BY THOMAS A. HORNE North Atlantic Treaty Organization's 310 used 240-hp Continental engines. code name for a Russian bomber, the A compromise was made by choos• The name Travel Air is an almost sa• idea was dropped. After all, this was in ing 180-hp Lycoming engines for the cred one to the Beech Aircraft Corpo• the middle of the Cold War. Travel Air-the same durable 0-360s ration. Walter Beech, when he formed It was also an age when every other that soon would see use in the first sin• his first aircraft company with Lloyd major manufacturer had a light twin on gle-engine Piper Comanches and Stearman and Clyde Cessna in 1924, the market. Piper's Apache had been would serve well a multitude of light called that company Travel Air Incorpo• around since 1954. Cessna's 310• airplanes in the future. rated and named the first production air• granted, a larger, more powerful air• The first Travel Air was test flown plane the Travel Air 1000. The Travel plane, but the smallest of their twin• on August 6, 1956. On June 18 of the Air 2000, 4000 and 8000 followed. engine models-also came in 1954, next year, the Travel Air received its The next time the name was used and its sales were especially energetic. type certificate under the old Civil Aero• came in 1958, when Beech Aircraft in• With the Travel Air, Beech sought to nautics Administration regulations. troduced its light twin-the Model 95 ply the middle ground between the The Travel Air, simply put, is a Bo• Travel Air. Before you become too sen• Apache's marginal performance (it nanza with two engines and a T -34 timental about this hallowed resurrec• came equipped with 150-hp, then Mentor's tail, plus some special touch• tion, you should know that Beech orig• 160-hp, Lycoming engines) and the es. You notice the tail and flaps first, inally intended to call the Travel Air, 310's pitch to those wanting a light though. The vertical tail is just that. It the Badger. But since this was the twin with as much pomp as power. The sticks straight up and reminds you of
68 • AUGUST 1981 PHOTOGRAPHY BY ART DAVIS the much larger Twin Bonanza, a con• would not have to apologize. Ambience low the mixture levers. Off to the left temporary of the Travel Air. The flaps was just as important to Beech then, as of the quadrant is the friction lock. on all but the 95s and B95s attract at• it is now. The seats are large and com• Also on the left of the quadrant tention because they extend beyond fortable, you sit up high, and the visi• housing is the flap control, a large, pdd• the rest of the trailing edge of the wing. bility is very good. Twisting your head die-shaped switch that moves through More than a little engineering work around, you actually can see back as far three positions in a large slot, free of went into the flap system because it as the 4:30 and 7:30 positions, thanks detents. It is either Up, Off or Down. was a Fowler design. When the flaps to the rear windows. Two stripes painted across the leading are extended, they not only go down, The Travel Air's panel bears a large edge of the left flap give visual confir• they move aft a bit, too-an advanced Gothic yoke, trim wheels and rudder mation of flap position. As the flaps are feature on a light airplane this old. pedals, another standard feature of all lowered, the stripes become visible. If you have any time in Bonanzas or Beech products. The controls on the The first stripe is labeled 10 degrees, Barons, you will find the Travel Air's power quadrant are arranged in the the next 20. There is no stripe to indi• cockpit and cabin remarkably similar. manner of all the older Beech twins. cate the full-down position. With the "Beech means business," the slogan The propeller controls are on the left, 1964 095 Travel Air came flap posi• goes, and Travel Air promotion of the followed by the throttles and then the tion indicator lights; a red one for the day was quick to point out that this mixtures. Up until the 095 Travel up position and a green one for full flap light twin had the kind of dimensions Airs, the cigarette lighter is mounted deflection. and appointments for which you inexplicably on the quadrant, just be- The landing gear switch is located to
AOPA PilOT· 69 conhnurd
