Travel Air (Model R) "Mystery S"
Home Page	by Larry Dwyer	Aircraft Index
Travel Air "Mystery S" with pilot Doug Davis in 1929. (Photo: Beech Aircraft Collection)

The biggest event of the 1929 National Air Races was the so called "unlimited free-for-all race" on September 2, 1929. There were eleven entrants in the race but the expected contest was between the Army's Curtiss P-3-A flown by Lt. Breene and the US Navy's Curtiss F6C-C (D-12) Hawk flown by Lt. Cmd. Clarke. Both of these planes were front line pursuit ships and this was the first time since 1925 that the two services flew against each other. Also flying was Roscoe Turner in a Lockheed Vega, and Doug Davis in a Travel Air (Model R) "Mystery S." It was dubbed the "Mystery Ship" because when it arrived in Cleveland it was immediately moved to a hangar and covered with a tarpaulin. During the race, the "Mystery Ship" took the lead twice in spite of recircling a pylon that Davis cut short on the second lap. The rules required missed pylons to be recircled. This caused Davis to be passed by the rest of the field, but Davis was able to take the lead again and at the end of the race he was declared the winner. Davis completed the 10 mile, 5 lap course at an average speed of 194.9 mph. Breene was second at 186.8 mph, Turner was third at 163.4 mph, and Clarke fourth at 153.4 mph.1 The fastest lap was 208.69 mph and 235 mph in the straight aways. This was faster than any other civilian airplane had ever flown in the U.S.2 The news people jumped all over the military and peppered them with questions of how could an off-the-shelf airplane beat the best U.S. military airplanes. Of course the reasons were more complicated than that, but it was an embarrassment just the same. The shock waves caused by this defeat of the military aircraft would result in the total eclipse of the biplane in the Army and a few years later in the Navy.3 To illustrate the significance of the defeat, it may be worth noting that the Aircraft Year Book of 1929 details the National Air Races of 1928 when the participation of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps made an impressive showing. Two very modified Hawks were fitted with the new Curtiss D-12 Vee-type engine. Designated the XP-6 and the XP-6A, they finished first and second in the National Air Races of 1928.4 The Aircraft Year Book of 1930 hardly mentions the National Air Races of 1929 at all except for the results of the entrants in the Appendix. It could be theorized that as representatives of the aircraft manufacturers, it was not in the best interest of the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce to antagonize their military customers.

Travel Air Model R monoplane, "Mystery S" shown in front of Travel Air factory. (Photo: Beech Aircraft Collection)

The "Mystery S" had two interchangeable wings which were to be used for different types of racing. The short wing was 29 feet 2 inches in span, and the longer wing was 30 feet 6 inches with a 65 1/2 inch chord. The short wing was used for the 1929 race in Cleveland. The engine used in the race was a Wright Whirlwind (J-6 Series) R-975 rated at 420 hp at 2350 rpm. The empty weight was 1485 pounds and the full gross weight was 1950 pounds. The length was 20 feet 2 inches.5 The earlier production Wright Whirlwind (J-6 Series) R-975 were rated at 300 hp at 2000 rpm and later production models were increased to 450 hp.6 A total of six Travel Air Model Rs were built. Five were built by Travel Air and the sixth was built from an incomplete fuselage and other parts acquired from Travel Air. The Italian government was so impressed with the Model R that it purchased one as a model for future military designs.7 In 1930 Capt. Frank M. Hawks had a Travel Air "Mystery S" built for him with a Wright Whirlwind J-6 engine. It was given the license number 1313 and named "Texaco 13." His goal was to break the transcontinental record just set by Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The Lindberghs had mad a spectacular flight on April 20, 1930 in a Lockheed Sirius, by flying from Los Angeles to New York in 14 hours, 45 minutes and 32 seconds. The Lindberghs had made one 20 minute refueling stop in Wichita Kansas, but this was faster by 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 44 seconds than the non-stop flight Hawks had made in 1929. Also broken that year was the 1929 east-west transcontinental record of Hawks by Roscoe Turner in a Hornet powered Lockheed Air Express. Turner's flying time was 18 hours, 43 minutes and 34 seconds with one refueling stop in Wichita, bettering the non-stop time of 19 hours, 10 minutes and 32 seconds set by Hawks in 1929. East-west flying times are greater due to the prevailing winds.

Travel Air Model R monoplane, "Mystery S" (Photo: Wichita Photo Archives)

On August 6, 1930 Hawks took off from Curtiss Airport in Valley Stream, Long Island at 6 A.M. (Eastern Daylight Savings Time) and set off for Los Angeles. Before he had left he had joked with the mechanics that he was to meet his father for a game of golf at 4 o'clock that afternoon. Hawks made refueling stops in Columbus, St. Louis, Wichita, Albuquerque and Kingman and was greeted by his father in Los Angeles Municipal Airport at 4:50 P.M. (Pacific Standard Time). His elapsed time was 14 hours, 50 minutes and 43 seconds. Despite head winds, he had averaged 179 mph, often making 240 mph to break Turners east-west record by 3 hours and 52 minutes. Hawks was again the holder of the east-west transcontinental speed record. On August 13, 1930 Hawks set off for Curtiss Airport in Valley Stream. He made refueling stops in Albuquerque, Wichita, Indianapolis and arrived 12 hours, 25 minutes and 3 seconds later to set a new transcontinental speed record.8

Travel Air Model R monoplane, "Mystery S" 3 view. (Photo: Beech Aircraft Collection)