Travel Air 9000

Model 9000
Role General aviation
National origin United States
Manufacturer Travel Air
First flight 1927
Number built 4
Developed from Travel Air 3000
Travel Air 4000

The Travel Air 9000 was an American general-purpose biplane of the 1920s, a member of the family of aircraft that began with the Travel Air Model A.[1] It was later known as the Curtiss-Wright CW-9 after Curtiss-Wright acquired Travel Air.[2] Only four examples were built, two each converted from Travel Air 3000s and 4000s.[3]

Design and development

Like other members of this family, the Model 9000 was an unequal-span, single-bay, staggered biplane of conventional design.[3] The passengers and pilot sat in tandem, open cockpits.[3] It had a conventional tail, and fixed, tailskid undercarriage.[3] The fuselage was built from welded steel tubes, and the wings from wood.[4] Travel Air model numbers primarily reflected changes in powerplant, and the Model 9000 was powered by a Siemens-Halske Sh 14 radial engine mounted in the nose, driving a tractor propeller.

The prototype, registered X-3791, began life as Model 4000, construction number 302.[3] It was licensed on December 16, 1927,[3] and received type certificate ATC-38 the following April.[5] The second Model 9000 (registered NC4420) also began as a Model 4000 (construction number 380), while the other two were conversions from Model 3000s.[3]

NC4420, named Smith's Incubator, was re-engined for a time[3] with a 120-horsepower (89 kW) 10-cylinder Anzani engine,[6][7][a] receiving approval 2-25 in July 1928.[7][9] It was later converted back to Sh 14 power.[3]

Operational history

A subsequent owner fitted the prototype Model 9000 with an extra 40-US-gallon (150 L; 33 imp gal) fuel tank.[3] In this configuration, Viola Gentry used it to set a new aerial endurance record for women.[3] On December 3, 1928, she stayed aloft over Long Island[10] for 8 hours 6 minutes and 37 seconds.[11]

George B. Peck flew a Model 9000 in the 1928 Ford National Reliability Air Tour, attaining 22nd place.[6][12]

Seventeen-year-old Richard James flew a Model 9000 named Spirit of American Youth to claim a $1,000 prize from the American Society of the Promotion of Aviation[6] for the first young person under the age of eighteen to complete a transcontinental flight.[13][b] James departed San Francisco on October 30, 1928 and arrived at Curtiss Field, Long Island on December 15.[13][c] The Siemens-Halske company presented him with a silver loving cup and President Calvin Coolidge shook his hand.[11]

Specifications

Data from Phillips 1994, p.112

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1 pilot
  • Capacity: 2 passengers
  • Length: 24 ft 4 in (7.42 m)
  • Wingspan: 34 ft 8 in (10.57 m)
  • Height: 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m)
  • Wing area: 296 sq ft (27.5 m2)
  • Empty weight: 1,475 lb (669 kg)
  • Gross weight: 2,300 lb (1,043 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Siemens-Halske Sh 14 9-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine, 125 hp (93 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 112 mph (180 km/h, 97 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 93 mph (150 km/h, 81 kn)
  • Service ceiling: 12,000 ft (3,700 m)
  • Rate of climb: 700 ft/min (3.6 m/s)

Notes

References

  1. ^ Pelletier states that this was a six-cylinder Anzani engine of 120 horsepower.[3] However, Anzani six-cylinder engines developed only around 45 horsepower, while the 120-horsepower figure correlates to their ten-cylinder engine.[8] This article follows Juptner[6] and Phillips,[7] who both state that this aircraft was fitted with a ten-cylinder engine.
  2. ^ Contemporary sources disagree on the conditions of the prize; the Christian Science Monitor reported it as a pilot under the age of eighteen,[13] but Time reported it as a pilot under the age of twenty-one.[11]
  3. ^ Juptner states that this flight was "from New York to California".[6] This article follows contemporary and more specific press accounts.[11][13]
  1. ^ Taylor 1993, pp.856,865
  2. ^ Bowers 1979, p.399
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Pelletier 1995, p.28
  4. ^ Phillips 1994, p.91–92
  5. ^ Juptner 1962a, p.107
  6. ^ a b c d e Juptner 1962a, p.108
  7. ^ a b c Phillips 1994, p.88–89
  8. ^ Gunston 1986, p.15
  9. ^ Juptner 1962b, p.110
  10. ^ Phillips 2015, p.22
  11. ^ a b c d "Flights, Fliers" 1928, p.19
  12. ^ Forden 1972, p.85
  13. ^ a b c d "Youthful Pilot wins Cross-County Prize", p.16

Bibliography

  • Bowers, Peter M. (1979). Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947. London: Putnam Aeronautical.
  • "Flights, Fliers". Time. Vol. 12, no. 27. Chicago: Time. December 31, 1928. p. 19.
  • Forden, Lesley (1972). The Ford Air Tours 1925–1931. New Brighton, Minnesota: Aviation Foundation of America.
  • Gunston, Bill (1986). World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines. Wellingborough, UK: Patrick Stephens.
  • Juptner, Joseph P. (1962a). U.S. Civil Aircraft Vol. 1 (ATC 1-100). Los Angeles: Aero Publishers.
  • Juptner, Joseph P. (1962b). U.S. Civil Aircraft Vol. 9 (ATC 801-817). Los Angeles: Aero Publishers.
  • Pelletier, Alain J. (1995). Beech Aircraft and their Predecessors. London: Putnam Aeronautical.
  • Phillips, Edward H. (1994). Travel Air: Wings over the Prairie. Eagan, Minnesota: Flying Books International.
  • Phillips, Edward H. (August 2015). "Walter's Wonder Women". King Air. Vol. 9, no. 8. Traverse City, Michigan: Village Press. pp. 22–27.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1993). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
  • "Youthful Pilot wins Cross-County Prize". The Christian Science Monitor. Vol. 21, no. 17. Boston: Christian Science Publishing Society. December 15, 1928.