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the right of the power quadrant. Be• Travel Air's safe single-engine speed. lot's side. There, the yoke's bar blocks cause the Travel Air was certificated The rest of the Travel Air's cockpit is the view of your redundant gauges. under the old regulations, three green a collection of all those good-and In the 95 and B95, there is that little lights were not required. One green light, bad-things that aviation writers love panel of toggle switches off on the electrically connected to the nose gear, to talk about, but that make for the right side, just waiting for you to hit illuminates for "agear-down indication. character of the airplane. Here are a the wrong switch and put the lights Critics of this nonstandard control few. The propeller controls block the dark. And how about those eight fuel arrangement point to its potential for pilot's view of the fuel gauges. The drains, not to mention the fuel slosh• what the National Transportation control yoke's massive bar prevents ing/unporting problem in the Travel Safety Board, in one of its special reports, easy access to the gear and flap Airs that do not comply with Airwor• calls a "design-induced accident," one in switches. You inadvertently can cut off thiness Directive 68-26-6. This AD which a pilot unknowingly retracts the the right engine's ignition with your requires a placard warning against fast gear instead of the flaps. left knee, if you bump the protruding turns while taxiing prior to takeoff or Likewise, the old regulations did not switches on the left subpanel. the installation of internal baffles to require a red radial indicating Vmc The older Travel Airs do not use the prevent fuel unporting. (minimum controllable airspeed with standard T display of flight instru• And there are those allegations that the critical engine inoperative) on the ments: a drum-style, wartime direc• the Travel Air likes to wallow in turbu• airspeed indicator. You will see a blue tional gyro is located where most of us lence, just like the V-tail Bonanza. line, showing the best single-engine expect to see the attitude indicator. All levity aside, there is one concern rate-of-climb speed (87 knots), but no When you switch fuel tanks, the that has been the ongoing subject of graphic display of Vmc (73 knots). Al• gauges will not show automatically the some recommendations by the Nation• though the Travel Air was produced fuel quantity in the newly selected al Transportation Safety Board. The long before anyone ever spoke of a tank. You have to flip a separate toggle NTSB thinks it would be a good idea minimum safe single-engine speed switch, just above your right knee, to for the Federal Aviation Administra• (Vsse), the speed below which no in• find out the quantity in each tank. In tion to convene a special certification• tentional engine failures should be some Travel Airs you might inherit an• review team. The purpose of the inves• simulated, the owner's manual points tiquated avionics, which are spread tigation would be to test disposition of out that the pilot should consider confusingly all over the right side and the Travel Airs and Barons to flat spin the blueline speed of 87 knots as the trail over to the underneath of the pi- out of a low-airspeed, high asymmet-
70 • AUGUST 1981 ric-thrust condition. A study conduct• tec series' total of 21 fatal accidents. ed by the NTSB found that, between And now for the good aspects. We March 1978 and March 1980, there already have mentioned the visibility were eight fatal flat-spin accidents in• and roominess. But how does 16 to 21 volving Travel Airs and Barons. Beech• gallons per hour (yes, that is for both craft has denied that there is any spe• engines) sound at cruise settings be• cial inclination for the Travel Air or the tween 60 and 75 percent? The Travel Baron to flat spin and has stated that Air can maintain 65-percent power up the accidents were the result of im• to 10,000 feet, where, at this setting, it proper flight instruction. These acci• theoretically will cruise at 166 knots dents, the company believes, happened and have a no-reserve range of 1,160 because instructors intentionally ren• miles if equipped with the optional dered an engine inoperative at air• 1I2-gallon fuel tanks. Its published speeds near or below Vmc. maximum cruise speed, according to In an NTSB special report entitled the flight manual, occurs at sea level, "Light Twin-Engine Aircraft Accidents where you never fly. But if you could, Following Engine Failures, 1972• the Travel Air would get you there at 1976," it was noted that the Travel Air The Travel Air bears 182 knots. With 75-percent power and suffered a per 100,000-hour engine• 2,450 rpm at 7,500 feet, expect a true failure accident rate of 2.87, placing it the look of the fifties airspeed of 174 knots and a fuel-con• above the Twin Comanche's 1.98 but and a spacious panel. sumption rate of 21 gallons per hour. way below the Apache's rather high Not· bad performance, though some 6.91. Since the board's report lumped have criticized the 174 knots figure as the Baron in with the Travel Air when being more than a trifle optimistic. the number of fatal accidents were list• With the standard, 84-gallon fuel ed, it is impossible to tell exactly how system, you can pick up an extra 168 many Travel Airs were involved. But pounds of useful load. The standard the Travel Air/Baron series was in• system has two, inboard main tanks, volved in a total of 16 fatal engine• which hold 25 gallons each, and two, failure-related accidents in that time 17 -gallon auxiliary cells in the wing period, second only to the Apache/ Az- panels outboard of the engine nacelles.
