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Thanks to the generosity of Maurice & Judy Hovious, we were given the opportunity to have a flying Ford Tri-Motor back in Port Clinton. If our Chapter found suitable space and committed to actually re-building the plane, they would give us the tools, training and materials needed to get started. Needless to say, we accepted their offer and, in 2004, restoration of Ford Tri-Motor model 5-AT-B (Serial #40) began.
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Although the majority of our restoration work is being done by volunteers, a full time mechanic was added to our team to oversee our work and help with the more technical aspects of the restoration.
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During the first eight years of the project, volunteers worked inside the main hangar at what was then known as the Erie-Ottawa Regional Airport. In 2012, we moved our project across the airfield into the newly built Liberty Aviation Museum where the owner,
Ed Patrick, gave us a new home to showcase our airplane restoration and museum displays.
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If you are in the Port Clinton area, we encourage you to visit the museum to look at our restoration project, check our progress and speak with our volunteers. We'd love to meet you!
DID YOU KNOW ?
Individual chapters of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) are not permitted to
own any aircraft, so we formed a separate 501(c)3 charitable organization,
the Tri-Motor Heritage Foundation, which is used to raise funds for the
restoration and hold title to the aircraft.
To learn more about our Tri-Motor restoration, visit the THF website at