Page 31 - feb25

The Travel Air Type R monoplane won the free-for-all event at the 1929 National Air Races. (Source: Textron Aviation)
could no longer retain 650 employees on the payroll. Layoffs began and continued unabated through that year and into 1931 when parent company Curtiss-Wright closed the Wichita factory. The days of autumn 1932 witnessed the departure of the few remaining workers, and the factory complex known in Wichita as “Travel Air City” ceased to exist.
Epilogue
During its six-year existence, the Travel Air Company earned worldwide respect for its aircraft and manufactured approximately 1,500 airplanes between 1925-1931. It led other airframe companies in the number of approved type certificates issued for new aircraft, helped to pioneer design and construction of small transports for the infant airline industry and quickly adapted installation of the static, air-cooled radial engines into the company’s product line.
Travel Air introduced the innovative Type 6000 in 1928. It was designed specifically to meet the businessman’s demand for enclosed cabin monoplanes for executive transport and the airborne conduct of day-to-day corporate operations. Dubbed the “Limousine of the Air,” Travel Air’s Type 6000 can be considered the predecessor of the Beechcraft King Air series that appeared nearly 40 years later.
Throughout the late 1920s and into the early 1930s, many pilots flew Travel Air biplanes in air races nationwide and often emerged victorious, including Louise von Thaden who won the 1929 National Women’s Air Derby flying a Travel Air D4000.
When it came to airplanes, Walter Beech craved speed. He enthusiastically supported development of the famous Type R racer of 1929. The monoplane’s unexpected victory over military biplanes at the 1929 National Air Races stunned the aviation world
A major change of a different kind occurred late in 1928 when the financial institution of Hayden, Stone and Company agreed to acquire 50% of Travel Air. The acquisition dissolved the original business and reorganized it under Delaware law as the Travel Air Company. Beech and the board of directors were confident they had made the right decision but realized the company was no longer a possession of Wichita alone.
In August 1929, the company was absorbed into the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, which would eventually include Wright Aeronautical, Curtiss Flying Service and Keystone- Loening airplane manufacturers. In the exchange of stock with Curtiss- Wright, the value of one share of Travel Air outstanding stock that sold for $100 in 1925 was suddenly worth $4,000.
One of the greatest achievements in Travel Air’s existence came in the summer of 1929 when the Type R racing monoplane made its first flight. It was designed by engineers Herbert Rawdon and Walter Burnham. During initial test flights the airplane
had achieved 185 mph, and after installation of a specially-designed NACA engine cowling, indicated airspeed increased to 225 mph. The Type R was built for one purpose: to beat the U.S. Army and Navy at September’s National Air Races. Walter Beech made certain that the Type R remained hidden from newspaper reporters until race day.
Flown by Travel Air distributor Doug Davis, the Type R – referred to as the Mystery Ship – defeated all entrants in the free-for-all race at an average speed of 196.96 mph. Shell Oil Company and The Texas Company ordered custom-built versions of the Type R, and the Italian government took delivery of the fifth and final monoplane in 1931.
While Travel Air airplane sales peaked at $2.1 million by June 1929, orders and sales entered an unrecoverable tailspin in the wake of Wall Street’s debacle in October. Many people in the commercial aviation industry lamented that the Lindbergh boom was finally over. Sales of new airplanes slowed to a trickle, and by 1930 Walter Beech
FEBRUARY 2025
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 29