AOPA PILOT· 71 continued
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The optional system uses 31-gallon COACH auxiliary fuel cells. Fuel cannot be aASS transferred from one cell to another, If is the marriage of a Bonanza with a T-34; the but fuel can be drawn from any cell to cabin is so roomy it tempts some into overloading. either engine by using the fuel boost pumps if crossfeeding is necessary. The panel, nonstandard though it may be, definitely has some attributes. The gauges are large and easy to read. The power instruments-rpm, mani• fold pressure and fuel flow-are ar• ranged above their respective controls. But, perhaps most important to the psyche is that the panel is big and con• veys the impression of a much larger airplane's cockpit. No doubt about it, of all the older light twins on the market, the Travel Air gives you more of that big-airplane I look and feel. None of that reduced visibility, cramped feeling and skittery responsiveness of the Twin Comanche. No antiquated aura or racket-induced feelings of imminence that you experi• ence in an Apache. It is true that the Twin Comanche is a faster, more eco• nomical airplane, but it also has less keep their looks longer, though I do not you is how the airplane flies. So let us shoulder and headroom and has a know why. Maybe it is because the hop right in and take a jaunt. Getting useful load 150 pounds or so less panels seem newer since they so closely to the pilot's seat can be awkward; but than the Travel Air. resemble the Baron's. Or, maybe they once in position, you sit in stately The Travel Air seems to age well, just were built better than the rest. The grandeur, high above the rabble. When too. Walk around any airport and you Travel Air series, to date, only has 10 the lineman approaches, you look will see Apaches, Twin Comanches and ADs issued on its airframe. There are, down on him. What did he say? Oh, of older Cessna 310s. Some of their inte• however, a number of ADs on accesso• course we want the chocks removed. riors look as though a wolverine had ry items, especially the Bendix fuel-in• Runup calls for 2,200 rpm. If the been set loose inside. You can see the jection system. airplane creeps forward with the same thing in an aging Triumph or MG All of this objective evaluation is brakes fully depressed, you probably sports car. But the Travel Airs seem to well and good, but what really interests have the old Goodyear brakes. By now,
72 • AUGUST 1981 however, many Travel Airs have had fpm. And this is on a standard day at their brakes changed to the more sea level, with gear and flaps up and effective Clevelands. the inoperative engine feathered. And Takeoff target speeds are 78 knots an experienced test pilot at the con• for lift-off and 87 for the initial climb• trols. If this sounds like your normal out. To break ground at the desired 78 operating circumstances, you might, knots, you should apply gentle back mighl, be able to climb away after an pressure at about 61. This begins the engine failure on takeoff-if there are rotation. By the time you have 78, the no obstructions in the way, and if you mains should be leaving the ground. stubbornly hold your 87 knots. As an Keep shooting for blueline-87 knots operating rule, though, assume that (Vyse, best single-engine rate-of-climb you will not make it. This is where you speed). Gear retraction takes only four• find the trade-off for all that Beech sol• and-a-half seconds. Vvwhe-e-e-w, Ka• idness and weighty construction. A Ihump. I like that sound, and the retrac• 180-hp engine will not support a tion looks good from the ground. 4,000-pound airplane very well. Bear To hold 87 knots with the neutral this in mind so you will not become pitch trim we have set for takeoff, it overconfident, and remember those ac• takes some forward pressure to main• cident statistics. tain the recommended profile. Acceler• For short-field and obstruction take• ation from Vmc (73 knots) to Vyse (87 offs, Beech says you can use 20 degrees knots) takes about six seconds, and in of flaps and lift off at 61 knots. I think this time the rate of climb is not very they would have to be shooting at me impressive. So it is advisable to leave to get me to try this procedure. the gear down for a few seconds after Once established in a climb, the lift-off, especially if there is adequate Travel Air will produce a standard-day runway ahead. In the unlikely event of climb rate of 1,360 fpm. First, reduce an engine failure at this critical time, power to 25 inches of manifold pres• we will just land straight .1head, and sure and 2,500 rpm. And do not pull the gear will be ready. back the propellers instead of the The average single-engine rate of throttles. Most owners prefer to use an climb for Travel Airs is a meager 205 en-route climb airspeed of 104 to 113
