Travel Air 5000
| Travel Air 5000 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Passenger and racing aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
March 1926 |
| Number of pieces: |
13 |
The Travel Air 5000 was an early shoulder- wing aircraft developed by Clyde Cessna as a passenger and racing aircraft and built by the American manufacturer Travel Air Manufacturing Company . The aircraft became famous for its victory in the fateful Dole Air Race from California to Hawaii .
history
In 1926, Cessna deviated from the traditional double-decker design with the development of a monoplane . His first prototype was a five-passenger aircraft powered by an Anzani engine with 110 hp (81 kW ). In the fall of the same year, Cessna, Lloyd Stearman and Walter Beech modified the aircraft, and in December they built a second, which they fitted with a Wright J-4 . This aircraft was named Travel Air 5000. National Air Transport commissioned Travel Air to build the aircraft with a Wright J-5 C for propulsion and seats for four passengers. Eight copies were built for the transport of airmail and passengers.
construction
The Travel Air 5000 is a shoulder wing aircraft with a tail wheel landing gear . The hull is made of welded steel tubes . The cockpit is located on the top of the fuselage and has a cockpit canopy. At least one example was built without a cockpit canopy. The specimens for the Dole Air Race were equipped with additional fuselage tanks with a capacity of 425 US gallons (approx. 1600 liters) and an earth inductor compass .
use
The prototype of the Travel Air 5000 with the serial number 160 and the name "The Spirit of Oakland" was sold to Pacific Air Transport in April 1927 . Ernest Smith then bought the plane to use on a July 14 flight from Oakland , California to Molokai , Hawaii . There the machine had to make an emergency landing due to a lack of fuel while it was already on approach . This made it the first civil aircraft and the second ever to fly across the Pacific .
In June 1927, two custom-made Travel Air 5000s - the "Oklahoma" and the "Woolaroc" - were ordered to take part in the Dole Air Race from Oakland to Honolulu . Two teams each paid 5,000 US dollars and were later Frank Phillips of the Phillips Petroleum Company sponsored who wanted to compete for its fuel "Nu-aviation". The "Oklahoma" had to turn around on the way, while the "Woolaroc" won the race.
The "Woolaroc" was used at the end of 1928 for an unsuccessful transcontinental speed record attempt.
National Air Transport and Royal Airways used the Model 5000 for commercial air transport.
operator
- National Air Transport
- Pacific Air Transport
- Royal Airways
Incidents
On July 24, 1927, the pilots Ernest L. Smith and Emory R. Bronte approached the coast of Molokai with their Travel Air 5000 "Spirit of Oakland" when the engine failed due to lack of fuel. In the following emergency landing , both were unharmed. However, the plane was destroyed.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| Passengers | 4th |
| length | 30.4 ft (9.3 m ) |
| span | 51.6 ft (16 m ) |
| height | 8.4 ft (3 m ) |
| Wing area | 312 ft² (29 m² ) |
| Empty mass | 2,160 lb (980 kg ) |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 3,600 lb (1,633 kg) |
| Cruising speed | 94 kn (174 km / h ) |
| Top speed | 107 kn (198 km / h) |
| Service ceiling | 13,600 ft (4,145 m) |
| Engines | 1 × Wright J-5 Whirlwind with 220 PS (162 kW ) |
Preserved copies
The Travel Air 5000 "Woolaroc", which won the Dole Air Race, is on display at the Woolaroc Museum near Bartlesville , Oklahoma .
The Travel Air 5000, which flew as number 17 for National Air Transport, is on display in the former Fort Worth Star-Telegram building in Fort Worth , Texas . In 1927, this machine was the first aircraft to carry passengers and mail to Dallas and Fort Worth. National Air Transport donated the aircraft to Amon G. Carter, newspaper publisher and founder of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, in 1931 . The plane was later restored by Harry Hansen with Cowtown Aerocrafters of Justin , Texas.
literature
- Arthur C. Goebel: Art Goebel's own story . CafePress (reprint 2007), 1929 (English, dmairfield.com [PDF]).
- Earl D. Osborn: The Travel Air Transport Monoplane . In: Aviation . Aviation Publishing Corp., New York October 10, 1927, pp. 878-880 (English).
- AJ Pelletier: Beech Aircraft and their Predecessors . Putnam, London 1995, ISBN 978-0-85177-863-1 (English).
- RH Scheppler: Travel Air 5000 "Woolaroc" . In: Aero Modeller . S. 221-223,227 (English).
- "Travel Air" Commercial Airplane - Type 5000 . Travel Air Manufacturing Company, Washington September 1927 (English, nasa.gov [PDF]).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Edward H. Phillips: A Brief History of the Travel Air Type 5000. Travel Air Restorers Association, accessed March 7, 2020 (English).
- ^ The Single Engine Cessna Fleet . In: Flying Magazine . April 1962, p. 34 (English).
- ^ Travel Air 5000, s / n 160. Delta Mike Airfield, Inc., accessed March 7, 2020 .
- ↑ Ed Phillips: Woolaroc . In: AAHS Journal . American Aviation Historical Society, 1985 (English).
- ^ Crash of a Travel Air 5000 in Molokai. Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, accessed March 7, 2020 .
- ^ Edward Phillips: Walter Beech and the Pineapple Derby. King Air Magazine, July 8, 2015, accessed March 7, 2020 .
- ^ Robert Francis: Plane, cars planned for museum in the former Star-Telegram building. Fort Worth Business Press, December 23, 2013, accessed March 7, 2020 .
- ↑ Andrea Ahles: Throwback Thursday: Amon Carter's 1931 Travel Air 5000. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 18, 2016, accessed on March 7, 2020 (English).
- ^ Dan linn: Travel Air 5000 Restored. December 13, 2014, accessed March 7, 2020 .