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Travel Air Type R (Mystery Ship)

1929 GOLDEN AGE X-PLANE

History of the Travel Air Type R (Mystery Ship)

Travel Air built the "Mystery Ship" Type R as a private company led by Herbert Rawdon and Walter Burnham. The military type always had an advantage in the air races that were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and the design revolved around high-performance air racing for the civilian market. The aircraft would be of the "infinity class", the design of which was completed in the second half of 1928. The final airframe, detailed and finally approved by Walter Beach, appeared in May 1929.

Two prototypes were approved and five aircraft were eventually completed.

Due to the high secrecy of the plane, the local media coined the term "mystery ship" to describe the adventure.

The final aircraft is a stylish low-wing monoplane that exudes clean lines and aerodynamic sophistication. Protrusions were kept to a minimum, while its general configuration was very traditional for the time. The engine is mounted on the nose in the usual way, while the pilot sits in an open-air single-seat cockpit. His position kept him as low as possible in the cockpit.

The fuselage tapers towards the empennage with a small circular vertical plane attached. Circular horizontal planes of equal area are installed on both sides of the hull at the stern. The main plane is a low-mounted straight attachment with a rounded tip, positioned forward of the center of the boat for proper balance. Bracing and high-strength cables reinforce the main aircraft on both sides of the fuselage.

A "trail" landing gear was installed, including a wheeled tail leg, while the main legs were spit out (fixed, non-retractable) to continue the method of aerodynamic improvement.

The main difference between the two original aircraft was the choice of engine, the first with a Wright air-cooled unit and the second with a D-6 "Chevrolet" 6-cylinder in-line engine - in each case the engine would be on the nose with a A two-bladed propeller is driven in a "tie rod" manner. Chevrolair model (NR-613K, second airframe) built by Arthur Chevrolet Aviation Motors (Indianapolis).

Structurally, the aircraft has a length of 20.1 feet and a wingspan of 29.1 feet. Gross weight reaches 1,950 lbs. In terms of performance, the design can reach speeds of up to 235 mph. The Wright R-975 engine produces 420 horsepower at 2,350 rpm.

The Mystery Ship won the Thompson Cup in the 1929 National Air Race, a 30-mile closed circuit with an average speed of 194.96 mph. In 1931, the Wright engine fuselage (NR614K) was nearly lost in a fire, but it is now restored at the Beach Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee, to save it from a scrap dealer's torch.

The second aircraft in the

series, the Chevrolet-engined NR613K, won the 1929 National Air Race, then reverted to an air-cooled radial engine. It was subsequently broadcast in a film production. NR482N was the third fuselage, but was lost in the crash. NR1313 was the fourth specimen that went on to become the record holder for the long distance race - now kept at the Museum of Science and Industry on Chicago's lakefront. The final fuselage, the NR11717, was custom made for the Italian government.

It was used as the frame for the Breda Ba, a new fighter jet of the Italian Air Force. 27 (detailed elsewhere on this website).

Famous aviator Jimmy Doolittle is one of the most famous figures in the mysterious spaceship.