Stout 2-AT Pullman
title: "Stout 2-AT Pullman" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1920s-united-states-civil-utility-aircraft", "high-wing-aircraft", "single-engined-tractor-aircraft", "1920s-united-states-airliners", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1924", "stout-aircraft", "aircraft-with-fixed-conventional-landing-gear"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stout_2-AT_Pullman" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Stout 2 AT Pullman |
| image | Stout 2AT-2.jpg |
| caption | Stout AT-2 "Maiden Dearborn" |
| national_origin | United States |
| manufacturer | Stout Engineering Company |
| designer | William Bushnell Stout, George H. Prudden. |
| status | All aircraft scrapped or destroyed. |
| primary_user | Airline and Air mail transport |
| number_built | 11 |
| introduction | 1924 |
| retired | 1928 |
| first_flight | April 23, 1924 |
| developed_from | Stout 1-AS Air Sedan |
| variants | Stout 3-AT |
| :: |
| name = Stout 2 AT Pullman | logo = | logo_size = | image = Stout 2AT-2.jpg | alt = | caption = Stout AT-2 "Maiden Dearborn" | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = United States | manufacturer = Stout Engineering Company | design_group = | designer = William Bushnell Stout, George H. Prudden. | builder = | issuer = | status = All aircraft scrapped or destroyed. | owners = | primary_user = Airline and Air mail transport | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = 11 | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = 1924 | retired = 1928 | first_flight = April 23, 1924 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = Stout 1-AS Air Sedan | variants = Stout 3-AT | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded =
The Stout 2-AT Pullman, or "Air Pullman", was a single engine all-metal monoplane that was used for early airline travel and air mail transport in America.
Development
William Bushnell Stout started in aviation working for Packard on the Liberty engine during World War I. He promoted early innovative designs, based on the 1915 innovations of German aviation engineer Hugo Junkers, such as a blended wing concept, and pioneered all-metal aircraft construction in America using Junkers-devised concepts. The 2-AT was a more conventional layout using the familiar and plentiful Liberty engine of the time.
The first use of the nickname "Tin Goose" was applied to this aircraft by the news media. The name was later attributed to the Ford Trimotor.
Design
The 2-AT was a high-wing conventional gear monoplane. The original design featured an open cockpit for the pilots, followed by an enclosed cockpit with opening side windows. The aircraft featured wallpaper, padded seats, semi-circular opening windows, and a bathroom. It was the first all-metal aircraft certified in America. It was eventually redesigned to accommodate three engines, becoming the Stout 3-AT trimotor, and again redesigned to become the more well-known Ford Trimotor. The aircraft was under development as a Stout aircraft when Ford bought all controlling interests, creating the Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company. Development hastened with the infusion of resources from Ford.
Stout's chief engineer, George H. Prudden, was credited for the new wing design using principles from Stout's earlier "thick wing" aircraft. Each 2-AT was powered by a Liberty engine, one example was tested with a Pratt and Whitney Wasp radial engine.
Operational history
The first flight was performed by Walter Edwin Lees at Selfridge Field. The windshield blew in locking the controls, forcing a landing on a frozen lake. In 1925 the 2-AT was demonstrated at the Ford National Reliability Air Tour by E.G. Hamilton. While just completing the event would have won an award, the 2-AT completed it with a perfect score. At the Air Tour, the first aircraft sale was announced. It was sold to John Wanamaker & Co. to haul passengers and freight between Philadelphia and New York. Wanamaker's was an early seller of Ford products, and in turn became the first reseller of Ford aircraft, displaying the aircraft in their New York showroom. The 2-AT was listed in their lineup for $25,000.
The United States Postal Office ordered one model for airmail service. The aircraft was modified with a 500 hp Packard engine.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/CAM_6_First_Flight_Feb._15,_1926.jpg" caption="Letter from first CAM flight in a 2-AT"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Florida_Airways.jpg" caption="Florida Airways Stout 2-AT's. State Library and Archives of Florida"] ::
The aircraft were put into service for the newly formed Ford Air Transport Service in 1925. The first 2-AT was built at the Stout factory in Dearborn and called the "Maiden Detroit". The aircraft was outfitted with a nickel-plated Liberty engine bought from a trophy case at the Marmon assembly plant. The other aircraft in the fleet were also 2-AT's, named "Maiden Dearborn I, II, III and IV". Initially the aircraft were for Ford's company use. The first scheduled commercial flights in America were begun when The "Maiden Detroit" flew 1,000 lb of freight between factories in Detroit and Chicago on April 14, 1925. Ford Air Transport served routes between Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland.
