits Oak island

Built in 1929 and severely damaged by a tornado in Wisconsin in 1973, a Ford Tri-Motor is at the Cape Fear Regional Jetport this weekend, offering rides for those who want to feel what it's like flying the first all-metal passenger plane ever put into commercial service.

The co-pilot checks the fuel on top of the wing, upper right, before the flight. EAA Chapter 939 in Oak Island raised $1 million to purchase a new wing for the aircraft.

The cockpit of the Ford Tri-Motor includes foot pedals to control the plane's back vertical fin -- essentially the plane's breaking system.

"Noisy but reliable, the Ford Tri-Motor played a major role in convincing the public that air travel was safe and practical," volunteer Suzanne Cox, member of the EAA Oak Island chapter, told passengers before their flight. "True to its name, the aircraft had three engines. If one engine broke down, the airplane still had two engines to continue flying."

"It’s so unlike what people are experiencing nowadays at the airport," captain Bill Sleeper said of the Ford Tri-Motor. "Every seat’s an aisle seat. Every seat’s a window seat. It’s very comfortable."

A plaque on the plane shows its long and diverse history.

"This airplane's had nine lives. It’s been an American airplane, a Cuban airplane, a Dominican Republic airplane. It was one of the first airplanes configured for borate bombing to fight wildfires. Then it was used for smoke jumping in the Johnson Flying Service in Montana. It was a crop duster, a barnstormer. It’s been in movies. People have gotten married on this thing. In 1973 the airplane was destroyed in a thunderstorm. A big tornado came and picked this airplane up out of its tie-downs and shredded it. The EA then bought the carcass and spent 12 years restoring it, and it's been flying on these tour programs ever since." -Captain Bill Sleeper

The Ford Tri-Motor prepares for take-off at the Cape Fear Regional Jetport.

The "Tin Goose" takes flight above Oak Island.

In 1929, a Ford Tri-Motor was the first airplane to fly over the South Pole. Three years later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt flew on it during his 1932 presidential campaign.

A view of Highway 133 running through Oak Island.

A steam power plant near the mouth of the Cape Fear River.

One of two wing engines of the Ford Tri-Motor as it flies over Southport. The third is installed at the nose of the plane.

Passengers aboard the Ford Tri-Motor look out over Southport.

A view of Southport on the mouth of the Cape Fear River.

The Barbee Bridge connecting the mainland to Oak Island over the Intracoastal Waterway.

Captain Bill Sleeper, a retired United Airlines 747 pilot who now flies seaplanes from Seattle to British Columbia and all over Washington, flies the Ford Tri-Motor over Oak Island.

The pilot, Bill Sleeper, had logged close to a thousand miles crossing the Atlantic Ocean flying for United Airlines. He's also completed three crossings flying a 1936 Lockheed Electra, the same model flown by Amelia Earhart during her around-the-world attempt in 1937.

"Doing it down low at 3,500 feet, looking at icebergs, it's pretty cool," Sleeper said.

A view inside the cockpit of the Ford Tri-Motor as it flies over the beaches of Oak Island.

Homes along Beaverdam Creek in Oak Island.

Homes in the St. James Plantation near Oak Island.

The St. James Plantation near Oak Island.

A view of Oak Island and Caswell Beach as the plane prepares for landing.

A boat dock in the marshes of the Intracoastal Waterway near Barbee Bridge.

Boats along the Intracoastal Waterway near Barbee Bridge as the plane prepares for landing at Cape Fear Regional Jetport.

Captain Bill Sleeper relieves some of the control pressure in the plane by "trimming" the nose up and down.

The crew refuels the plane after the flight.

Passengers take photos next to the plane after the flight.

"I’ve never had anybody get off and say they didn’t have a good time. Everybody gets off this thing just hootin' and hollerin' and smilin'. They just love it." -Captain Bill Sleeper

Appreciate

Credits:

Photos by Mark Darrough/Port City Daily