 Mystery
Ship!
Edward H. Phillips, Flying Books Int’l., USA, 1999,
ISBN 978091113929-52995
This is a ripping good tale of business acumen, chutzpah, hubris, technological
genius, good luck, bad luck, strong people and a beautiful airplane –
the Travel Air Model R “Mystery Ship”. Only five of which
were built in the period of 1928-1931. Amazingly, two of these five planes
survive. To cut to the bottom line, the five planes were:
Model R-2000, (N)R614K: the original “Mystery Ship”, winner
of the 1929 Thompson Cup.
Model R-2002, (N)R613K: “Chevrolair”; later Pancho Barnes’
plane, one of the survivors.
Model R-2003, NR482N: Jimmie Doolittle’s Shell Oil Company plane.
Model R-2004, NR1313: Frank Hawks’ Texaco 13, the other survivor.
Model R-2005, (N)R11717/MM185: The Italian job.
The Model “R” designation, incidentally comes from the designer’s
name, Herbert M. Rawdon. He started the design in secret on his own time
at home, off the books, in
September 1928 with no official participation by Travel Air. He enlisted
the aid, also off the books, of Walter E. Burnham to speed the work. In
May of 1929 Rawdon first broached the project to Walter H. Beech, President
of Travel Air, who enthusiastically endorsed it and committed budget and
resources, as required, to ready the plane for the 1929 National Air Races
at Cleveland. Strict secrecy regarding the Model R project was imposed
to heighten anticipation in the aviation field of the plane’s debut.
The Model R was conceived as a vee-engined plane, but none was available,
forcing Rawdon and Burnham to broaden the forward fuselage to fair with
the 300 hp Wright J-6-9 “Whirlwind”, R-975, nine-cylinder,
air-cooled radial engine and its enclosing NACA long chord cowling. Upon
its arrival at Cleveland R-2001, along with its sister R-2002, was hidden
away in a guarded hangar. This deliberately contrived cloak of secrecy
led to the plane being called the “Mystery Ship” and the name
stuck.
R-2001, flown by Doug Davis a Travel Air dealer, duly won the 1929 Thompson
Cup, predecessor of the Thompson Trophy, fulfilling the hopes and dreams
of Herb Rawdon, Walter Burnham and Walter Beech. It was destroyed when
it caught fire and crashed on final approach to Cleveland at the end of
he 1931 Bendix cross-country race.
Arthur Chevrolet, one of the Chevrolet automobile brothers, prevailed
upon Walter Beech to build a Model R to Rawdon’s original concept
using his new “Chevrolair” I-529, 170 hp, six-cylinder, in-line,
twin-cam, four valve, air-cooled engine. The R-2002 was a beautiful airplane
but the engine was not fully developed and was plagued with problems,
which were never resolved. R-2002 appeared at Cleveland that September
of 1929 with even its red/maroon paint job incomplete. With Doug Davis
flying, it won Event No. 3 and placed third in Event No. 9. That was the
end of the R-2002 Chevrolair’s racing days. R-2002 was re-engined
with a Wright J-6-7 and sold to Florence, “Pancho” Barnes.
This plane survives in storage and will undoubtedly be restored.
R-2003 was built for Jimmy Doolittle of the Shell Oil Company and was
fitted with a Special Wright J-6-9 rated at 400 hp. Jimmy Haizlip flew
the plane in the 1930 Thompson Trophy Race at Chicago’s Curtiss-Reynolds
airport and due to a rough running engine caused by incorrect fuel mixture
finished second to “Speed” Holman in the Laird “Solution”
after Marine Captain Arthur page crashed out of first place when he succumbed
to carbon-monoxide poisoning.
R-2004, built for Texaco was entered in the 1930 Thompson by Frank Hawks
but he failed to finish the race. Hawks’ Model R flew more hours
and more miles and for a greater number of years than any of the other
Rs. It is now on static display hanging in Chicago’s Museum of Science
and Industry
R-2005 was the last Model R built. It was ordered by the Italian Regia
Aeronautica in 1930 for technical evaluation. It was flown very little
and not much was done with it before it was scrapped in 1937.
In the late 1970s Jim Younkin built a beautiful, flying reproduction
of the R-2001. I believe this is still flying
This book will provide almost everything needed by a modeler to replicate
any of the five Mystery Ships. The very old hawk, now Testors, 1/48 kit
of the Mystery Ship is quite good although it is completely lacking in
cockpit detail and has incised lines showing the color divisions. The
engine in this kit is a gem. I know of no other kit, in any scale, of
the R.
My thanks to Tim Nelson for the loan of this book. Now I must buy one
for myself.
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