[2] The idea was first proposed to William Bushnell Stout, manager of Ford's acquired aircraft division in 1926.

[5] The press and public flocked to see "Ford's Flying Car," a single-seat aircraft that had very little in common with the popular Model T "Flivver."

[6] A New York Evening Sun columnist wrote the following poem showing excitement for the future flying Fords.

The name of the aircraft, "flivver", originated from a slang word in the early twentieth century designating an inexpensive car.

[8] The aircraft was a welded steel tube fuselage, with wood wing construction with fabric covering.

A first attempt launched on 24 January 1928, witnessed by Henry Ford, landed short in Asheville, North Carolina.

He had also placed wooden toothpicks in the vent holes on his fuel cap to prevent moist air from entering and condensing overnight.

Investigation of the wreckage disclosed that the toothpicks had plugged the fuel cap vent holes, causing an engine stoppage.