Page 28 - January 2022

In January 1928, Goebel returned the Woolaroc to the Travel Air factory for a series of major modifications aimed at transforming the Type 5000 into a cross-coun- try speedster. The cockpit was moved aft and a new, 400-horsepower Pratt & Whitney “Wasp” radial engine installed in place of the Wright J5 powerplant. Note the bayonet-type exhaust stacks. (Edward H. Phillips Collection)
Flying at low altitude in a foggy mist on the west side of St. Louis, Art was terrified to see a water tower flash by the cockpit window only a few feet from the wingtip! For Goebel that near brush with certain death was the last straw. He bravely flew on, landing safely at Travel Air Field December 1.
Goebel confessed to Walter Beech that the airplane was not safe to fly, and that he had decided to make no further attempts to set a transcontinental speed record with the dangerous monoplane. In addition to Beech, Frank Phillips heartily agreed and immediately retired the ship. Realizing that the airplane was historically important, Phillips ordered that it be returned to its original configuration for the Dole race before placing on static display outside in an open pavilion at Frank Phillip’s ranch near Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where it remained for the next 55 years.
During the early 1980s the “Woolaroc” was restored a second time and in 1985 a special exhibit hall within the Frank Phillips Museum and Wildlife Reserve was created specifically for displaying the winner of the Dole competition. As of 2022 the Travel Air remains suspended from the ceiling on a magnetic heading toward Honolulu – a fitting tribute to a famous airplane, its pilot and navigator as well as the people and the company in Wichita that built it. KA
Ed Phillips, now retired and living in the South, has researched and written eight books on the unique and rich aviation history that belongs to Wichita, Kansas. His writings have focused on the evolution of the airplanes, companies and people that have made Wichita the “Air Capital of the World” for more than 80 years.
After Goebel’s failed attempt to transform the Woolaroc into a cross-country racer, the ship was retired by Frank Phillips and restored to its appearance during the 1927 Dole Race. As of 2022, the famous Travel Air is on per- manent display at the Frank Phillips Museum and Wildlife Reserve in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, suspended from the ceiling on a magnetic heading to Honolulu.
(Courtesy Frank Phillips Museum)
26 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
JANUARY 2022