Travel Air Type R Mystery Ship
Travel Air · United States · first flew 1929 · light aircraft
The Travel Air Type R Mystery Ship was a wire-braced, low-wing racing aeroplane built in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 6.15 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Wire-braced low-wing racing monoplane
- Single radial engine in the nose
- Small single-seat airframe about 6 m long
A low-wing racer with a Wright J-6-9 radial. Its speed was about 394 km/h.
Specifications
- The Travel Air Type R Mystery Ship has a length of 6.15 m (20 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 8.43 m (28 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 394 km/h (245 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Travel Air designers Herb Rawdon and Walter Burnham designed the aircraft. It was under construction during 1928 and kept under cover before the 1929 Cleveland Air Races. The first two were built in secrecy, hence the name.
Variants
Five Type Rs were built.
Where you'll see it
Pilots included Jimmy Doolittle, Doug Davis, Frank Hawks and Pancho Barnes, in races and air shows. Hawks flew one in Europe.
Related aircraft
- Travel Air 3000
- Travel Air 4000
- Travel Air 8000
- Travel Air 5000
- ABC Robin
- Acme Sportsman
- Adcox Student Prince
- Aero A.34 Kos
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