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Vernon Lundell, AOPA 126303, of Cherokee, Iowa, lakes delivery of Ihe firsl 8-95 Travel Air. Lundell (secondfrom lefl) purchased Ihe airplane for his induslrial machinery business in 1958. continued
knots. While the rate of climb is some• Noise levels are lower than any of the what lowered at these speeds, there is Travel Air's contemporaries and seem better forward visibility and the in• lower than many of today's aircraft. creased airflow helps keep the engines The landing gear can be lowered at from overheating. speeds up to 130 knots; however, to Cruising at 23 inches of manifold preclude an excessive speed build-up pressure and 2,300 rpm, you should in an extreme emergency, you can low• see about 143 knots indicated airspeed. er the gear right up to 174 knots. This would be roughly 65-percent Emergency extension is by 50 turns of power. Yes, the controls feel solid and a handcrank. The maximum flap-ex• responsive, but heavy. More of the tension speed is 113 knots, and, unless big-airplane aspect; and because of this the airplane has had the marks painted stability and feel, the Travel Air makes over, you will see those 10- and 20• an outstanding instrument platform. degree stripes; full deflection is 33 de-
Modern, light-twin performance at a much lower cost.
BEECHCRAFT B95A TRA VEL AIR Cruise speed, 55% power Base price $49,500 (1963) 7,500 ft 150 kt Current market value $28,000 to $35,500 14,000 ft 157 kt AOPA Pilot Operations/Equipment Fuel consumption, ea engine 44 pph Category: IFR (7.3 gph) Specifications Economy cruise speed, 45 % power Powerplants 2 Lycoming IO-360-B1A, 14,000 ft 137 kt 180 hp @ 2,700 rpm & full throttle Fuel consumption, ea engine 38 pph Recommended TBO 1,200 hr (6.3 gph) Propellers 2 Hartzell 8447-12, Range @ 75% cruise w/45-min res, std constant-speed, full-feathering; fuel, best economy 2 blades, 72 in 5,000 ft 1,040 nm Wingspan 37 ft 10 in Range @ 65% cruise w/45-min res, std Length 25 ft 4 in fuel, best economy Height 9 ft 6 in 10,000 ft 1,100 nm Wing area 199.2 sq ft Range @ 55% cruise w/45-min res, std Wing loading 21.1Ib/sq ft fuel, best economy Power loading 11.7Ib/hp 15,000 ft 1,130 nm Seats 5 Service ceiling 18,100 ft Cabin length 8 ft 6 in Single-engine service ceiling 4,400 ft Cabin width 3 ft 6 in Absolute ceiling 19,700 ft Cabin height 4 ft 2 in Landing distance Empty weight 2,555 Ib (ground roll) 980 ft Useful load l,6451b Limiting and Recommended Airspeeds Payload w/full fuel 9731b Vmc (Minimum control w/critical Gross weight 4,200 Ib engine inoperative) 73 KIAS Fuel capacity, std 516 Ib (504 usable), Vsse (Minimum intentional 86 gals (84 usable) one-engine inoperative) 87 KIAS Fuel capacity w/opt tanks 6781b (672 Vx (Best angle of climb) 83 KIAS usable), 113 gals (112 usable) Vy (Best rate of climb) 91 KIAS Oil capacity ea engine 8 qt Vyse (Best single-engine Baggage capacity 270 Ib, 33.5 cu ft (rear) rate of climb) 87 KIAS 270 Ib, 12 cu ft (nose) Va (Design maneuvering) 113 KIAS Performance Vfe (Max flap extended) 113 KIAS Takeoff distance (ground roll) 1,000 ft Vle/Vlo (Normal max gear Accelerate/stop distance 2,600 ft extended/operating) 130 KIAS Takeoff over 50 ft 1,250 ft Vle/Vlo (Emergency max gear Rate of climb, sea level 1,250 fpm extended/operating) 174 KIAS Single-engine ROC. sea level 205 fpm Vno (Normal operating) 160 KIAS Max level speed, sea level 183 kt Vne (Never exceed) 208 KIAS Cruise speed, 75% power Vr (Rotation) 73 KIAS 7,500 ft 174 kt Vsi (Stall clean) 70 KIAS 4,000 ft 167 kt Vso (Stall in landing Fuel consumption, ea engine 66 pph configuration) 61 KIAS (11 gph) A II specifications are based on manufaclurer's Cruise speed, 65% power calculations. All performance jigures are based 7,500 ft 162 kt on standard day, standard atmosphere. at sea 10,000 ft 167 kt level and gross weight, unless otherwise noted. Fuel consumption, ea engine 52 pph Operations/Equipment Category: see June (8.6 gph) 1981 Pilot, p. 103. continurd
