Travel Air Model 10
| Travel Air Model 10 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Civil utility aircraft |
| National origin | United States of America |
| Manufacturer | Travel Air |
| First flight | 1929 |
| Number built | 12 |
The Travel Air Model 10 was a 4-seat single-engined light aircraft of the late 1920s. Twelve aircraft were built before production ended.
Design and development
[edit]In 1929, the Travel Air Manufacturing Company of Wichita, Kansas, unveiled the Model 10, a four-seat light aircraft of similar layout to the larger Travel Air 6000 airliner, intended for use as an air taxi and charter aircraft.[1] Like the Model 6000, the Model 10 was the work of Herb Rawdon,[2] and was a single-engined monoplane with a braced, high wing, a fixed tailwheel undercarriage and an enclosed cabin. It was of mixed construction, with a fabric covered steel-tube fuselage and a wooden wing, with spruce spars and spruce and plywood ribs.[3] The prototype was initially powered by a 300 hp (220 kW) Wright J-6-9 Whirlwind 9-cylinder radial engine, but was later modified with a 185 hp (138 kW) Curtis Challenger radial before finally being fitted with a 225 hp (168 kW) 7-cylinder Wright J-6-7 Whirlwind.[4]
It was planned to offer the Model 10 with a range of engines, but owing to the effects of the Great Depression in reducing demand for aircraft, production only followed of the Model 10-D, powered by a Wright J-6-7. This was initially priced at $11,250, but this price soon fell to $8,495. Despite this, only eleven Model 10-Bs were built,[3] and production was ended after Travel Air was purchased by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation.[2] Curtiss-Wright built a four-seat aircraft of similar layout in 1931, designed by the ex-Travel Air engineer Walter Burnham, the Curtiss-Wright CW-15, but this too sold poorly, with only 15 CW-15s built.[5][6]
Variants
[edit]- Model 10-B
- Initial prototype, powered by Wright J-6-9 Whirlwind.[4]
- Model 10-D
- Production model, powered by Wright J-6-7 Whirlwind. Eleven built.[4]
Specifications (10-D)
[edit]Data from Beech Aircraft and their Predecessors[3]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: 3 passengers
- Length: 26 ft 10 in (8.18 m)
- Wingspan: 43 ft 6 in (13.26 m)
- Height: 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m)
- Wing area: 239 sq ft (22.2 m2)
- Airfoil: Göttingen 593
- Empty weight: 2,130 lb (966 kg)
- Gross weight: 3,400 lb (1,542 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Wright J-6-7 Whirlwind 7-cylinder radial engine, 225 hp (168 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 126 mph (203 km/h, 109 kn) at sea level
- Cruise speed: 106 mph (171 km/h, 92 kn)
- Range: 550 mi (890 km, 480 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 13,000 ft (4,000 m)
- Rate of climb: 675 ft/min (3.43 m/s)
References
[edit]- ^ Pelletier 1995, p. 42
- ^ a b Gunston 2005, p. 464
- ^ a b c Pelletier 1995, pp. 42–43
- ^ a b c Pelletier 1995, p. 43
- ^ Pelletier 1995, pp. 50–51
- ^ Bowers 1979, p. 406
- Bowers, Peter M. (1979). Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-10029-8.
- Gunston, Bill (2005). World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers (2nd ed.). Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-3981-8.
- Pelletier, A. J. (1995). Beech Aircraft and their Predecessors. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-062-2.