Travel Air Model 11

The two Model 11s built differed considerably, The fuselages were built from welded steel tubes, and the wings from wood. The first was a re-manufactured Travel Air 2000.) was built in September or October and its aerodynamic improvements while retaining its standard Curtiss OX-5 engine made it competitive in the racing class. In June 1929, company president Walter Beech approved the construction of three aircraft for the competition, two were to be a new monoplane design, the Type R, and one was to be based on an existing Travel Air biplane design, modified for speed, which became the second Model 11. Designated B-11-D (construction number 1267, registration NR612K), the aircraft adopted the shorter wings, redesigned fin, and NACA-cowled Wright J-6-7 as used on X-6473. ==Operational history==

Union Oil sponsored Marvel Crosson's entry in the 1929 Women's Air Derby, and as the first competitor to file her race paperwork, she was assigned race number "1" for the event. While ferrying her Model 11 from Wichita, Kansas to the Derby start line at Santa Monica, California, Marvel had reported engine problems and had ordered a replacement. Unwilling to wait for the new engine to arrive from Los Angeles, Crosson decided to start the event with her original engine and meet its replacement in Phoenix, Arizona. Searchers found the wreckage of the Model 11 in a ravine, Theories put forward included sabotage by someone unhappy to see women flying, and carbon-monoxide poisoning, as Louise Thaden had been almost overcome by exhaust fumes in her similar Travel Air on her way to the Derby. Fortunately, another set of wings was under construction, but the incident delayed NR612K's departure for the races. ==Specifications==