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| Currently we are operating a 1927 Travel Air, a 1940
and 1942 Waco UPF-7, a 1944 PT-17, and a 1944 N- 2S4 |
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1927 Travel Air
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| The Travel Air (above) is a "Lindberg
era biplane" and is usually at the Museum of Flight due to the extreme
history of this plane.
1927 Travel Air
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The Travel Air Manufacturing Company of
Wichita, Kansas was founded in 1925 by Walter Beech, Clyde Cessna and Lloyd
Stearman. Their first airplane was a refinement of an earlier Stearman
design, the "New Swallow," an example can be seen in the Museum of Flight
today! By July, 1929, Travel Air was turning out an unprecedented 50
aircraft a month and had manufactured a quarter of all airplanes in the
United States, including 35 different models of biplanes and monoplanes.
Travel Airs were highly sought after by race and endurance pilots. Walter
Beech turned down Charles Lindbergh's request to build a plane for his New
York to Paris flight because the factory was too busy with existing orders.
Our 1927 Travel air is a model 3000, built in December of 1927. Model 3000s
were relatively rare, with only 33 made. Our plane appears to have been the
3rd or 4th Model 3000 made. The Model 3000s were made to order and equipped
with either 150 hp or 180 hp Hispano-Suiza water cooled V-8 engines. A
standard feature on Travel Air biplanes until the development of the "Speed
Wing" in 1928/1929 was the distinctive "elephant ear ailerons." This was a
design feature brought back to the U.S. from World War I originally seen on
the Fokker D-7 fighter.
There have been only a few changes made to this plane since 1927. Most
notable are the 7 cylinder air cooled Continental W-670 engine, a tail wheel
in place of the original skid, wider tires and an electrical system. A photo
of this exact plane in 1935 appears on page 32 in the book "Beech Aircraft
and Their Predecessors" by A.J. Pelletier which is found in the Museum of
Flight's bookstore.
We know of only two airworthy Travel Air 3000s in the U.S. today. The Travel
Air Restoration Association estimates only 25 to 50 airworthy Travel Air
Biplanes total when including Travel Air 4000s as well.
Gross Weight, fully loaded 2590 lbs, Max Speed 130 mph, Wing Span 34 ft. 8
inches
Weight, empty 1866 lbs, Cruise Speed 100 mph, Over-all Length 24 ft. 2
inches
Fuel Capacity 42 gallons, Landing Speed 45 mph, Wing Area 296 square feet
Fuel Consumption: 12 gallons per hr, Oil Capacity: 4 gallons, Engine: 220 HP
@ 2075 RPM
The Travel Air over Seattle. |
1929 TRAVEL
AIR "E" 4000
The Travel Air company competed head to head with all the
other early burgeoning aircraft companies in the mid-1920s with similar
concept airframes and Fokker imitation wings often with counterbalanced
ailerons. In 1929, Travel Air modified its Travel Air 4000 and redesigned
the ends of the upper wings to utilize Frieze ailerons and finished off the
wingtips in a more modern rounded configuration which allowed the ends of
the wings to add lift and load carrying capacity. This extra modification in
both the weight carrying capacity and the finishing of the wings increased
the popularity of this airplane markedly and caused the sales of the Travel
Air 4000 with the "E" wing configuration to soar. There were more Travel Air
4000s of this wing design sold than all previous Travel Air 2000s, 3000s and
4000s combined.
The airplane was originally configured with a Wright J-6 Whirlwind 5
cylinder radial engine with 165 horsepower @ 1800 rpm Currently powered with
a Continental W-670 Radial Engine with 220 hp at 2150 RPM
length overall 24'1"
height overall 8'11"
wingspan (upper) 33'
wingspan (lower) 28'9"
wing chord (upper) 5'6"
wing chord (lower) 4'8"
wing area (upper) 171 sq'
wing area (lower) 118 sq'
gross weight 2,702 lbs
empty weight 1,695 lbs
useful load 1,007 lbs
payload with full fuel (67 gal.) 393 lbs
maximum speed 120 mph
cruise speed 103 mph
rate of climb 720 ft. per min.
surface ceiling 13,000 ft
landing speed 48 mph
stall speed 39 mph
normal cruising range 650 miles
fuel capacity 67 gal.
oil capacity 6 gal.