knots. While the rate of climb is some• Noise levels are lower than any of the grees. By jiggling the flap switch from what lowered at these speeds, there is Travel Air's contemporaries and seem Down to Off, you can position the better forward visibility and the in• lower than many of today's aircraft. flaps anywhere in between. creased airflow helps keep the engines The landing gear can be lowered at Pattern entry speed is 104 knots, from overheating. speeds up to 130 knots; however, to with a speed reduction to 95 on base. Cruising at 23 inches of manifold preclude an excessive speed build-up Go to full flaps when your judgment pressure and 2,300 rpm, you should in an extreme emergency, you can low• dictates, and keep your final approach see about 143 knots indicated airspeed. er the gear right up to 174 knots. speed at 78 knots. It is best to maintain This would be roughly 65-percent Emergency extension is by 50 turns of that airspeed until over the threshold; power. Yes, the controls feel solid and a handcrank. The maximum flap-ex• remember that the Travel Air is a heav• responsive, but heavy. More of the tension speed is 113 knots, and, unless ier light twin (the original 95s have a big-airplane aspect; and because of this the airplane has had the marks painted gross weight of 4,000 pounds, and the stability and feel, the Travel Air makes over, you will see those 10- and 20• last model-the E95-goes up to 4,200 an outstanding instrument platform. degree stripes; full deflection is 33 de- pounds) and will need that speed for good control. Hold the yoke back while power is reduced, and you should ar• rive in a proper, mains-first attitude. If you are accustomed to light, light Modern, light-twin performance al a much lower cosl. twins, you will be surprised at how much back pressure will be required. But on the whole, the Travel Air is an BEECHCRAFT B95A TRAVEL AIR Cruise speed, 55% power Base price $49,500 (1963) 7,500 ft 150 kt airplane that forgives the inexperi• Current market value $28,000 to $35,500 14,000 ft 157 kt enced their lapses in landing technique. AOPA Pi/ot Operations/Equipment Fuel consumption, ea engine 44 pph To land with a minimum ground roll, Category: IFR (7.3 gph) the manual suggests an approach speed Specifications Economy cruise speed, 45 % power Powerplants 2 Lycoming IO-360-BIA, 14,000 ft 137 kt of 70 knots with full flaps. 180 hp @ 2,700 rpm & full throttle Fuel consumption, ea engine 38 pph For an airplane that was in produc• r Recommended TBO 1,200 hr (6.3 gph) tion for 10 years and that went Propellers 2 Hartzell 8447-12, Range @ 75% cruise w/45-min res, std through four different model designa• constant-speed, full-feathering; fuel, best economy r 2 blades, 72 in 5,000 ft 1,040 nm i tions, there were very few amendments Wingspan 37 ft 10 in Range @ 65% cruise w/45-min res, std to the original design. Length 25 ft 4 in fuel, best economy The plain Model 95 Travel Air had 9 ft 6 in l Height 10,000 ft 1,100 nm carbureted engines, four seats, a useful 199.2 sq ft Wing area Range @ 55% cruise w/45-min res, std load of 1,465 (standard fuel tanks), a Wing loading 21.1Ib/sq ft fuel, best economy Power loading 11.7Ib/hp 15,000 ft 1,130 nm gross weight of 4,000 pounds and a Seats 5 Service ceiling 18,100 ft smaller rear window than the Travel Cabin length 8 ft 6 in Single-engine service ceiling 4,400 ft Airs that were to follow. 