Travel Air Model 11

The Travel Air Model 11, also known as the Travel Air Model 11000 or the Curtiss-Wright Travel Air CW-11, was an American racing biplane developed from the general-purpose Travel Air 2000, and its derivative the Model 4-D.^[1] Two examples competed in different events during the 1929 National Air Races, including the inaugural Women's Air Derby.^[1] Pioneering woman aviator Marvel Crosson was killed flying a Model 11 in the latter event.^[1]

The two Model 11s built differed considerably,^[1] but shared the same general configuration as other Travel Air biplanes of the era. They were single-bay, staggered biplanes of conventional design, with open cockpits and fixed, tailskid undercarriage. They had conventional tails and were powered by nose-mounted radial engines driving tractor propellers.^[2] The fuselages were built from welded steel tubes, and the wings from wood.^[3]

The first was a re-manufactured Travel Air 2000.^[1] This aircraft (construction number 794,^[1] registered X-6473^[4]) was built in September or October^[4] 1928 as a D-2000 subtype, with shorter-span and thinner "speedwings", a narrowed fuselage, and a new tail fin design.^[4] It was nicknamed "The Bug" at the factory,^[4][5] and its aerodynamic improvements while retaining its standard Curtiss OX-5 engine made it competitive in the 90-horsepower (67 kW) racing class.^[5] Ira McConaughey flew it to a race victory at Newton, Kansas in early October.^[5] Art Goebel raced it in Jackson, Mississippi in November, naming it The Chaparral.^[5] A plan existed to re-engine it with a Warner Scarab, but it is now uncertain whether this was carried out before it was rebuilt into a Model 11.^[5] The rebuild gave the aircraft new, thicker wings, different strut and aileron arrangements, new undercarriage, and a 240-horsepower (180 kW) Wright J-6-7 engine enclosed by a NACA cowling.^[1]

The second was a new-build aircraft, based on the Model 4-D fuselage design, albeit shortened and narrowed.^[1] It was the result of a proposal by Travel Air engineers Herb Rawdon and Walter Burnham to develop a dedicated competition aircraft for the 1929 National Air Races.^[6] In June 1929, company president Walter Beech approved the construction of three aircraft for the competition, two were to be a new monoplane design, the Type R, and one was to be based on an existing Travel Air biplane design, modified for speed, which became the second Model 11.^[7] Designated B-11-D (construction number 1267, registration NR612K), the aircraft adopted the shorter wings, redesigned fin, and NACA-cowled Wright J-6-7 as used on X-6473.^[1] This second Model 11 was awarded airworthiness approval 2-399 on February 3, 1932.^[8]

Union Oil sponsored Marvel Crosson's entry in the 1929 Women's Air Derby,^[9] and as the first competitor to file her race paperwork, she was assigned race number "1" for the event.^[10] While ferrying her Model 11 from Wichita, Kansas to the Derby start line at Santa Monica, California,^[11] Marvel had reported engine problems and had ordered a replacement.^[12] Unwilling to wait for the new engine to arrive from Los Angeles, Crosson decided to start the event with her original engine and meet its replacement in Phoenix, Arizona.^[12]

August 19, the second day of flying, was to bring the competitors from San Bernardino, California to Phoenix via stops in Calexico, California and Yuma, Arizona.^[11] Crosson departed Yuma at 11:54 a.m., and never arrived in Phoenix.^[11] She had not reported any problems with the aircraft.^[11] As event officials traced her probable route, a six-year-old girl reported seeing a plane go down near Wellton, Arizona.^[9] The following day, a search party covered 100 square miles (260 km²) on horseback on the banks of the Gila River.^[13] Searchers found the wreckage of the Model 11 in a ravine,^[9] and Crosson's body 100 yards (91 m) away.^[13] She was wrapped in her partially-opened parachute, suggesting that she had stayed with the aircraft too long before bailing out.^[11] The cause of the accident was never determined.^[14] Theories put forward included sabotage by someone unhappy to see women flying,^[9][15] and carbon-monoxide poisoning, as Louise Thaden had been almost overcome by exhaust fumes in her similar Travel Air on her way to the Derby.^[12][14]

The second Model 11 had started tests the day before Crosson's accident, but suffered a mishap of its own. While mechanics tested the throttle, the engine backfired and set fire to the nitrate-doped wings.^[16] Fortunately, another set of wings was under construction, but the incident delayed NR612K's departure for the races.^[16] William H. Emery flew it to fourth place in its class in the Portland-to-Cleveland race.^[1][16] Ira McConaughey then flew it to fourth place in the "Australian pursuit" event at Cleveland.^[1]

Following the 1929 National Air Races, NR612K underwent further modifications, including a new forward fuselage, revised undercarriage, and a turtledeck that faired in the rear cockpit.^[1] Still later, the wingspan was further reduced.^[1] The aircraft remained on the FAA register until February 1956.^[17]

Data from various, as noted

General characteristics

• Crew: 1 pilot
• Gross weight: 2,083 lb (945 kg) ^[18]
• Powerplant: 1 × Wright J-6-7^[1] 7-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine, 240 hp (180 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 160 mph (260 km/h, 140 kn) ^[19]

• "Aircraft Inquiry". Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
• Blair, Margaret Whitman (2006). The roaring 20 : the first cross-country air race for women. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic.
• Burghy, Rebecca (May–June 2023). "The Adventures of Marvel Crosson". Ninety-Nines Magazine. Oklahoma City: The Ninety-Nines International Association of Women Pilots. pp. 8–13.
• Jones, Callie (March 30, 2023). "Museum shares stories of pioneering female aviators". Journal Advocate. Sterling, Colorado: Media News Group. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
• Juptner, Joseph P. (1962). 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.
• Simpson, Julie (August 2020). "Star of the Clouds". Colorado Country Life. Denver: Colorado Rural Electric Association. pp. 16–19.