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CREDITS: EDWARD H. PHILLIPS COLLECTION
The cockpit of a production Type 6000B featured circular control wheels, center-
mounted quadrant for throttle, mixture, spark advanced/retard. Only basic flight
and engine instrumentation were provided. A large magnetic compass was mount-
ed on the left sidewall to minimize interference from metal assemblies. A cockpit
door was on the right side of the fuselage. A second door on the left was optional
and often ordered if the airplane was operated on floats. Automotive-type cranks,
borrowed directly from automobiles, were provided to open and close cockpit and
cabin windows.
A large number of Type 6000B and
A6000A were equipped with the optional
lavatory installed in the aft cabin section.
Both hot and cold running water were
provided along with a cabinet, mirror and
overhead light. Note small porthole win-
dows and door with a lock for privacy.
Advertised as a Limousine of the Air, the airplane
featured a cabin accommodating up to six passengers with
two doors on the right side of the fuselage for entry/egress
from the cabin and cockpit. In addition, the plate glass
cabin windows could be raised and lowered by automotive-
type cranks. The wing employed a Gottingen 398 airfoil
section and spanned 48 feet, 7 inches. Fuselage length
was 30 feet, 10.5 inches and overall height was 8.5 feet.
Powered by a Wright Aeronautical J-5C, static, air-cooled
nine-cylinder radial engine rated at 200 horsepower,
flight tests revealed a maximum speed of 128 mph and a
cruise of 108 mph. The monoplane had a maximum gross
weight of 3,800 pounds and a payload of 506 pounds.
To demonstrate the airplane to prospective customers,
Walter Beech flew the limousine in the Kansas Air Tour in
June, and a few months later he garnered 14 orders during
a tour of the East Coast. In September, sales manager
Owen G. Harned flew the airplane more than 3,200 miles
and gave demonstration flights to 700 businessmen and
pilots.
Walter reviewed his ongoing market analysis as interest
in the Type 6000 continued to increase. Surveys mailed to
prospects clearly indicated strong interest in a corporate
aircraft designed specifically for executive travel. Walter
also noticed that respondents favored a monoplane over
the ubiquitous biplane. Travel Air’s manufacturing plans
for 1929 indicated that biplanes would account for 60% of
total production while cabin monoplanes would make up
the remaining 40%. Actual sales, however, would almost
reverse those estimates as it became clear the Type 6000
would be an excellent product for Travel Air.
The innovative airplane justified Walter Beech’s belief
that businessmen would buy a cabin monoplane. Feedback
from flight demonstrations indicated that prospects
wanted an aircraft with a larger cabin, more horsepower
and a higher cruise speed. As a result, a major redesign
began in earnest, creating the Type 6000B that cost
$14,000 for a standard-equipped airplane. Project
leadership shifted to veteran company engineer Herbert
Rawdon. He was ably assisted by fellow engineers Walter
Burnham, Cecil Barlow and Howard Baccus. Weihmiller
had resigned late in 1928 to design the Corman Trimotor
airliner.
As the next-generation monoplane took shape on the
drawing boards, engineers prepared a voluminous amount
of technical paperwork, including exhaustive airframe
stress analysis, to secure an approved type certificate
from the Department of Commerce. The airframe was
enlarged and strengthened to allow installation of the
nine-cylinder Wright J6-9 static, air-cooled radial engine
that developed 300 horsepower. The cabin was widened
and lengthened by 5 inches and the aft fuselage was 4
inches wider. In the cockpit, the throttle, mixture and
spark advance/retard controls were relocated from the
left cockpit sidewall and mounted in a quadrant at the
center of the instrument panel (a small cockpit door was
MAY 2025 KING AIR MAGAZINE •
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