| Travel Air Model 10 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Civil utility aircraft Type of aircraft |
| National origin | United States of America |
| Manufacturer | Travel Air |
| First flight | 1929 |
| Number built | 12 |
TheTravel Air Model 10 was a 4-seat single-engined light aircraft of the late 1920s. Twelve aircraft were built before production ended.
In 1929, theTravel Air Manufacturing Company ofWichita, Kansas, unveiled the Model 10, a four-seat light aircraft of similar layout to the largerTravel Air 6000 airliner, intended for use as anair taxi and charter aircraft.[1] Like the Model 6000, the Model 10 was the work of Herb Rawdon,[2] and was a single-enginedmonoplane with a braced, high wing, a fixedtailwheel undercarriage and an enclosed cabin. It was of mixed construction, with a fabric covered steel-tubefuselage and a wooden wing, withsprucespars and spruce andplywoodribs.[3] The prototype was initially powered by a 300 hp (220 kW)Wright J-6-9 Whirlwind 9-cylinderradial 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-cylinderWright J-6-7 Whirlwind.[4]
It was planned to offer the Model 10 with a range of engines, but owing to the effects of theGreat 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 theCurtiss-Wright Corporation.[2] Curtiss-Wright built a four-seat aircraft of similar layout in 1931, designed by the ex-Travel Air engineer Walter Burnham, theCurtiss-Wright CW-15, but this too sold poorly, with only 15 CW-15s built.[5][6]
Data from Beech Aircraft and their Predecessors[3]
General characteristics
Performance