Port Clinton, Ohio: Liberty Aviation Museum, historic Ford Tri-Motor highlight aviation history in a boater's town

Port Clinton, Ohio – This town is perhaps best known for its prime location on the Lake Erie shore, a frequent destination for boaters.

But not too long ago, it was known for another mode of transportation – air travel.

Island Airlines, founded in 1930, was among the nation's longest-running commercial airlines when it ceased operating in 1985. It also had one of the smallest service areas: Twice-a-day flights from Port Clinton to Put-in-Bay, Kelleys, Middle Bass and North Bass islands.

Island Air famously used the Ford Tri-Motor, the nation's first mass-produced commercial airplane, to haul cargo – schoolchildren, groceries, mail "and the occasional pregnant woman," according to a 1950s-era video clip – from island to mainland (and vice versa).

The airplane, which Henry Ford pulled from production in 1932, hasn't flown regularly from Port Clinton in nearly 30 years.

That will change this summer, with the arrival last week of the "City of Wichita," a historic plane that took part in the nation's first transcontinental air-rail service, flying the Columbus to Oklahoma link in a 1929 New York-to-California route.

The plane was recently purchased by the Liberty Aviation Museum, which plans to showcase the vehicle at its Port Clinton campus – that is, when the airplane isn't traveling the country, taking aviation buffs into the sky for joy rides.

"It will be an ambassador for the region," said Jeff Sondles, operations director for the museum.

Sondles said the significance of the City of Wichita to commercial aviation is comparable to the importance of the Memphis Belle and Enola Gay to World War II-era aircraft.

Its purchase comes two years after the museum first opened its doors, funded by a foundation created after the death of George V. Woodling Jr., a Cleveland-area history and aviation buff who died in 2010.

"What a wonderful way to celebrate," said Sondles, "by bringing the Ford Tri-Motor back where it belongs in Port Clinton, Ohio."

The City of Wichita will be the museum's second Tri-Motor – there were only 199 built, before Henry Ford pulled the plug on the company's aviation division – though the first one is not fly-worthy yet.

It's being restored – reconstructed might be a more accurate word – inside the museum, which is on the grounds of the Erie-Ottawa International Airport, the same airport where Island Air used to operate.

The small museum divides its space between two primary themes: the Tri-Motor and local aviation history, and military aviation history with an Ohio slant.

Also onsite: a terrific restaurant in a 1950s-era diner, relocated from Jim Thorpe, Pa. It's called the Tin Goose, which was a nickname for the all-metal Tri-Motor.

Among the museum's more interesting historical displays:
 
* A beautifully restored B-25 Mitchell bomber, dubbed Georgie's Gal, named after Woodling. The plane, built in 1945, wasn't used in the war, but for training afterward. It's painted with a female devil on one side (Helena) and angel on the other (Angela).

* A glass case filled with World War II memorabilia from actor and Ohio native Clark Gable, a major in the U.S. Army Air Forces. Among the items: his AAF jacket and his separation papers, signed by Ronald Reagan, then a captain in the Army Air Forces. Gable, born in Cadiz, enlisted at age 41, only after the death of his wife, Carole Lombard, who was killed in a plane crash in January 1942.

* Mementoes from Lenny Thom, the Sandusky native who was John Kennedy's second in command on PT 109, the Navy boat that was destroyed by the Japanese in August 1943 in the Solomon Islands. Both Thom and Kennedy were credited with the subsequent rescue of the surviving members of the crew, and awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. Kennedy served as a pallbearer at the Youngstown funeral of Thom, who died in a car crash in 1946.

The museum is in the final stages of restoring a 72-foot-long PT boat, named Thomcat, after Thom. The boat, built in 1945, should be available for rides on Lake Erie later this summer, according to Sondles.

Eventually, museum officials plan to separate the exhibits focusing on military history from those concentrating on local aviation, which include displays in the works on the Cleveland National Air Races (precursor to today's Cleveland National Air Show), Islands Air and the Tri-Motor.

The Tri-Motor was Ford's airborne version of his Model T, an attempt to bring air travel to the masses. Ford also is credited with developing the first modern airport, the first concrete runway and the first airport hotel, all in Dearborn, Michigan.

Island Airlines acquired its first Tri-Motor in 1946, and eventually had four in service. The planes held 10 passengers, plus a pilot and copilot.

Doug Moore, chief mechanic working on the museum's Tri-Motor restoration, said the aircraft was "like a school bus, only narrower."

The historic, flying bus has returned to Port Clinton. Nostalgic passengers and curious onlookers, no doubt, will follow.

Liberty Aviation Museum

Where: 3515 E. State Road, Port Clinton, about an 80-minute drive from Cleveland. Take Ohio 2 west to Ohio 53 north; turn left on E. State Road and the museum is on the right. 

Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 

How much: $5, free for ages 14 and underTin Goose Diner: The restaurant is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner (7 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday). Menu items include the B-25 (buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy) and the Tri-Motor Burger (with fried salami, bacon and provolone).

City of Wichita Ford Tri-Motor: The airplane will be based in Port Clinton, but will travel around the country, offering rides at air shows and other events. Call the museum or check the website for the airplane’s schedule. 

Information:libertyaviationmuseum.org, 419-732-0234 

Flying to the Lake Erie islands: You won’t travel in a historic Ford Tri-Motor, but Griffing Flying Service, which bought Island Airlines in the 1990s, offers regular flights to the islands from the Port Clinton airport. For information: 419-734-5400

More on the region:shoresandislands.com

Story and Photo Gallery:   http://www.cleveland.com

A restored World War II-era B-25 bomber, on display at the Liberty Aviation Museum in Port Clinton, features a devilish Helena on one side and angelic Angela on the other.