logo Panagra logo

Ford Tri-Motor

Panagra's Ford Tri-Motor 5-AT-C (NC 8416) .

Bought from TWA for $5,000 San Fernando was rebuilt as a freighter. An opening nine and a half feet long by four feet wide was cut in the cabin roof. This required considerable engineering skill in redesigning the longitudinal strength of the fuselage. Though Ford said it could not be done, the work actually strengthened the back, which had been a weak point with Ford Tri-Motors.

Photo curtesy William T. Larkins author of The Ford Tri-Motor. Text derived from Flying the Andes by William A. Krusen.