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engine cowl, and large wheel pants significantly reduced aerodynamic drag, creating a streamlined design. Construction of the fuselage and wings was based on a plywood structure with the thin wings braced with wires. The sleek, polished fuselage continued the shape and width of the cowl throughout,
157:
Under construction during 1928, the aircraft was kept under cover prior to the 1929 Cleveland Air Races, with the builders even going so far as painting the windows on the factory to keep the curious press from getting a look at it. The local
Wichita paper picked up on the secret program, with one
194:
The first "Mystery Ship", NR614K (Race No. 31), was designed for both closed-course and long-distance racing. NR614K had two sets of wings, a shorter set of racing wings, about one and a half feet (0.46 m) shorter in span and three inches (7.6 cm) narrower in chord than the set used for
149:
The environment in air racing at the time was one of give and take with the military. A civilian designer would take an existing aircraft design, modify it for greater speed and enter it in the race. Since the military already had access to the fastest and most advanced aircraft available, it was
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entered the "Mystery Ship" in the
Thompson Cup Race. Davis won at a speed of 194.9 mph (one lap flown at 208.69 mph), beating the military entries, even recircling one of the pylons twice. Davis missed the second pylon of the course, circled back and while circling it again blacked out
218:
Aviation Motors
Corporation of Indianapolis, Indiana. The six-cylinder air-cooled, inverted inline engine developed 165 hp at 2,175 rpm, and powered NR613K to a win in the Experimental class at the 1929 National Air Races. NR613K was later converted back to a radial-engined version by
257:
A fifth Type R, 11717/MM185, was built at the request of the
Italian government several years after the rest, after Hawks toured the European continent. After factory construction and testing, it was subsequently disassembled, shipped by boat to Italy and served as the basis for the
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reporter even going so far as to scale a ladder to try to peek into the vents in the factory roof. The paper dubbed it the "Mystery Ship" and the name stuck with R (for Rawdon) added. Rawdon and
Burnham both knew that to approach Travel Air CEO
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momentarily. Not knowing if he had missed the pylon again, Davis went around one more time, then continued on to win the race. This was the first time in the history of air racing that a civilian racer had outperformed a military aircraft.
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simply a matter of upping the horsepower on whatever aircraft they were using and the problem was solved. This led to the military completely dominating the air racing scene. In an effort to combat this, two Travel Air designers;
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The Model R series set numerous speed records for both pylon racing and cross-country flying, and were the most advanced aircraft of the day, by far outpacing anything that even the military could offer. On
September 2, 1929,
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later purchased the aircraft and used it extensively in film work. Years later, Barnes bought it back in an auction where other pilots made sure nobody bid against her. It is currently undergoing restoration in the UK.
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would be fruitless, unless they hit him with the idea just before the air racing season began, so they designed the aircraft in their spare time, without pay until they could get Beech to agree to build the type.
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with the cockpit featuring a small windshield, set nearly flush with the skin. A turtle deck extended from the cockpit to the vertical tail creating a fairing for the helmeted head of the pilot.
154:
and Walter
Burnham undertook proving that a civilian aircraft built from scratch and designed exclusively for racing (as opposed to combat or passenger/mail service) could out-fly the military.
195:
cross-country events. R614K was destroyed when it caught fire before the 1931 Thompson Trophy race. The plane has since undergone a complete restoration and now resides at the
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as "Texaco 13" became the most famous of the series, setting numerous long-distance records both in the United States and internationally. "Texaco 13" is now displayed at the
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235:. NR614K's short wings were later purchased by Shell and were used, as required, on Doolittle's Race No. 400. NR482N also crashed and was a complete loss.
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467:
Mystery Ship: A History of the Travel Air Type R Monoplanes (Historic
Aircraft Series), September 1, 1999, by Edward H. Phillips
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fighter. It was later scrapped. The last Type R was built by Travel Air after it had been absorbed by
Curtiss-Wright.
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company in the late 1920s and early 1930s. They were so called because the first two aircraft of the series (
25:
133:, not only in races but also at air shows across the United States, and most notably, by Hawks in Europe.
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425:"Flying Exhibits | Beechcraft Heritage Museum | Tullahoma Airport | Tennessee fly park"
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The third
Mystery Ship, NR482N (Race No. 35), was purchased by Shell for the use of Jimmy Hazlip and
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In total, five Type Rs were built and flown by some of the most notable flyers of the day, including
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The second Type R, NR613K (Race No. 32) powered by a six-cylinder D-6 Chevrolair, manufactured by
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524:(Historic Aircraft Series). New Brighton, Minnesota: Flying Books International, 1999.
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846:
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During an era when biplanes were still common, the use of a monoplane planform, a
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501:
Cortet, Pierre (December 2000). "Rétros du Mois" [Retros of the Month].
