Travel Air 2000

Travel Air 2000



                                          2000, 3000, 4000, CW-14, Sportsman, Osprey

Travel Air 4000, at landing

The Travel Air 2000/3000/4000 (originally, the Model A, Model B and Model BH) and later marketed as a Curtiss-Wright product under the names CW-14, Speedwing, Sportsman and Osprey), were aircraft produced in the UNITED STATES in the late 1920s by the Travel Air Manufacturing Company. Travel Air produced more aircraft during the period from 1924-1929 than any other manufacturer.

Contents  
1 Design and development
1.1 Steam powered
1.2 Curtiss-Wright production
2 Variants
2.1 Curtiss-Wright models built
3 Aircraft on display
4 Survivors
5 Specifications (CW-A14D)
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Design and development
The types shared a common structure of a conventional single-bay biplane with staggered wings braced by N-struts. The fuselage was of fabric-covered steel tube and included two open cockpits in tandem, the forward of which could carry two passengers side-by-side.

Like other aircraft in the Travel Air line, it was available with a variety of different, interchangeable wings, including a wing shorter and thinner than the rest known as the "Speedwing" designed, as the name suggests, for increased cruise speed. Travel Air entered a specially-modified Model 4000 (designated 4000-T) in the Guggenheim Safe Aircraft Competition of 1930, but it was disqualified.

Steam powered
In 1933 a Travel Air 2000 was modified by George and William Besler where the usual inline or radial gasoline piston engine was replaced by an oil-fired, reversible 90° angle V-twin angle-compound engine of their own design, which became the first fixed-wing airplane to successful fly using a steam engine of any type. The Beslers are thought to have sold the plane to the
Japanese in 1937.

Curtiss-Wright production
Following Travel Air Manufacturing Company purchase in August 1929 by Curtiss-Wright, the Model 4000 continued in production into the early 1930s as the CW-14, and the range was expanded to include a military derivative dubbed the Osprey. This was fitted with bomb racks, a fixed, forward-firing machine gun, and a trainable tail gun. These aircraft were supplied to Bolivia and used during the Gran Chaco War, which eventually led to Curtiss-Wright's successful prosecution for supplying these aircraft in violation of a U.S. arms embargo.


Variants
Model B
Travel Air Model A fitted with a Wright J-6 piston engine.
Like other Travel Air aircraft, Model 4000 variants were distinguished by letters prefixed (or occasionally affixed) to the basic designation to denote different engine and wing fits. These letter codes included

A
  original wing with "elephant-ear" ailerons
A
  Axelson engine
B

AddTravel Air 4000 at Fantasy of Flight. caption

  "standard wing" with Frise-type ailerons and three fuel tanks
C
  Curtiss engine
                                                                                                                                                        D
  "speedwing"
E
  revised "standard wing" with a single fuel tank

Travel Air 3000

K
  Kinner engine
L
  Lycoming engine


Travel Air 2000
  first production model

SC-2000
  powered by a 160-hp (119-kW) Curtiss C-6 engine

Travel Air 3000
  powered by a 150-hp / 180-hp (112-kW / 134-kW) Hispano-Suiza Model A or Model engine.

A-4000
  powered by a 150-hp (112-kW) Axelson engine

B-4000
  powered by a 220-hp (164-kW) Wright J-5 engine

BC-4000
  floatplane version

B9-4000
  powered by a 300-hp (224-kW) Wright J-6-9 engine

C-4000
  powered by a 170-hp (127-kW) Challenger engine

E-4000
  powered by a 165-hp (123-kW) Wright J-6-5 engine

K-4000
  powered by a 100-hp (75-kW) Kinner K5 engine

SBC-4000
  floatplane version

W-4000
  powered by 110-hp (82-kW) Warner Scarab engine


Curtiss-Wright models built

CW-14C Sportsman
  version with Curtiss Challenger engine (1 built)

CW-A14D Deluxe Sportsman
  three-seat version with Wright J-6 engine and NACA cowling (5 built)

CW-B14B Speedwing Deluxe
  version with Wright J-6 engine (2 built)

CW-B14R Special Speedwing Deluxe
  single-seat racer built for Casey Lambert with supercharged Wright R-975 engine (1 built)

CW-C14B Osprey
  militarized version with Wright R-975E engine

CW-C14R Osprey
  militarized version with Wright J-6-9 engine

CW-17R Pursuit Osprey
  CW-B14B with uprated engine; possibly not built


Aircraft on display
Museum aircraft include:

• Canada Aviation and Space Museum
• EAA AirVenture Museum
• National Air and Space Museum
• Reynolds-Alberta Museum
• Virginia Aviation Museum

Survivors
An airworthy Travel Air 4000 resides in the collection of Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida. In 1997, this aircraft was used by the U.S. Postal Service to help commemorate the first day issue of a series of airplane stamps. With the local Postmaster on board, owner Kermit Weeks delivered the first ever airmail in the history of Polk City; probably the last as well.

Specifications (CW-A14D)
General characteristics

• Crew: One
• Capacity: 2 passengers
• Length: 23 ft 7 in (7.17 m)
• Wingspan: 31 ft 0 in (9.44 m)
• Height: 9 ft 2 in (2.78 m)
• Wing area: 248 ft2 (23.0 m2)
• Empty weight: 1,772 lb (804 kg)
• Gross weight: 2,870 lb (1,302 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Wright J-6-7, 240 hp (180 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 155 mph (249 km/h)
• Range: 600 miles (966 km)
• Service ceiling: 16,000 ft (4,880 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,000 ft/min (5.1 m/s)

See also

• Aerial operations in the Chaco War
• Deland Travel Air 2000, a modern replica of the aircraft

References
Notes

1. Simpson 2007, p. 553
2. Simpson 2007, p. 553
3.  Simpson 2007, p. 553
4. Wings Over The Prairie, Ed Phillips, 1994
5.  "World's First Steam Driven Airplane" Popular Science, July 1933, detailed article with drawings
6. George & William Besler (April 29, 2011). The Besler Steam Plane (YouTube). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw6NFmcnW-8: Bomberguy.
7.  Where have all the Dobles gone, The Steam Automobile, Vol 7 No 1, Spring 1965, page 23
8.  Simpson 2001, p. 553
9.  Ogden 2007, p. 541
10. Clark/Nikdel/Powell (2013-10-17). "1929 Travel Air 4000". Fantasy of Flight. Retrieved 2014-01-21.

Bibliography

• Ogden, Bob (2007). Aviation Museums and Collections of North AMERICA. Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-385-4.
• Simpson, Rod (2001). Airlife's World Aircraft. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84037-115-3.
• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 288.
• World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. pp. File 891 Sheet 54.
• NASM website
• AirVenture Museum website
• Virginia Aviation Museum website