Fredericksburg Resident to Tour DC From 1929 Ford Tri-Plane

By Jamie M. Rogers and Susan Larson

Fredericksburg resident Paul Sponseller will be part of an historic flight Saturday. 

Sponseller, a former pilot and airplane builder in his 80s, will be among the few flying in a 1929 Ford Tri-Motor leased by Manassas-based Chapter 186 of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA).

Chapter 186 garnered rare government clearance to fly over DC airspace, leaving Manassas Airport at 10:30 a.m. September 28. Sponseller earned a place on the flight because of his grandfather, the late Washington Hoover.

In 1920 Hoover, then 70, flew in a Ford Tri-Motor which departed the Manassas Airport for a ride over DC.  At the time the airport was named Washington Hoover — the same name as his grandfather, Sponseller said. 

"He was just a visitor, but they gave him a free ride because his name was the same as the airport's namesake," Sponseller said.  Grandson will now take the same flight as his grandfather.

The silver plane with fly at an altitude of about 1,500 feet over Reagan National Airport, the Potomac River and the 9th Street Heliport, before making a right-hand turn for its return to Manassas. 

"The 1929 Ford Tri-Motor will be accompanied by a helicopter serving as an aerial photography platform," Mary Dominiak, an EAA chapter member, said in an email to Patch. "We can promise that people who look up at the right time will see something they've never seen before," she said. 

His grandfather's experience is surprisingly not what inspired Sponseller to become a pilot.   "I was just airplane crazy in grade school," he said.

Sponseller joined the U.S. Air Force, learned to fly in the Aviation Cadets and flew hundreds of combat missions during the Vietnam War.

He continued flying until 2012, when he was forced to give up his passion because of health reasons. That's also when he opted to sell the airplane he built by hand. 

There will be only one restricted flight over DC, but the public can still make their own history in the 1929 Ford Tri-Motor.   The EAA is offering flights over Manassas on Saturday and Sunday.  The flights last about 20 minutes and are $75 for adults and $50 for children.  More information is available at Fly the Ford.

See video of a flight over Manassas on the 1929 Ford Tri-Motor: Aviation Group Offers Flights in 1929 Ford Airplane This Weekend In Manassas

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