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| 1940 & 1942 WACO UPF-7 |
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| We have one Waco at the Museum of Flight and one
close by.
1940 & 1942 WACO UPF-7
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The Weaver Aircraft Company was founded in 1920 by George
"Buck" Weaver, E.J. "Sam" Junkin, and Clayton Brukner. The trade name Waco
(rhymes with taco) was coined from the title letters of Weaver Aircraft Co.
Originally located in Lorain, Ohio, the company moved to Troy, Ohio, drawn
by the concentration of aviation related businesses that had sprung up
around nearby Dayton, home of the Wright Brothers. In late 1942, Waco ceased
production of powered airplanes. Between 1942 and 1945, Waco built over
14,000 Waco CG-4A troop/cargo gliders, which were used in both theaters of
war. Aircraft production at Waco ceased with the end of the war.
The first Waco UPF-7 was rolled out of the Waco factory at Troy, Ohio in
June of 1937. The UPF-7 was designed as a pilot trainer, both for primary
student training and advanced training phases, including aerobatics. 600
UPF-7s were manufactured between 1937 and late 1942. Most were delivered to
civilian flight schools participating in the Government's Civilian Pilot
Training Program (CPTP) to train thousands of civilian pilots as a backlog
in case of war. The U.S. Army Air Corps acquired 14 UPF-7s, which were
designated YPT-14. The CAA (Civilian Aeronautics Authority-predecessor to
the FAA) ordered 31 UPF- 7s; these were assigned to government inspectors to
monitor civilian aviation operations.
NC39738 (s/n 5871) was built in September, 1942 and was the 21st from the
last UPF-7 built. Upon completion, it was delivered to Lakeport Airport,
Illinois for use in a CPTP flight school. NC30143 (s/n 5540) was built in
November, 1940 and delivered to Brown Flying Service in Sacramento,
California.
Out of the original 600 UPF-7s built, there are approximately 80 in
airworthy condition today. Compared to many other popular biplanes of this
era, including the venerable Stearman of which there were nearly 10,000
built, the UPF-7 is relatively rare and quite valuable to collectors due to
the fewer number built and left today with their original wartime history.
Certification ATC #642 issued 6/5/37, Overall Length 23 ft 6 inches, Top
Speed 130 mph
Engine: Continental W670-6A 220 hp, Height 8 ft 6 inches, Stall Speed 55 mph
Wingspan-top 30 feet, Wingspan-bottom 26'10", Cruise 115 mph
Chord (both) 4'9", Wing area 243.6 sq feet, Range 250 miles
Fuel capacity 50 gallons, Fuel burn 12-15 gallons per hour |
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All airplanes use a Continental 670 engine (220 horse
power) or Jacobs L-4's and are rebuilt and serviced continuously.
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| 1936 CABIN WACO YKS-6 |
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click Picture for a larger
size
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1936 CABIN WACO YKS-6
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By 1929, the burgeoning airplane "trade" was calling for
a range of new airplanes ranging in power from 90 to 300 H.P., however, the
memorable financial events in the "fall" of the year furnished a clue to the
fact that Waco, for the first time, sold less airplanes than the previous
year. Curtailed industrial activity in 1930 removed many of Waco's potential
corporate customers from the market, so Waco started expanding coverage to
the limited select customers who could afford to repurchase an airplane
every several years desirous of finer appointments, better radio and flight
instruments and higher speeds. Also a growing market in Central and South
American emerged with an increase in the frequency of political revolutions.
Waco expanded its coverage by producing for the various governments a
convertible mail plane equipped with mounts for two machine guns and bomb
racks for demolition bombs. This brought considerable business and served
the owners well as an inexpensive multipurpose of outstanding utility.
