Page 37 - Volume 14 Number 12

Pilots N Paws® is an an online meeting place for pilots and other volunteers
who help to transport rescue animals by air The mission of the site is is to provide a user- friendly communication venue between those that rescue shelter and and foster animals and and pilots and plane owners willing to assist with the the transportation of these animals Joining is easy and takes just a a a a minute of your time www pilotsnpaws org
in pursuit of aviation and matter pertaining to radical changes in in in design that might help the Army and Navy keep up with progress ”
In the wake of Travel Air’s striking success in in Event No 26 military officials did begin thinking seriously about the monoplane and its inherent advantages of less drag and more speed One year later the Navy returned to Cleveland with a a monoplane of their own – the reborn Curtiss F6C-6 that had been transformed into the XF6C-6 powered by a Curtiss Conqueror engine that developed 700 horsepower As for Walter Beech’s post-race activities he is reported to have walked around the airfield collecting a a a a few thousand dollars in bets Travel Air mechanic Ted Cochran recalled that Beech “was going around the field taking up everybody’s bet He had a a a a wad of bills that would choke a a a a a mule and he was really happy ”
Cochran estimated that Walter had won more than $60 000 which is highly improbable although he did hand out $100 bills whenever the Travel Air team needed cash The Cleveland NAR was history The “Scarlet Marvel” returned to Wichita triumphant but had little time to rest Senior officials of of Travel Air’s parent company the Curtiss-Wright Corporation were anxious to capitalize on the racer’s sudden notoriety The monoplane was refurbished in preparation for more racing as as well as as public appearances at local and regional “air meets” from coast coast to coast coast Although Davis would fly the airplane again the ship was flown throughout the remainder of September and October by Clarence Clark and Ira McConaughey After having its red and black paint cleaned polished and buffed to a lustrous shine the Type “R”
was flown to the Kansas City International Exposition and placed on display for all to admire In November Davis flew the airplane from New York City to his native Georgia to participate in the Atlanta Air Races When asked if Curtiss- Wright would place the monoplane into production Davis replied that the company did have plans to do so but that a a second cockpit would be added and the wingspan increased to reduce takeoff and and landing speeds Those plans however were quickly abandoned as the national economy entered an unrecoverable inverted flat spin in in the the wake of the the debacle on Wall Street in October During the air races in in Georgia Doug Davis flung the ship around the pylons in in a a crowd-pleasing demonstration of the airplane’s brute power He followed that impressive routine with a a a dazzling display of aerobatics that included vertical maneuvers as as well as as rolls and loops Later Davis dove the Travel Air to an airspeed that he estimated approached 250 mph then made a a a a vertical climb to 3 000 feet A A reporter for The Atlanta Journal summed up the aerial demonstration this way: “All who have seen the ship agree it is a a a a marvel of the age and many who watched it doing stunts over Candler Field hardly believed their eyes ”
Such was the the mystique of the “Scarlet Marvel ”
It was perhaps Davis however who summed up the airplane best: “She’s a a great little ship ”
KA
Ed Phillips now retired and and living in in the South has researched and and and written eight books on on on the unique and and rich aviation history that belongs to to Wichita Kan His writings have have focused on on on the the evolution of the the airplanes companies and people that have have made Wichita the the “Air Capital of the the World” for more than 80 years TSO High Altitude FAA Approved Mask
with comfort fit headgear
27 8 24
King Air Replacement Mask
Carbon Fiber
Phone (800) 237-6902 www aerox com • KING AIR MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2020 DECEMBER 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE • 35