Oldest flying airliner?

I know it’s a replica, but Kermit weeks has a flying Benoist XIV. The design was the first aircraft to fly scheduled services in 1914!

The Golden Wings museum looks like the place to see old airliners!

http://www.goldenwingsmuseum.com/collection/collection.htm

Wouldn’t you have just loved to have been a fly on the wall if Harold Johnson went for a drink with, oh I dunno, Dick Grace? I bet they could have spun a few yarns!

Adrian

I thought he parked that up at his Florida home a few years back

What about jet aircraft?
John Travoltas 707?

Full of pax I don’t think so.
Brilliant all the same.

You’re right. It is spectacular.

^^^^

Watch it. It is spectacular.

For our friends who may not be familiar with Johnson, he was an early day Bob Hoover, flying a Ford the way hoover did his Aero Commander…

For the benefit of the uneducated, I’ll post youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6dWtDk_rOI

3 seater – this machine I believe was used for scheduled services in Sweden. I understand the owner still has the original AOC and airliner certification from 1920!

But it wasn’t designed as an airliner. A minor point…but an important one.
A variety of piston SE Cessnas have flown scheduled service, but I don’t think anyone would consider them airliners.
If we do, we’ll have a lot of guys buying epaulettes and demand to be called captain. 🙂

The other was recently fully restored and strengthened with the intention of having John Mohr fly it in airshows to recreate Harold Johnson’s aerobatic routine.

For our friends who may not be familiar with Johnson, he was an early day Bob Hoover, flying a Ford the way hoover did his Aero Commander.
BTW: As a child, my father had his first flight in a barnstorming Ford, I think it was flown by Johnson.

Nice! I remember seeing parts from it at AJD back in the 90s

3 seater – this machine I believe was used for scheduled services in Sweden. I understand the owner still has the original AOC and airliner certification from 1920!

TT

Not exactly an airliner though. Were they ever used on scheduled passenger-carrying services?

I imagine people will struggle to beat current Avro 504L project G-EASD – when she returns to flight – built 1920….

Greg flies one of his pair of airworthy Trimotors, it often appears at Oshkosh. The other was recently fully restored and strengthened with the intention of having John Mohr fly it in airshows to recreate Harold Johnson’s aerobatic routine. I understand that the liability insurers killed that plan, and John has since announced his retirement from flying airshows, so Greg has put that particular Trimotor up for sale.

I thought the Boeing might have some competition from a flying Ford Tri-Motor for the title “oldest flying airliner”. Mr. Pemberton’s 40C N5339 was delivered to PAT on May 17, 1928.
However, the oldest surviving airworthy Ford Tri-Motor is actually about 7 months older: N1077, a 4-AT-B, was first registered 10 September 1927. It’s currently owned By: Greg Herrick’s Yellowstone Aviation. It is based at the Golden Wings Museum, near Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Anyone know how often they actually fly it?
Addison flies the Boeing at least weekly in the summer going to events or just giving rides locally. It spends the winters at the Western Antique Auto and Airplane Museum in Oregon.

Wow! What a stunning photograph. Absolutely beautiful aircraft.

I bet the pilot is not very warm though.

The Boeing is just stunning, I was fortunate enough to shoot it air-to-air soon after the restoration was completed. The owner is a very fine chap too, and has been known to pop in to Old Warden on occasion – I ran into him there last summer at an event when he brought a Hornet Moth in.

But it looks as though it’s J Boyle’s friend’s beautiful Boeing 40C, assuming we are not taking about airliners in passenger service. That is a very handsome machine!;)

Douglas DC-2 “PH-AJU” c/n 1404 is slightly older (1935) than Lufthansa’s JU-52 (1936).