The first Cabin Waco was built in 1931. By 1933, this four place cabin was
sold into 13 foreign countries and its domestic sales rivaled the several
open cockpit sport types. Year by year, the cabin model was offered in more
advanced designs for specialty users, such as the freight haulers operating
in the Canadian and Alaskan "Bush" country who used hundreds of these
airplanes working to and from the thousands of small northern lakes. They
were landed on skis in winter and on hydroplane floats in summer. Men,
tools, rations and even building materials and machine parts were thus
dropped into that northern wilderness to prospect or mine gold, and then
picked up later by arrangement. The "Waco-Freighter" pioneered this
industry. In Ketchikan, Alaska, Bob Ellis bought a Waco YKS-6 for one of his
first planes in "Ellis Air Transport Company." He later merged his company
with several other smaller "bush" companies in Alaska to form the "roots" of
Alaska Airlines today. His plane was #NC16210, only thirty-one production
numbers away from our own plane in our collection; # NC16241.
In 1936, what had been called the "Standard Cabin Waco" was designated as
the model YKS-6. This differentiated it from several other models with more
customized appointments for wealthier individuals whose buying power was not
diminished by the depression. The "6" on the YKS-6 stands for 1936 as well
as the second number on the tail number #NC16241 which also stands for the
year in which the plane was built.
Common designation 4-5 place cabin land plane, Gas Capacity 70 gallons
Power Plant Jacobs L-4 225 H.P. engine, Oil Capacity 5 gallons
Approved type certificate #533, Top Speed 147 mph
Span overall 33 feet 3 inches, Cruising speed 140 mph
Length overall 25 feet 4 inches, Landing speed 49 mph
Height overall 8 feet 6 inches, Climb first minute 800 feet
Gross Weight 3250 pounds, Service ceiling 15,000 feet
Empty weight 1809 pounds, Gas consumption 14 gal/hr
Disposable load 1441 pounds, Landing gear extended 87"
Pay load 933 pounds, Original price $ 4995.00 |
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| BOEING PT-17 & N2S4 KAYDETS |
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BOEING PT-17 & N2S4 KAYDETS
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Lloyd Stearman was a well known aircraft designer of the
late 1920's and 1930's. After working as the main designer for the Travel
Air Company, he founded his own company in 1926. In November 1933, Stearman
engineer Mac Short and his staff began a revision of the Stearman civilian
Model 6 or military YPT-9 (Stearman Cloudboy). This effort was in response
to an Army design competition. They produced a prototype model in 60 days
known as the Kaydet Model 75 (Army Air Corps designator PT-13D: Navy
designator N2S5). In July 1936, the Army ordered 26 PT-13s. In 1938, the
Boeing Aircraft Company bought the company and created the Stearman Aircraft
Division renaming it the Wichita Division in 1941.
The planes pictured above were manufactured in May of 1944 #N68462 and June
of 1944 #N68827. The Boeing Kaydets were used extensively by both the Army
Air Corps and the U.S. Navy during World War II as primary trainers hence
the PT designator. The Kaydet with the all-yellow paint scheme is that of a
mid-1944 Army Air Corp PT-13D. The Kaydet with the blue fuselage and yellow
wings and tail has U.S. Navy markings that were specified during the period
that are less ornate than those used by the Army at that time. The Army
often had red and white alternating colors at the rear of the rudder.
Because the original PT-13D and N2S5 referred to Kaydets built with Lycoming
engines which have been converted to the Continental W-670-5 engine (220
hp), the planes are now officially a PT-17 (Army) and N2S4 (Navy); but of
course, everyone knows them today as...Stearmans."
Gross empty weight 2,175 lbs., Fuel capacity 46 gallons
Maximum gross weight 2,950 lbs., Consumption 15 gallons per hour
+6.67 g's to -2.67 g's; fully aerobatic Speed 95 miles per hour |
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