The year 2003 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of both the Ford Motor Company and the Wright Brothers' first controlled, powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. While most people know of the Fords' contribution to the automotive industry, most are largely unaware of their contribution to the development of mass production of large airplanes and their impact on commercial and military aviation. This book is written to chronicle the Fords' contribution to the aviation story during a critical period of Its development - a period that saw the stick and fabric planes of World War I develop into the all-metal commercial airliner and the mighty bombers of World War II.