Page 27 - Volume 15 Number 11

That year Cessna had built, on his own time and with his own money (about $6,000), a proof-of-concept cabin ship powered by a 110-horsepower Anzani air- cooled, static, radial engine. Always a proponent of the monoplane, Clyde’s interest centered chiefly in manufacturing airplanes bearing his name. He had built eight different monoplanes since 1911 when he taught himself how to fly in his first ship that he named “Silverwings.”
During the hot Kansas summer Walter Beech had made a number of flights in Clyde’s cabin monoplane and liked its performance and handling characteristics. Cessna’s five-place ship was capable of carrying 1,000 pounds and could land at only 45 mph, but it was fitted with a 300-pound, semi-cantilever wing.
Clyde’s creation served as the inspiration for Travel Air’s first monoplane – the Type 5000. Construction of a prototype ship was underway by October, and by the middle of December the cabin monoplane was ready for its maiden flight. A few days later Beech flew the airplane to Kansas City where it was evaluated by Egbert P. Lott, chief pilot for National Air Transport (NAT). In January 1927 NAT awarded Travel Air a contract for eight Type 5000 transports, to be delivered in 120 days at a cost of $128,676.
NOVEMBER 2021
In the wake of Cessna’s sudden departure that month, Walter was temporarily placed in charge of the company’s day-to-day operations until elections could be held in February, when Beech was appointed president. One of his first acts was to wire the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) in Washington, D.C., and ask that an inspector be sent to Wichita for the dual purpose of licensing Travel Air’s pilots and certifying that the company’s airplanes were deemed airworthy.
Walter was well aware that enactment of the Air Commerce Act of 1926 would mandate that the federal government become responsible for establishing standards and regulations governing both licensing of pilots and airplanes. As private and commercial aviation began to grow after the end of World War I, it was inevitable that the “good ‘ol days” of unregulated flying and manufacturing would soon disappear. During 1920-1925, dozens of airplane companies had gradually sprung up from coast-to-coast, and an increasing number of aircraft were being built and sold to an ever increasing number of “aviators,” many of whom had little or no formal flight training.
Walter’s request was answered when the DOC’s Director, Clarence M. Young, dispatched Inspector Hosch to Wichita. He certified Beech, Travel Air chief
Walter Beech (left) shook hands with Lloyd Stearman (right) and Mac Short at the flying field on East Central Avenue 5 miles from downtown Wichita. The biplane was later sold to Travel Air salesman Fred Day Hoyt and flown to California. (Edward H. Phillips Collection)
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