3 ft 6 in Cabin width Absolute ceiling 19,700 ft The 1958 through 1960 Model 95s Cabin height 4 ft 2 in Landing distance Empty weight 2,555 Ib (ground roll) 980 ft have a passenger-assist step that re• Useful load 1,645 Ib Limiting and Recommended Airspeeds tracts when the gear do. Another oddi• Payload w/full fuel 9731b Vmc (Minimum control w/critical ty is the evaporative cooler, located Gross weight 4,200 Ib engine inoperative) 73 KIAS overhead, above the gasper vents. Min• Fuel capacity, std 516 Ib (504 usable), Vsse (Minimum intentional eral wicks, resting in a pan of water, 86 gals (84 usable) one-engine inoperative) 87 KIAS Fuel capacity w/opt tanks 678 Ib (672 Vx (Best angle of climb) 83 KIAS filter pollen and dust from the incom• usable), 113 gals (112 usable) Vy (Best rate of climb) 91 KIAS ing ram air, and as the water evaporates Oil capacity ea engine 8 qt Vyse (Best single-engine the air is cooled. "In average summer Baggage capacity 270 Ib, 33.5 cu ft (rear) rate of climb) 87 KIAS weather, the water supply will last up 113 KIAS 270 Ib, 12 cu ft (nose) Va (Design maneuvering) to four hours," the owner's manual Performance Vfe (Max flap extended) 113 KIAS Takeoff distance (ground roll) 1,000 ft Vle/Vlo (Normal max gear states. This is the same manual that Accelerate/stop distance 2,600 ft extended/operating) 130 KIAS fails to list all the airplane's V-speeds Takeoff over 50 ft 1,250 ft Vle/Vlo (Emergency max gear and neglects a check-list presentation Rate of climb, sea level 174 KIAS 1,250 fpm extended/operating) of emergency procedures. Single-engine Rae, sea level 205 fpm Vno (Normal operating) 160 KIAS Max level speed, sea level 183 kt Vne (Never exceed) 208 KIAS The 95 was in production for only Cruise speed, 75% power Vr (Rotation) 73 KIAS two and a half years, but in that period 7,500 ft 174 kt Vsi (Stall clean) 70 KIAS of time 301 were sold. Back in those 4,000 ft 167 kt Vso (Stall in landing days, you could buy a new Travel Air Fuel consumption, ca engine 66 pph configuration) 61 KIAS without options from $49,500 (1958) (11 gph) All specifications are based on manufacturers Cruise speed, 65% power calculations. All performance [igures are based to $51,500 (1960). Today, if you can 7,500 ft 162 kt on standard day, standard atmosphere, at sea find one, a 95 will run you from 10,000 ft 167 kt level and gross weight, unless otherwise noted. $23,000 to $29,000 depending on its Fuel consumption, ea engine 52 pph Operations/Equipment Category: see fune condition. Do not expect too much for (8.6 gph) 1981 Pilot, p. 103. $25,000. Many Travel Airs see exten• sive use as multi-engine trainers. When you see an ex-trainer, you will know it, Airs ever received certification for and this will be your bargain-base• flight into known icing conditions. ment, wolverined-out Travel Air. Price new? $51,500 sans options and The 95's 0-360-A1A engines have $66,950 for an average-equipped Overweight? Underpowered? a 1,200-hour recommended time be• model. Now they are worth from Perhaps, buf fhe Travel Air tween overhaul (TBO), because they $25,000 to $31,000. used 7/16-inch valve stems. This proba• Then, from 1961 to 1963, there was is fhe mosf comfortable bly should not concern the prospective the B95A, a fuel-injected version with of fhe vinfage light twins. purchaser these days, because by now an even higher, 4,200-1b gross weight those engines most surely have been and six seats. The horizontal stabilizer overhauled and fitted out with the was reduced in area but its span was lengthened nose cone, making the air• more durable Vz-inch valves. widened to 13 feet, nine inches. Aile• plane seven inches longer and giving The B95 was in production only one ron area also was reduced from 11.5 the nose baggage compartment larger year-1960-and 149 were built. This square feet to 10.1 square feet. dimensions. The flaps, which were en• model received some major alterations. Eighty-one B95As were built. Base larged to protrude beyond the trailing For one, the wing area was increased price of a new B95A was all of edges of the ailerons on the B95s, were from 193.8 to 199.2 square feet. The $49,500. An average-equipped B95A enlarged once more. The windshield area of the tail structure also was in• (this means dual nav/coms, glideslope and panel were redesigned, and the air• creased. The rudder's size was enlarged receiver, automatic direction finder, vent scoop was moved from the top of from the 95's 6.63 square feet to 7.18, marker beacon, transponder and two• the fuselage into the dorsal fin. The the elevators increased from 15 to 16.2 axis autopilot) would have cost about D95A's rear baggage compartment had square feet, and the horizontal stabiliz• $68,000. Now it could sell for between