When Cows Flew

Holstein cow, Dane County. 6/10/17 dwm

A little known fact... on this day in 1930 a dairy cow rode on an airplane.

The idea was scientific in nature, determining whether height off the ground affected the ability of a cow to give milk according to a post in NationalToday.com.

A Ford Trimotor was used because it was large enough for cargo and passengers. 

Farmer Ellsworth Bunce volunteered his cow, Elsie, to  fly from Bismarck to St. Louis, Missouri.

The experiment was attempting to champion planes to move livestock, which didn't become popular (other than race horses), and prove the worth of the Ford airplane, which had just started shipping planes to customers around the country.

A Ford Trimotor - Wikipedia.EAA

 199 Trimotor planes were built between 1925 and 1933, many of them were used in the early days of airline transportation.

 Elsie was chosen, because she had a calm disposition but I'm guessing she was excited on the plane as they tried to milk her.

 While the experiment didn't lead to an airborne dairy industry, people at the time were impressed enough that February 18 stands for the plucky cow's date with destiny.

That's a pretty good true story, wouldn't you say?