Page 33 - Volume 10 Number 10

Each airframe manufacturer desiring to compete in the tour was required to certify that their aircraft were safe and structurally sound. Pilots had to promise they would not drink alcohol in any form during the event, and assure officials that they were in good health. Travel Air was well represented at the first Ford Tour: Walter Beech would fly the C6A-powered “Special,” and two Model A biplanes would be flown by local airman Francis “Chief” Bowhan and E.K. “Rusty” Campbell, one of Travel Air’s first distributors.
Plans called for the tour to depart Ford Airport in Dearborn, Michigan, on September 28 and end at Ford Airport on October 4 after flying a distance of 1,775 miles and visiting 13 cities in seven states. The first Ford Tour was deemed a success despite foul weather that had hindered pilots along the route. Among the 11 entrants who finished with a “perfect score” (there were no first, second or third place prizes) were Beech, Bowhan and Campbell. All three received $350 in cash and had their names engraved permanently on the trophy.
A year later, Walter Beech and navigator Brice Goldsborough took top honors at the second Ford Tour, earning Travel Air the handsome sum of $2,500. Beech added more than $1,000 to that amount, thanks to small cash awards he won during the tour, and flew with $3,850 that the company sorely needed to strengthen its bank account.
In addition to his success in the Ford Tour, Beech continued to win cash at local and regional events. In May 1926, a major air show was held at the flying field on East Central Avenue to celebrate the inauguration of air mail service to Wichita. Large crowds came to watch the air racing, and Walter Beech was right in the thick of it. He won the “Free-For-All” event flying a Model BW powered by the new Wright J-4 static, air-cooled radial engine rated at 200 horsepower. Just as he did at the Tulsa races in 1925, the press reported that Walter “loafed” around the pylons for four laps, then “hit the throttle and walked away from everyone for the win.”
A month later Beech flew a Travel Air powered by a Curtiss C6A engine to Flint, Michigan, where he competed in the “Fly-To-Flint” race, but had to settle for second place. He redeemed himself and Travel Air, however, in the Manufacturers Trophy Race. The course was not very long and was marked with the usual sets of pylons to indicate where turns were to be made. When the field of competitors took off in their ships, the crowds in the bleachers were aghast to see Beech flying his biplane so close to the pylons. All the other pilots were making wide turns, but not Walter. He loved every second of air race competition – it was in his blood.
By 1927, Beech was deeply occupied managing Travel Air and found little or no time for airborne competitions. He realized his racing days were numbered, but when a
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OCTOBER 2016 KING AIR MAGAZINE • 31