Start here
A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The Trimotor combined a high wing and fixed landing gear with an engine in the nose and one beneath each wing. Ford's industrial name entered the growing air-transport market through a design used by airlines, government operators and military customers.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A cold-weather course shared by vintage-aircraft enthusiasts
An invitation from young pilot Jake Libby brought Schiff into a small group determined to fly the Ford. Cold weather at Valle, Arizona, formed the background to a course shared by enthusiasts of different ages. Their common interest made the training a social experience as well as an opportunity to learn an unusual aircraft. The cockpit required Schiff to adjust habits formed in more modern machines.
AOPA Pilot · May 2010. December 2009 training with Bryan Godlove in N414H, a larger 5-AT-C family variant, rather than the 4-AT represented by this page’s main profile.
AOPA Pilot · Read more ↗Switch between the package’s panel arrangements
The manual describes a period-inspired standard panel, an alternate arrangement with a Sperry autopilot, and a modern configuration with GNS530 and GNS430 navigation. A knob beside the chronometer changes the panel. The standard arrangement also includes navigation aids beyond the earliest historical installation.
4AT Trimotor · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Erik Johnston · 23 min ·
Ford Trimotor Walkaround Tour Mid America Flight Museum
Mid America Flight Museum's founder tours its Ford Trimotor.
Real aircraft · Ford 4AT Trimotor
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Ford 4AT Trimotor
The Trimotor combined a high wing and fixed landing gear with an engine in the nose and one beneath each wing. Ford's industrial name entered the growing air-transport market through a design used by airlines, government operators and military customers.
The cabin and cockpit date from the transition between open-cockpit flying and pressurised airliners. The simulator offers optional modern navigation equipment alongside the period installation.
Ford 4AT Trimotor
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
An island transport enters a new phase of life
Kermit Weeks describes buying his Ford in the late 1980s after its work for Island Airways, serving Lake Erie communities from Port Clinton. He flew it from California to Florida over several days, beginning its transition from practical local transport to his collection.
Fantasy of Flight · Built Ford Tough ↗Owner’s 2009 retrospective
Storm damage leads to a lengthy restoration
Weeks recounts severe damage during Hurricane Andrew after a fuel truck was blown into the aircraft inside its hangar. By 2009, restoration included rebuilding the wing centre section and choosing original-style round-head rivets. Features he described as future plans are not treated as completed work.
Fantasy of Flight · Built Ford Tough ↗Restoration status as described in August 2009
Development milestones
Designer: William Bushnell Stout
First flight: June 11, 1926
Wikipedia contributors · Ford Trimotor ↗Ford Trimotor · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1371739290
Pilot accounts
A cold-weather course shared by vintage-aircraft enthusiasts
An invitation from young pilot Jake Libby brought Schiff into a small group determined to fly the Ford. Cold weather at Valle, Arizona, formed the background to a course shared by enthusiasts of different ages. Their common interest made the training a social experience as well as an opportunity to learn an unusual aircraft.
The cockpit required Schiff to adjust habits formed in more modern machines. Engine gauges sat outside on the struts, the trim control was in an unfamiliar position, and substantial control forces made parts of the flying physically demanding. Working through those differences deepened his appreciation of early airline crews.
AOPA Pilot · May 2010. December 2009 training with Bryan Godlove in N414H, a larger 5-AT-C family variant, rather than the 4-AT represented by this page’s main profile.
Read the full account · AOPA Pilot ↗Two short flights become a logbook entry to treasure
Herron’s opportunity began with an invitation from Ed Kornfield, but weather and work made it uncertain whether an AirVenture flight would happen. When a space finally appeared, she joined the Ford’s flying day and took a turn at the controls. The first circuit revealed how much more deliberate rudder use it required than she had initially expected.
On the second flight the coordination began to feel more natural. The view through the open side window, the crowd below and the unusual engine-gauge positions added to the sense of participating in another era of aviation. Kornfield handled the takeoffs and landings, then recorded the brief experience in her logbook before the aircraft passed to its next crew.
AOPA · July 2024. AirVenture flight with instructor Ed Kornfield. Herron flew in the air; Kornfield made the takeoffs and landings. Exact Trimotor variant is not stated.
Read the full account · AOPA ↗The missing engine that became a keepsake
Kimm recalls an apparently ordinary Chicago-bound flight changing abruptly when an engine broke away from its mounting. The crew had talked about emergencies before; now Captain Mal Freeburg had to manage a real one with passengers aboard. Damage around the left wheel added another difficulty as they prepared to land away from their intended destination.
The landing ended without injuries, and another aircraft eventually collected the passengers to continue their journey. Kimm’s later recollection gives the story an unexpectedly domestic ending. After the detached engine was recovered, a mechanic made one of its pistons into an ashtray for him. He kept it as a reminder of the day, turning part of the failed machinery into a personal object associated with the crew’s escape and the people who helped afterwards.
Contrails, November 2009, PDF p.14. Kimm recalls a 12 April 1932 Ford Trimotor flight as first officer with Captain Mal Freeburg; exact variant is not stated.