The "Maiden Detroit" entered Contract Air Mail service on February 15, 1926. The aircraft flew from Detroit to Cleveland with the first commercial transport of air mail. The routes would be known as CAM-6 (Detroit to Cleveland), and CAM-7 (Detroit to Chicago).
Four aircraft were sold to Florida Airways. The first three were given in exchange for a stake in the airline by Henry Ford. One was used on CAM-10 (Atlanta to Jacksonville).
On May 18, 1926, at Argo, Illinois, a Ford Air Transport 2-AT Maiden Deaborn I was involved in the first fatal accident for a commercial U.S. aircraft. The Contract Air Mail pilot crashed and was killed due to flight into poor weather conditions.
In 1928, U.S. Commerce department declared the wings to be structurally unsafe. All remaining 2-AT's were scrapped.
Variants
- Stout 3-AT - A trimotor 2-AT powered with Wright J-4 engines.
Specifications Stout 2-AT Pullman
|ref=Aerofiles |prime units?=kts General characteristics
|genhide=
|crew=1 |capacity=9 |length m= |length ft=45 |length in=8 |length note= |span m= |span ft=58 |span in=4 |span note= |height m= |height ft=11 |height in=10 |height note= |wing area sqm= |wing area sqft=600 |wing area note= |swept area sqm= |swept area sqft= |swept area note= |volume m3= |volume ft3= |volume note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg= |empty weight lb=3638 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg= |gross weight lb=6017 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight kg= |max takeoff weight lb= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |lift kg= |lift lb= |lift note= |more general= Powerplant
|eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Liberty V12 |eng1 type= |eng1 kw= |eng1 hp=400 |eng1 kn= |eng1 lbf= |eng1 note= |power original= |thrust original= |eng1 kn-ab= |eng1 lbf-ab=
|prop blade number= |prop name= |prop dia m= |prop dia ft= |prop dia in= |prop note=
Performance
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|max speed kmh= |max speed mph=120 |max speed kts= |max speed note= |max speed mach= |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed mph=100 |cruise speed kts= |cruise speed note= |stall speed kmh= |stall speed mph= |stall speed kts= |stall speed note= |never exceed speed kmh= |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed kts= |never exceed speed note= |range km= |range miles= |range nmi= |range note= |combat range km= |combat range miles= |combat range nmi= |combat range note= |ferry range km= |ferry range miles= |ferry range nmi= |ferry range note= |endurance=4 hr |ceiling m= |ceiling ft=12000 |ceiling note= |g limits= |roll rate= |glide ratio= |climb rate ms= |climb rate ftmin=500 |climb rate note= |time to altitude= |sink rate ms= |sink rate ftmin= |sink rate note= |lift to drag= |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading lb/sqft= |wing loading note= |disk loading kg/m2= |disk loading lb/sqft= |disk loading note=
|power/mass= |thrust/weight=
|more performance= Armament
|armament= |guns= |bombs= |rockets= |missiles=
|hardpoints= |hardpoint capacity= |hardpoint rockets= |hardpoint missiles= |hardpoint bombs= |hardpoint other=
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References
References
- "Ford".
- (2 Feb 2011). "Stout Air Services".
- Joseph P. Juptner. "U.S. civil aircraft, Volume 1".
- Joe Christy, LeRoy Cook. (1987). "American Aviation".
- Robert F. Pauley. "Michigan Aircraft Manufacturers".
- Flight - The Aircraft Engineer and Airships, "The Ford Reliability Tour" November 26, 1925
- David L. Lewis. "The Public Image of Henry Ford An American Folk Hero and His Company".
- (October 8, 1925). "Wanamaker Takes Ford's First Plane". Ludington Daily News.
- "So Away I Went".
- (April 14, 1925). "AIR EXPRESS LINE OPENS Success Scored by Ford Plane Regular Service Connecting Chicago and Detroit is Inaugurated Half-Ton of Freight Carried Between Cities in Less Than Three Hours". Los Angeles Times.
- Robert M. Kane. (1975). "Air Transportation".
- Owen Bombard. "The Tin Goose.".
- Russ Banham. "The Ford century Ford Motor Company and the innovations that shaped the world".
- Roger D. Launius. "Reconsidering a century of flight".
- AAHS Journal. American Aviation Historical Society
- (October 16, 1924). "The Stout "Air Pullman": America's First All Metal Commercial 'Plane".
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