| Don't miss viewing this National Air Tour promotional video. |
It's great fun, tells about the tours and invites folks to join in. Much of the video is original National Air Tour footage. We are using it for informational and fundraising purposes, and to encourage volunteers along the route!
(run time aprox. 4 minutes) |
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1925 Air Tour
The first National Air Tour took to the sky in 1925. One by one, Edsel Ford and “Shorty” Schroeder signaled the pilots to start on their journeys, as seen here.
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Fairchild FC-1
The Golden Age of Aviation saw many unique aircraft designs take to the sky. Fairchild’s FC-1 featured folding wings to make it easier to park inside. Large hangars, able to accommodate a 44 foot wingspan were definitely the exception at that time. The FC1 emerges here from a Ford hangar in preparation for the 1926 tour..
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1926 Planes
Twenty-five aircraft competed in the 1926 National Air Tour. In this clip you will find a sampling of those ships as they prepare for their 2,585 mile journey.
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1927 Air Tour
In the early days of aviation, anything but birds in the sky were enough to draw a crowd. Each year the National Air Tour offered thousands of people the chance to see airplanes up close, right in their own hometown. Look! Up in the sky...
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The People of the Tours – Part 1
This wonderful series of clips include candid shots of Henry and Edsel Ford and others. Edsel was one of the driving forces behind the National Air Tours as well as the official starter. This clip also shows flying, and airport scenes as well as that great banquet of the 1925 tour.
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The People of the Tours – Part 2
Among many great people, this clip shows Rosemarie Schlee, a wonderful young lady of ten. Rosemarie, a veteran of two National Air Tours, is seen with her dad’s pilot, Eddie Stinson. Rosemarie is the only person still living who flew in the original National Air Tours. We hope she will do it again this September!
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