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126:
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The Scarlet Marvel: A History of the Famous Travel Air Type R Monoplanes,
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Travel Air Type R Mystery Ship 3-view drawing from l'Aerophile May 1931
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242:"Texaco 13" displayed at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago
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were a series of wire-braced, low-wing racing airplanes built by the
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27 ft 8 in or 29 ft 2 in (8.43 or 8.89 m)
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348:-9 , 300, 400 or 425 hp (224, 298 or 317 kW)
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The fourth Type R, NR1313, purchased by the Texaco Company for
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Travel Air R Mystery Ship with Chevrolair engine. Photo from
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Pancho Barnes's Travel Air Mystery Ship NR613K appearing in
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Mystery Ship: A History of the Travel Air Type R Monoplanes
539:. Egan, Minnesota: Flying Books International, 1994.
409:"Moments and Milestones: Travel Air’s Mystery Ship."
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677:
631:
414:, September 1, 2010. Retrieved: December 20, 2010.
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8:
503:Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire
363:235 mph (394.29 km/h, 204 kn)
615:
601:
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587:Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum
561:New York: Doubleday & Company, 1969.
403:
401:
399:
397:
439:"13 August 1930 | This Day in Aviation"
378:
178:Replica G-TATR at Old Warden, June 2014
140:Replica G-TATR at Old Warden, June 2014
15:
7:
858:1920s United States sport aircraft
537:Travel Air: Wings Over the Prairie
314:20 ft 2 in (6.15 m)
114:) were built entirely in secrecy.
14:
326:7 ft 9 in (2.36 m)
554:. London: Studio Editions, 1989.
24:
863:Single-engined tractor aircraft
552:Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation
632:Early letter base designations
338:1,940 lb (879.97 kg)
332:1,475 lb (669.05 kg)
252:Museum of Science and Industry
1:
589:, retrieved December 31, 2022
873:Aircraft first flown in 1929
391:Retrieved: October 16, 2012.
739:Late Numerical Designations
889:
197:Beechcraft Heritage Museum
585:2014 presentation at the
199:in Tullahoma, Tennessee.
33:Mystery Ship NR482N with
32:
23:
18:
678:1000 series designations
412:Air & Space Magazine
221:Florence "Pancho" Barnes
458:Vorderman 1969, p. 138.
299:General characteristics
280:Specifications (NR614K)
550:Taylor, Michael J. H.
289:
254:in Chicago, Illinois.
243:
211:
191:
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145:Design and development
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93:Type R "Mystery Ships"
579:Phillips, Edward H.:
505:(in French) (93): 7.
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241:
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185:
177:
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559:The Great Air Races.
535:Phillips, Edward H.
478:"Why Not Model ... "
853:Travel Air aircraft
518:Phillips, Edward H.
407:Larson, George C.
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868:Low-wing aircraft
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817:Ted Wells Special
530:978-0-911139-29-7
487:on March 9, 2005.
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557:Vorderman, Don.
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216:Arthur Chevrolet
190:, November 1929.
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75:August 29, 1929
46:Type of aircraft
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35:Jimmy Doolittle
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483:Archived from
481:oldbeacon.com.
476:Breen, Kevin.
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386:"Travel Air."
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495:Bibliography
485:the original
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443:. Retrieved
441:. 2023-08-13
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160:Walter Beech
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109:Model B-11-D
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81:Number built
354:Performance
342:Powerplant:
260:Breda Ba.27
248:Frank Hawks
188:Aero Digest
152:Herb Rawdon
127:Frank Hawks
847:Categories
624:Travel Air
445:2023-09-27
389:Aerofiles.
368:References
346:Wright J-6
273:Doug Davis
225:Paul Mantz
123:Doug Davis
97:Travel Air
56:Travel Air
824:Texaco 13
511:1243-8650
318:Wingspan:
308:One pilot
293:Data from
208:Sky Bride
62:Designer
831:Woolaroc
626:aircraft
324:Height:
312:Length:
565:
543:
528:
509:
266:Racing
210:(1932)
129:, and
790:Names
730:11000
373:Notes
306:Crew:
112:R612K
105:R613K
101:R614K
41:Role
725:9000
720:8000
715:7000
710:6000
705:5000
700:4000
695:3000
690:2000
685:1000
563:ISBN
541:ISBN
526:ISBN
507:ISSN
344:1 ×
168:NACA
91:The
849::
781:16
776:15
771:14
766:12
761:11
756:10
664:CW
659:CH
654:BW
649:BH
520:,
396:^
223:.
125:,
121:,
103:,
85:5
751:6
746:4
669:R
644:B
639:A
616:e
609:t
602:v
569:.
547:.
532:.
513:.
448:.
427:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
