The Travel Air Model 1000 biplane - with design contributions stemming from Beech, Cessna, and Stearman - was a high-performance flyer of the Interwar period.
The Travel Air "Model 1000" was a high-performance biplane of the mid-1920s developed for the civilian market. The aircraft was of conventional biplane configuration with over-under mainplane configuration and sat its crew of two in tandem open-air cockpits (the pilot positioned in the rear cockpit). The aircraft utilized a traditional "tail-dragger" wheeled undercarriage which remained fixed in flight (non-retractable). Only a single example of this aircraft was ever built by the company and this sole specimen went on to be preserved at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee (on loan from Oshkosh's Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)) where it resides today (2022).
The aircraft was the brainchild of Lloyd Stearman and Walter Beech joined by William Snook and Clyde Cessna. The group formed the core participants of the newly-established "Travel Air Manufacturing Company, Incorporated" under President P. Innes, Jr. in January 1925. In February, the components for the aircraft arrived in Wichita, Kansas for assembly which led to the first "Model A" airframe being completed. This same airframe was then taken apart and transported by flatbed truck to southeast Wichita where it was rebuilt for its first flight.
The endeavor proved a success when, on March 13thm, 1925, the aircraft went into the air for the first time with Irl Beach at the controls. In controlled tests, it managed a top speed of 96.5 miles-per-hour and could climb to 1,000 feet in 1 minute, 6 seconds. Landing speed was 38 mph. Power was from a single Curtiss OX-5 engine developing 90 horsepower and used to drive a two-bladed propeller unit at the nose. Dimensions of the aircraft included a length of 23.5 feet and wingspan of 33 feet. Empty weight was 1,300lb against a gross weight of 2,050lb. The aircraft could range out to 450 miles on internal fuel, of which 35 gallons were carried for the engine.
Walter Beech flew the specimen, which had advanced to become the Model 1000, down to St. Louis to demonstrate the capabilities of the company's new aircraft to one O.E. Scott. Once there, the aircraft impressed its potential buyer enough that Scott purchased the sole example. The Model 1000 design was, itself, evolved to become the "Model B/2000" of 1927 and roughly 600 of this design were produced thereafter. Variants went on to include the "BH/3000" (with Hispano-Suiza V-8 engine) and the "BW/4000/4" (with Wright J-6-7 "Whirlwind" engine). At one point, the company was producing more aircraft than any other competitor, accounting for over 1,000 biplanes alone.
In 1930, the Travel Air Manufacturing Company was purchased by Curtiss-Wright. The Travel Air line ended in 1931 with the "Model 16", a three-seat biplane powered by the Curtiss-Wright CW-16 series engine. Just 23 of this design were completed
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
✓X-Plane (Developmental, Prototype, Technology Demonstrator)
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.
MULTI-WINGED
Addition of more mainplanes to enhance inherent agility, providing a tactical edge in tight engagements.
RUGGED AIRFRAME
Inherent ability of airframe to take considerable damage.
HIGH-SPEED PERFORMANCE
Can accelerate to higher speeds than average aircraft of its time.
EXTENDED RANGE PERFORMANCE
Capability to travel considerable distances through onboard fuel stores.
BAILOUT PROCESS
Manual process of allowing its pilot and / or crew to exit in the event of an airborne emergency.
Length
23.6 ft (7.19 m)
Width/Span
33.0 ft (10.06 m)
Empty Wgt
1,301 lb (590 kg)
MTOW
2,050 lb (930 kg)
Wgt Diff
+750 lb (+340 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the base Travel Air Model 1000 production variant)
biplane / over-under / straight
Biplane
Design utilizes a dual-plane wing arrangement in which one mainplane member is seated above the other; biplanes enhance agility at the expense of added drag.
Over-Under
Dual mainplane configuration seating the members in an over-under fashion and poisitoned at different points along the fuselage.
Straight
The planform involves use of basic, straight mainplane members.
(Structural descriptors pertain to the base Travel Air Model 1000 production variant)
Installed:
1 x Curtiss OX-5 engine developing 90 horsepower driving a two-bladed propeller unit at the nose.
Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.
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