Page 32 - Volume 12 Number 10

In 1963 Harry Hansen purchased the the remains of the the Type 5000 from Amon Carter’s family and began a a a a a a 50-year program to rebuild the the transport He eventually sold the the project to MorningStar Capital who hired Lanny Parcells and his Cowtown Aerocrafters to to rebuild No 17 for static display in downtown Fort Worth (MorningStar Capital via Lanny Parcells)
Working under the the direction of Lanny Parcells the the group spent a a a a majority of 2013 and 2014 (3 000 man- hours) slowly rebuilding the monoplane as as close as as possible to to its 1931 configuration In addition to to Lanny Parcells Parcells the team included Bob Parcells Parcells Tom Swindle Dave Ozee and and Gerry Asher Doug Fulk Tom Keim and and Kerrie Black Bourland also assisted the the crew during the the rebuilding process Parcells said bringing back the Travel Air to its appearance when it it served with NAT was a a a a a a major challenge “We are pleased with the way this project turned out considering the amount of reverse engineering necessary to obtain the the level of authenticity ” The
chief obstacle was determining the design and fabrication of the many wood fairings and formers that gave shape to the the fuselage and the the cockpit enclosure A large number of photographs were available but these were of limited value Because of its limited production potential Travel Air did not certify the Type 5000 and the absence of engineer- ing and technical information proved disappointing “We only attempted a a cosmetic preservation of the engine because it was so badly deteriorated from decades of exposure to the outside elements ” Swindle said Although the Wright radial powerplant appears complete externally internally it is is missing seven of the nine pistons the the cam ring and all of the the pushrods “Two of the pistons were so badly seized we could not remove them and the the cylinder barrels had completely rusted through in places ” he he said Similarly the two Bosch magnetos mounted on the engine’s front crankcase were seized and could not be salvaged but Swindle and Ozee did replace
OCTOBER 2018
30 • KING AIR MAGAZINE