SAWYER -- Propellers are warming up. An antique plane is ready to fly back in time.
A 1929 Ford Tri Motor is at Sawyer International as part of a 15 city tour sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association, and anyone can ride.
Cody Welch, the pilot, says Henry Ford built it as the first plane for commercial aviation.
"It's smooth. This high wing gives a wonderful, wonderful, comfortable flight. The turbulence is different on a Tri Motor because of something called wing loading. There's so much wing area, relative to the weight, that it doesn't pound through turbulence; it just sort of floats like a leaf," said Welch.
A look inside takes you back to 1920s. It's built for comfort--it has 10 seats, ample leg room, and huge windows which make the view amazing.
Everyone's boarded, seatbelts are fastened and ready to take- off. Up, up, and away! Within minutes we are hovering over land. Passengers are amazed by the view as we flew over downtown Marquette. We saw the ore dock, the shoreline and Presque Isle.
Twenty minutes later we were coming down for a bit of a bumpy landing.
For Rachael Mantyla, it was her first time on a plane.
"It's amazing, it's so beautiful! I've never seen Marquette at that perspective and it was just, it's something definitely everybody should experience," said Mantyla.
It's an experience I'll never forget.
Public rides are available at Sawyer International Airport until Wednesday, August 15.
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