EAA’s 1903 Reproduction Wright Flyer made a grand entrance in March 2003 at its unveiling at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. Ford Motor Company’s Lincoln Aviator Kitty Hawk Edition--a limited edition vehicle commemorating the centennial of flight--tows the Flyer.	EAA’s Countdown to Kitty Hawk Pavilion presented by Ford, and supported by Microsoft Flight Simulator and Eclipse Aviation made a stop in June 2003 at Ford Motor Company’s 100th Anniversary Celebration in Dearborn, Michigan.	EAA’s Countdown to Kitty Hawk Pavilion at Ford Motor Company’s 100th anniversary celebration in Dearborn, Michigan, in June 2003.
Henry Ford (right) and his son Edsel (left) enjoyed a personal and professional relationship with Orville Wright (center) visiting each other and corresponding regularly over many years.  From the collections of Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village and Ford Motor Company.	Ford’s vision of aviation for the masses gained momentum with the Ford Tri-Motor, first built in 1925 and improved in 1926 with a Wright "Whirlwind" engine. With the Tri-Motor’s immediate success, Ford’s Airplane Manufacturing Division became the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial aircraft at the time. Ford built 196 Tri-Motor airplanes, ending production in 1932. A handful still fly today.   From the collections of Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village and Ford Motor Company.	Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh at Ford Airport in Dearborn, Michigan, 1927. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh visited Henry Ford after Lindbergh’s solo flight across the Atlantic and took Ford for a ride in the Spirit of St. Louis – Ford’s first airplane ride. Lindbergh later became the nation’s first chief commercial pilot- for Ford Motor Company.  From the collections of Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village and Ford Motor Company.
B-24 bomber final assembly area at Ford Motor Company’s Willow Run, Michigan, plant, September 1944. During World War II, Ford Motor Company built thousands of aircraft engines as well as the B-24 Liberator bombers that were so instrumental in the Allied victory. From the collections of Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village and Ford Motor Company.	Edsel B. Ford II, the great-grandson of Henry Ford and grandson of Edsel Ford, delights in his family’s important links to aviation, including the 1929 Ford Tri-Motor behind him. Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company.