Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI

Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:18 pm

I went up to visit some relatives a few weeks ago and we all loaded up and visited the Henry Ford Museum, if you think it's all automobiles, think again. It has planes, trains, automobiles, and just about every other mode of transportation. Here are a few pictures that I took.

Of course the Ford Tri-Motor

Boeing Mail Plane

DC-3 on stilts

1932 Air Racer, only flew once and didn't finish the race due to an engine failure. Pilot had to look out of the side windows to see where he was going.

Fokker Tri-Motor Sorry the lighting wasn't the best for photography

Gyrocopter

Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:31 pm

Surprisingly enough, that is the first I can recall of seeing so many pictures of aircraft from there! Thank you.

Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:38 pm

You're welcome.

There are a lot more that I wasn't able to get good pictures of because of lighting and time. I highly recommend it to anyone who happens to be in the Detroit area.

Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:16 pm

Very nice photos of some great aircraft!

Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:54 pm

Nice shots.

A great collection, with some really significant prewar transports.

When I was there I looked at the Boeing 40B-2 for a very long time...thinking I wasn't likely to see one again (outside Chicago).

I never dreampt I'd get to work on one, and fly in it.
Now I have thanks to Addison Pemberton.
BTW: He has a huge collection of photos of the Ford museum plane (when it was disassembled and uncovered during a recent restoration) he used as a reference while rebuilding his...

Wed Aug 12, 2009 4:17 am

Fantastic pictures!!! I've always wanted to see that museum and it's rare to see anything on the net from there! The Richard Byrd aircraft are true "gems". I wish his Fokker Tri-motor "America" had survived the trip across the Atlantic in 1927...

Wed Aug 12, 2009 8:10 am

great pics & great displays. on a sad note, i read in yesterday's paper that the cleveland ohio crawford auto / aviation museum is in such $$$ money trouble that they have sold off a few high profile very expensive cars to keep up their operating expenses, and some historic aviation / air racing memorabilia is slated to be sold for that as well. plenty of people are pissed!!

Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:07 am

As Bill mentions, it is a great collection of aircraft, and I spend hours there each year on my annual Pilgrimage to MI. The planes are very difficult to photograph between lighting and building supports, so if you go with high hopes, start practicing dark lighting shots before you go, some planes just can't be photographed very well. The rest of the collections in the Museum will keep you busy most of the day.

Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:33 am

Great shots!!

many thanks! :wink:

Sun Oct 11, 2009 12:43 pm

Wish they had one of his Willow Run B-24's

Sat Oct 17, 2009 12:29 pm

Nice shots. Possibly the nicest collection of historic 20s aircraft at one location.

The Boeing 40B-2 was restored a couple of years ago (by a noted vintage aircraft guy in Missouri who I should know the name of but don't :oops:

) and many detailed photos of it were taken and used to help Addison Pemberton restore his flying Model 40C.

Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:55 pm

Glen Peck