1929 Ford Tri-Plane Approved to Fly Over Restricted Airspace Over Washington D.C.

A handful of people will get to view the Washington monuments on Saturday from a very different and rare angle—above.

A 1929 Ford Tri-Motor leased by Manassas-based Chapter 186 of the Experimental Aircraft Association has gained rare government clearance to fly in DC airspace. 
The clearance came just in the nick of time.
The U.S Secret Service, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)—the trio of agencies the EAA had to ask for permission— just gave final approval on Thursday afternoon, said Mary Dominiak, an EAA chapter member.

At 10:30 a.m., the flight will leave the Manassas Regional Airport with two pilots and a small group of passengers that are all pre-screened and cleared by the TSA, Dominiak said. 

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 in the District before making a right-hand turn for its return to Manassas. 

"... The plane will be accompanied by a helicopter serving as an aerial photography platform to capture images of this rare airplane in the DC skies. We can promise that people who look up at the right time will see something they've never seen before." Dominak said in an email to Patch. 

Fredericksburg resident Paul Sponseller said he is one of the few people that will take the historic flight on Saturday. 

Sponseller, a former pilot and airplane builder who is in his 80s, said he is allowed to go on the flight because of his grandfather, the late Washington Hoover. 

In 1920, when Hoover was 70 years old, he got to fly in a Ford Tri-Motor that departed from the Manassas airport for a ride over DC.  Coincidentally, at the time the airport was named Washington Hoover—the same name as his grandfather, Sponseller said. 
"They gave him a ride and he was just a visitor. They gave him a free ride because that was his name," Sponseller said. "That's why I really want to be on the flight Saturday."
Now, he said, he has the chance to take the same flight as his grandfather in the same model plane. 
Sponseller said his grandfather's experience is surprisingly not what inspired him to be a pilot. 
"I was just airplane crazy in grade school," he said. He later joined the U.S. Air Force and then went through Aviation Cadets training where he learned to fly, Sponseller said.  
He went on to fly more than 100 missions over North Vietnam and hundreds of other combat missions during the Vietnam War, he said. 

He continued flying planes up until last year, when he was forced to give up his passion because of health reasons, Sponseller said. That's also when he opted to sell the airplane he built with his bare hands. 

While only one restricted flight over DC will be given, the public can still make history by flying on the 1929 Ford Tri-Motor. 
The EAA is offering flights over Manassas on Saturday and Sunday. The flights lasts about 20 minutes and depart from Manassas Regional Airport. The cost is $75 for adults and $50 for children. 
Get more information at flytheford.com. 
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