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CREDIT: TEXTRON AVIATION
Film star Wallace Beery (left) and Walter Beech posed with
Beery’s custom-built Type A6000A soon after rollout from the
factory in December 1928. The airplane cost Beery $18,000,
which he paid in cash. Beery was an avid pilot and owned many
airplanes during his career. The A6000A crashed in 1930 and
was destroyed, but Beery was not on board.
the airplane was damaged (not Lindbergh’s fault), but
it was repaired and flown back to Wichita. In 1931, the
Wadlow brothers, Truman and Newman, renamed the
monoplane the Romancer, offering in-flight weddings
and airborne accommodation for “courting.”
Production and deliveries of the Type 6000B continued
unabated during 1929 as more and more orders poured
into the factory. FAA records indicate that by the end
of 1931 at least 150 had been built compared with only
10 to 12 of the Type A6000A.
Monthly sales of Travel Air biplanes and monoplanes
peaked in June 1929 at $560,000. In September, the
renamed Travel Air Company was absorbed into the giant
Curtiss-Wright organization. Some engineering changes
were made to the Type 6000B and A6000A, including
installation of a larger, more panoramic windshield
that greatly improved visibility and provided a more
comfortable cockpit for the pilot and front seat passenger.
The designations of these airplanes were changed to
Type 6B and Type A6A and a new constructor number
system was implemented to identify the Curtiss-Wright
Travel Airs from the original monoplanes. During the
MAY 2025 CREDIT: EDWARD H. PHILLIPS COLLECTION
According to Travel Air records, the most expensive monoplane
built was this $20,000 unit ordered by H.L. Ogg, president of
the Automatic Washer Company (which later became Maytag).
The cabin featured the latest in office equipment including a
dictation machine, typewriter, filing cabinet and window cur-
tains. The office equipment could be removed to make room for
up to three washing machines for demonstrations and deliveries
to customers. The pilot and secretary wore specially designed
uniforms.
early 1930s, several Type 6000B/6B monoplanes were
exported to Mexico, Peru, Paraguay and Panama. Some
of these airplanes were built as Type S6000B floatplanes.
Realizing that many customers would not need an
airplane as large as the Type 6000B, Travel Air offered
the smaller, four-place (including the pilot) Type 10
monoplane. It was similar to its larger siblings, but
the wing featured a Gottingen 593 airfoil section. The
airplane was offered with a choice of three engines: a
Curtiss Challenger 185-horsepower, six-cylinder radial;
the Wright Aeronautical R-760 rated at 225 horsepower;
and the Wright J6-9 with 300 horsepower. The standard
production version was the Type 10D equipped with
the Wright J6-7. Only 11 examples of the 10B and 10D
were built. Initially, prices ranged from $12,000 for the
10B and $11,000 for the 10D. Eventually, as the Great
Depression deepened, prices were slashed as low as
$5,500 with few or no buyers.
In the wake of Wall Street’s debacle of October 1929,
orders for new airplanes industry-wide had slowed to
a trickle. The business pulse of America was barely
detectable as demand for new cars, trucks, houses and
KING AIR MAGAZINE •
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