The Beechcraft Travel Air was a twin-engine development of the

Beechcraft Bonanza The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. The six-seater, single-engined aircraft is still being produced by Beechcraft and has been in continuous prod ...

. It was designed to fill the gap between the single engine Model 35 Bonanza and the much larger Model 50 Twin Bonanza, and ultimately served as the basis for its replacement, the

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

. Phillips, Edward H., : ''Beechcraft - Staggerwing to Starship'', page 62–63

Design and development

Designed as a competitor to the

Cessna 310 The Cessna 310 is an American four-to-six-seat, low-wing, twin-engine monoplane produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engine aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II. Development The 310 first fle ...

and the

Piper Apache The Piper PA-23, named Apache and later Aztec, is an American four- to six-seat twin-engined light aircraft aimed at the general-aviation market. The United States Navy and military forces in other countries also used it in small numbers. Origin ...

, the Travel Air (developed as the Badger) took many design features from previous Beechcraft airplanes. It took its basic design from the Model 35 Bonanza, fitted with the vertical stabilizer from the

T-34 Mentor The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is an American propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the 1950s, were piston ...

, and two four-cylinder engines. Its wing spar was borrowed from the large Model 50 Twin Bonanza, along with thicker gauge aluminum on the leading edge; landing gear systems had been taken from the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Mentor, which was a stronger structure built for training pilots for later aircraft carrier landings. Power came from, in the 1958 model year, two

Lycoming O-360-A1A The Lycoming O-360 is a family of four-cylinder, direct-drive, horizontally opposed, air-cooled, piston aircraft engines. Engines in the O-360 series produce between 145 and 225 horsepower (109 to 168 kW), with the basic O-360 producing ...

at at 2700rpm each. With 75% power, the Travel Air was capable of 200 mph at 7,500 ft. Although developed and initially marketed as the ''Badger'', a 1956 letter from the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

notified Beechcraft that the name had been previously chosen as a reporting name for the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Tupolev Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 ( NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years, and the Chinese license-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's Liberatio ...

bomber; therefore, Beechcraft elected to reuse the Travel Air name, which came from the predecessor company to Beechcraft, the

Travel Air Manufacturing Company The Travel Air Manufacturing Company was an aircraft manufacturer established in Wichita, Kansas, United States in January 1925 by Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech, and Lloyd Stearman. History The company initially built a series of sporting and tr ...

.Ball 1994, p.x. Beechcraft set in initial pricing of the Travel Air at $49,500; $10,450 below Cessna's 310 price, yet still $13,510 higher than Piper's Apache pricing.

Variants

During its ten-year model run, between 1958 and 1968, the Travel Air saw four distinct variants emerge. All use the

ICAO aircraft type designator An aircraft type designator is a two-, three- or four-character alphanumeric code designating every aircraft type (and some sub-types) that may appear in flight planning. These codes are defined by both the International Civil Aviation Organizati ...

''BE95''.

Model 95

The initial model was built for the 1958 and 1959 model years; the 1959 model had a fifth 'jumpseat' added. A total production of the 95 for 1958 and 1959 were 173 and 128, respectively.

Model B95/B95A

Changes in the B95 version included a cabin stretch to increase rear cabin area and the horizontal stabilizer and elevators were enlarged for better pitch control. A curved vertical stabilizer dorsal fairing is the most noticeable change. It also included a fifth seat, wider chord flaps, and an increased gross weight of 100 pounds. The 1961 Model B95A featured fuel injected

Lycoming IO-360 The Lycoming O-360 is a family of four-cylinder, direct-drive, horizontally opposed, air-cooled, piston aircraft engines. Engines in the O-360 series produce between 145 and 225 horsepower (109 to 168 kW), with the basic O-360 producing ...

-B1A engines. A total of 150 B95s were built in 1960, and 81 B95As were built between 1961 and 1962 (serial numbers TD-453 through TD-533). The 1960 model was priced at $51,500 and the 1961–62 model was priced at $49,500.

Model D95A

In 1963 the Travel Air featured a larger rear window that is common with the Model A55/B55 Barons. The nose cone was lengthened for improved baggage space. Interior features such as the instrument panel and heaters were redesigned. There were a total of 174 D95s built between 1963 and 1967.

Model E95

The E95 featured a one piece, 'speed-slope' windshield and a more pointed spinner design. The interior design was fully re-done. A total of 14 Model E95s were built in 1968; with pricing of $53,500.Ball 1994, p.48. The production drop off was due to the more costly but faster and powerful Model 55 Baron (developed from the Model 95, and initially designated Model 95-55).

Specifications (D95A)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Ball, Larry A: ''From Travel Air to Baron...How Beech Created a Classic'', Ball Publications, 1994. * Phillips, Edward H., : ''Beechcraft - Staggerwing to Starship'', Flying Books, 1987. . * Taylor, John W. R. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1965–66''. London: Samson Low, Marston, 1965. {{Beechcraft

Travel Air The Travel Air Manufacturing Company was an aircraft manufacturer established in Wichita, Kansas, United States in January 1925 by Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech, and Lloyd Stearman. History The company initially built a series of sporting and tr ...

1950s United States civil utility aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1956 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft