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Travel Air Mystery Ship plans via PDF

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Devin York

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2010
Messages
64
Location
Crediton Ontario Canada
For the collector or if desired to build from scratch.

PLANS: $40.00
Contact via [email protected]


PLANS sent via email in PDF format to build a full scale replica homebuilt. There are 42 sheets in total.
Sheets measure approx 2' x 2.5' when printed out 100 percent
All layout / dimensions / templates / materials appear to be shown including:
Controls / Fuselage tubing layout / Tail assembly / Wing layout / Rib templates for wing / tail / stabilizer / gear assy / Wheel pants / Cowl panel / all fuselage bulkheads etc etc.
So it would appear that a replica of this plane could be built..
These plans are very detailed!

The Travel Air Type R "Mystery Ships" were a series of wire-braced, low-wing racing airplanes built by the Travel Air company in the late 1920s and early 1930s. They were so called, because the first aircraft of the series (R614K) was built entirely in secrecy and kept under cover prior to the 1929 Cleveland Air Races, with the builders even going so far as to fly the aircraft in at night so no one would get a look at it before the races. The use of the monoplane design, a NACA engine cowl and wheel pants significantly reduced aerodynamic drag. The Model R series set numerous speed records for both pylon racing and cross country flying, and were the most advanced aircraft of the day, by far outpacing anything that even the military could offer. In total, five Type Rs were built and flown by some of the most notable flyers of the day, including Jimmy Doolittle, Frank Hawks and Florence " Pancho " Barnes.
Maximum gross weight was calculated as 1,750 lbs. The airframe structure was designed for an ultimate load factor of 12.0, equal to the military requirements of the day. The airframe structure was made from welded 4130 steel tubing. Fuselage longerons were 7/8” dia. x .035” thick. Forward fuselage tubing was 1” dia. x .049” thick. From the cockpit aft, the structure was covered by 1/16” plywood, with fabric tape covering the seams. Sheet metal covered the area between the cockpit and the firewall.
The airfoil used on the wing was RAF 34, a British airfoil featured in NACA report 286. It was selected over the M-6, which was developed by NACA and used on the 1927 Travel Air 5000 cabin monoplane. The airfoil was a constant thickness from the inboard rib to the attach points for the flying and landing wires. From this point, the wing featured a taper to the elliptical shaped wingtip.
The wing spars were constructed from two, box-type spruce beams, which were glued together. The ribs were also from spruce, built up from 5/16” square strips, with 1/16” mahogany gussets. To provide torsional stiffness, the entire wing was covered with 1/16” 3-ply Haskelite mahogany plywood. The weight of both wings, including ailerons was estimated to be 255 pounds. Wingspan was 29' 2”, angle of incidence was 1.75 degrees, and diahedral was 4 degrees.
The engine selected was a high compression version of the Wright R-975 Whirlwind radial. Walter Beech wanted at least 400 hp, for the racer. Guy Vaughan, vice president of Wright, delivered an engine with 425 hp. This was accomplished by modifying the supercharger ratio to 10.15:1, and the compression to 6.5:1.
The propeller was a Hamilton Standard with ground adjustable pitch. Maximum diameter was 8' 6” to allow for ground clearance, with maximum efficiency at 200 mph.
 

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