COLONIE — When Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo drove Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1932 Packard across the new Northway exit to Albany International Airport on Wednesday, it wasn't the first time the vintage convertible had played a role in airport history.

The car, acquired by Roosevelt for getting around Albany during his tenure as governor, appears in a 1932 newsreel that records his arrival at the Albany Municipal Airport for a charter flight to Chicago. Roosevelt would be the first presidential candidate to fly to a national convention to accept his party's nomination in person, according to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park.

The trip took 7½ hours, two hours longer than expected, because of summer thunderstorms and strong headwinds along the route of the American Airways Ford Tri-Motor aircraft. The plane made stops in Buffalo and Cleveland, according to the Virginia Aviation History Project.

The plane, which normally flew a scheduled route between Dallas and Los Angeles, was flown up to Albany for Roosevelt's political journey, where it was locked away in the American Airways hangar. The airport itself had only been at its Colonie location since 1928; the Capital Region's primary airstrip had previously been located closer to downtown, near the current site of the Port of Albany.

"Max J. Pollet, who served as American’s first steward on the flight, was district sales manager for American’s Colonial division in Albany, NY," according to the History Project document. "As it was Pollet’s job to promote air travel, he was key to the operation and coordinated much of airline’s effort."

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The all-metal aircraft's corrugated sides were polished for the trip, which drew considerable media attention along the route as it made its intermediate stops.

Air travel was still in its early years, and deadly crashes were all too common. Roosevelt's historic flight apparently impressed the delegates — "promoting him as a daring and forceful leader," according to the History Project account.

Roosevelt won the nomination despite a last-ditch challenge from his predecessor in the statehouse, former New York Gov. Al Smith, who had been the party's national nominee in 1928. Roosevelt entered the convention as the front-runner, and locked up the nomination on the fourth ballot.

Roosevelt accepted the nomination with a speech that promised "a new deal for the American people" as the nation grappled with the economic ravages of the Depression. He went on to win the presidency over incumbent Republican Herbert Hoover.

Packards were first built in 1899 at an Ohio factory, with production shifting to Detroit several years later. Production ended in Detroit in 1956. Roosevelt's '32 model was turned over to New York state, and for many years was exhibited at the State Museum.

Kept in working condition, it was used by Gov. Hugh Carey to transport Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands during her 1982 visit to Albany.

Cuomo had the vehicle restored, and it saw use in bridge openings including the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, which replaced the aging Tappan Zee Bridge on the state Thruway, and Wednesday's opening of Northway Exit 3.