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By June 1927, Travel Air had received 17 requests for monoplanes, but only two were accepted. The first came from Arthur C. Goebel, a California-based pilot for National Pictures, Inc., and the second came from Benny H. Griffin and Al Henley. All three men were experienced pilots and plunked down $5,000 deposits for their airplanes. The timeframe was extremely tight – less than three months. Both airplanes were financed by Frank Phillips of the Phillips Petroleum Company based in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Goebel’s Type 5000 was named “Woolaroc” after the woods, lakes and rocks of Phillips’ ranch. Griffin and Henley’s airplane was dubbed “Oklahoma” in honor of the Sooner state.
Walter Beech realized that the company was taking a serious risk building two airplanes for the race. If one or both were lost amidst the vast Pacific Ocean, it would damage Travel Air’s hard-won reputation as a manufacturer of prestigious aircraft, but he and the board of directors believed it was worth the rewards that would come if a Travel Air landed first in Hawaii. Goebel’s navigator was Lt. William V. Davis, Jr., while Henley would serve that purpose in the Oklahoma. Of the nine entrants in the race, only two arrived in Hawaii – the Woolaroc landed first, followed two hours later by the Breese monoplane dubbed Aloha. Beech’s gamble had paid off handsomely.
On Dec. 31, 1927, Miss Mellor reported that Travel Air had received orders for one new airplane for every day of 1928! In addition, as of that date the company had produced 200 airplanes since 1925, including 162
Model B units, 16 Model BW, five Model BH biplanes and 18 Type 5000 monoplanes. To build the anticipated 365 new airplanes in 1928, Travel Air had built two new factories 5 miles east of downtown Wichita and could build two more if future demand warranted the expense. The workforce increased to 250 men and women with another 100 employees to be hired during the year.
As 1927 drew to a close, Beech and chief engineer Horace Weihmiller were mulling over the design of a new Travel Air – a cabin monoplane aimed directly at aviation-minded businessmen and corporations. It had become clear to Beech that the days of open-cockpit flying were in decline as an increasing number of pilots reported that they would buy an airplane featuring an enclosed cabin and cockpit. He based his plans for a sedan model on a series of surveys sent to Travel Air owners and operators in mid-1927. The response was clearly in favor of a cabin monoplane, and in April 1928 the Type 6000 took to the skies over Wichita.
Beech flew the airplane on the Kansas Air Tour in June and hundreds of prospective customers examined the aircraft and many signed up for demonstration flights. Another 700 took demo flights during a September tour through the Midwest and Eastern regions. Responding to complaints that the cabin was too small, Travel Air engineers created a larger airplane designated the Type 6000B, powered by a Wright Whirlwind radial engine rated at 300 horsepower. As for customers who wanted more power, the Type A6000A was available, featuring a 420-horsepower Pratt & Whitney radial engine.
Pilot Arthur Goebel posed with the Travel Air Type 5000 monoplane he flew to win the Dole prize in 1927. The airplane was restored in the 1990s and is on permanent static display at Woolaroc, a wildlife preserve and museum on the historic Phillips ranch near Bartlesville, Oklahoma. (Source: Frank Phillips Museum)
28 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
FEBRUARY 2025