Read the full account · Retired Northwest Airline Pilots Association ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 20244AT Trimotor
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
4AT Trimotor
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 20204-AT Trimotor
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
4-AT Trimotor
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
X-Plane 12Ford Tri-Motor 4-AT XP12
Ted Cook · Released
Ford Tri-Motor 4-AT XP12
Ted Cook · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 49 ft 10 in (15.19 m) |
| Wingspan | 74 ft 0 in (22.56 m) |
| Height | 11 ft 9 in (3.58 m) |
| Empty weight | 6,500 lb (2,948 kg) |
| Gross weight | 10,130 lb (4,595 kg) |
| Powerplant | 3 × Wright J-6-9 Whirlwind 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 300 hp (220 kW) each for take-off |
| Propellers | 2-bladed fixed-pitch propellers |
| Maximum speed | 132 mph (212 km/h, 115 kn) |
| Cruise speed | 107 mph (172 km/h, 93 kn) at 1,700 rpm |
| Stall speed | 57 mph (92 km/h, 50 kn) |
| Range | 570 mi (920 km, 500 nmi) |
| Service ceiling | 16,500 ft (5,000 m) |
| Rate of climb | 920 ft/min (4.7 m/s) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
Switch between the package’s panel arrangements4AT Trimotor · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The manual describes a period-inspired standard panel, an alternate arrangement with a Sperry autopilot, and a modern configuration with GNS530 and GNS430 navigation. A knob beside the chronometer changes the panel. The standard arrangement also includes navigation aids beyond the earliest historical installation.
Gathered TriMotor manual · PDF p.3
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Period instruments with an optional modern navigation installation4AT Trimotor · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The Ford Trimotor package offers modern navigation and autopilot equipment alongside its period instruments. Braking uses the documented lever arrangement rather than conventional toe brakes.
Archived simulator manual; installed package revision not observed · PDF pp.3-4,6
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗The original MSFS 2020 release4-AT Trimotor · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
Famous Flyer 6 includes wheeled, float and ski configurations with five liveries. Its June 2023 launch had a one-week free offer, followed by paid Marketplace availability; that promotion is historical.
2023-06-23 · release and package scope
Microsoft Flight Simulator Team · Read the source ↗Pilot account
A cold-weather course shared by vintage-aircraft enthusiastsAOPA Pilot · May 2010. December 2009 training with Bryan Godlove in N414H, a larger 5-AT-C family variant, rather than the 4-AT represented by this page’s main profile.
An invitation from young pilot Jake Libby brought Schiff into a small group determined to fly the Ford. Cold weather at Valle, Arizona, formed the background to a course shared by enthusiasts of different ages. Their common interest made the training a social experience as well as an opportunity to learn an unusual aircraft. The cockpit required Schiff to adjust habits formed in more modern machines.
Barry Schiff
AOPA Pilot · Read the source ↗Two short flights become a logbook entry to treasureAOPA · July 2024. AirVenture flight with instructor Ed Kornfield. Herron flew in the air; Kornfield made the takeoffs and landings. Exact Trimotor variant is not stated.
Herron’s opportunity began with an invitation from Ed Kornfield, but weather and work made it uncertain whether an AirVenture flight would happen. When a space finally appeared, she joined the Ford’s flying day and took a turn at the controls. The first circuit revealed how much more deliberate rudder use it required than she had initially expected. On the second flight the coordination began to feel more natural.
Alicia Herron
AOPA · Read the source ↗Developer documentation
Ford Tri-Motor 4-AT XP12 — product listingFord Tri-Motor 4-AT XP12 · X-Plane 12
Product listing captured 2026-09-24; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue
X-Plane.org authorized store · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Ford 4-AT Trimotor ManualMicrosoft / aircraft developers Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Ford TrimotorWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1371739290 · retrieved 2026-09-12 Built Ford ToughFantasy of Flight · Kermit Weeks · 15 August 2009Resource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftDeveloper documentation
Famous Flyer #6 Ford 4-AT Trimotor - Available Now!Microsoft Flight Simulator Team · 2023-06-23 · release and package scopeType designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Product
Ford Tri-Motor Model 4-AT XP12 exact product classificationX-Plane.org authorized store · Product listing captured 2026-09-24; edition scope from the reviewed catalogueBuilt-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 6 profile choices
Ted Cook Ford 4-AT Wheels
Ted Cook · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
Ted Cook Ford 4-AT Wheels: The profile supplies selected three-engine transport resistance.
Ted Cook Ford 4-AT Floats
Ted Cook · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
Ted Cook Ford 4-AT Floats: The profile supplies selected three-engine transport resistance.
Ted Cook Ford 4-AT-E Wheels
Ted Cook · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
Ted Cook Ford 4-AT-E Wheels: The profile supplies selected three-engine transport resistance.
Ted Cook Ford Byrd 4-AT Wheels
Ted Cook · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
Ted Cook Ford Byrd 4-AT Wheels: The profile supplies selected three-engine transport resistance.
Ted Cook Ford Byrd 4-AT Skis
Ted Cook · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
Ted Cook Ford Byrd 4-AT Skis: The profile supplies selected three-engine transport resistance.
Ford 4AT Trimotor
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Partial review
MSFS 2024 · MSFS 2020
Ford 4AT Trimotor: The profile supplies selected three-engine transport resistance.
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