its weight limit raised from the earlier er went from 27.4 to 48.6 square feet. $26,000 and $36,000. As with any 270 pounds to 400 pounds. Perhaps because of these changes, the used airplane, expect to pay more if it In 1966 the D95A started using the B95 has a 4,100-pound gross weight, comes equipped with distance measur• 10-360-B1B engines with liz-inch 100 pounds more than its predecessor. ing equipment, encoding altimeter, area valves, boosting the TBO to 2,000 The cabin interior was lengthened by navigation (RNA V) or deicing. hours. Inflation sets in as we see the 19 inches, and d fifth seat was added. The D95A had its production run base prices climb from a 1964 model's Deicing options were offered for the from 1964 to 1967, in which time 169 $49,500 to a 1967's $52,000. Aver• first time on the B95, though no Travel were sold. With the D95A came a age-equipped price jumped from $67,000 to $71,000 in that same peri• powerful engines and got rid of that It is an airplane with class. They all od. Now they are worth from $31,000 blunt appearance, it could carry slight• are, you know: the Apache, the Twin (an older one) to $45,000 (a real clean ly more weight and look more modern. Comanche, the Twin Bonanza, the old 1967, with an updated panel). And this is exactly what Beech did. In Rockwell Commanders and the Az• Sales dropped to what must have 1961 the firm introduced the B-55 tecs-even the Champion Lancer has a been a record low for any Beech light Baron, essentially a worked-over Trav• style of its own. All these airplanes airplane, when only 13 E95s rolled out el Air with 260-hp Continental 10• have definite personalities. Relating to in 1968. The E95 has its flight instru• 470 engines. The Baron's sales were them is easy. Today's light twins are ments arranged in the T display, and strong from the start, which was just noteworthy for their lack of individu• like that year's Bonanza, the wind• when the Travel Air's began to drop ality. Line them up, and it is like going shield was enlarged, changed to a one• off. The marketplace was voting, and to a party where everyone talks about piece construction and slanted forward, the Travel Air lost. real estate. And buying a new light giving this model the best visibility of Taking in all the pros and cons, you twin is at least a $150,000 proposition. all the Travel Airs. In 1968, a standard• might think that the Travel Air is an Roll up in a Travel Air, though, and and an average-equipped new Travel Air ideal, used light twin, were it not for the conversation is likely to change. E95 cost $53,500 and $73,000, respec• the slight imbalance between power You have arrived in a vintage Mer• tively. Today, they can be had for be• and weight. It is certainly the most lux• cedes-Benz of the air, a symbol of the tween $37,000 and $46,000. urious of the aging light twins, but like days when our economy could promote Thus ends the history of the Travel an old Mercedes, there is the argument character in its light airplanes, and ease Air. To a great extent, the demand for that it is overweight and underpow• of production was not the burning ne• more speed and power probably did in ered. The large, white, ram's horn yoke cessity that it is today. The Travel Air the Travel Air. The Twin Comanche even reminds me of the huge white flies at speeds comparable to today's started selling in 1963; and at a very Mercedes steering wheels. light twins, carries-in many cases• competitive price, it could deliver an Actually, the Mercedes analogy, more weight, burns roughly the same honest true airspeed of 174 knots at while perhaps stretching the point, amount of fuel, performs just as well cruise. For a little bit more, you could holds up pretty well for the Travel Air. on one engine and has a comparable buy an Aztec, with greater load-carry• There is marginal acceleration from a range and endurance profile. But it will ing ability and 250-hp engines. And standing start, but a respectable top• cost you $100,000 less to buy. And the Cessna 310 was still going strong. end speed. At the same time, there is with the savings you might, migM even If only the Travel Air had slightly more that comfort, not to mention the image. be able to buy some real estate. 0