The environment in air racing at the time was one of give and take with the military. A civilian designer would take an existing aircraft design, modify it for greater speed and enter it in the race. Since the military already had access to the fastest and most advanced aircraft available, it was simply a matter of upping the horsepower on whatever aircraft they were using and the problem was solved. This led to the military completely dominating the air racing scene. In an effort to combat this, two Travel Air designers;
Herb Rawdon and Walter Burnham undertook proving that a civilian aircraft built from scratch and designed exclusively for racing (as opposed to combat or passenger/mail service) could out-fly the military. Under construction during 1928, the aircraft was kept under cover prior to the 1929 Cleveland Air Races, with the builders even going so far as painting the windows on the factory to keep the curious press from getting a look at it. The local Wichita paper picked up on the secret program, with one reporter even going so far as to scale a ladder to try to peek into the vents in the factory roof. The paper dubbed it the "Mystery Ship" and the name stuck with R (for Rawdon) added. The second Type R, NR613K (Race No. 32) was powered by a six-cylinder D-6 Chevrolair, manufactured by
Arthur Chevrolet Aviation Motors Corporation of Indianapolis, Indiana. The six-cylinder air-cooled, inverted inline engine developed 165 hp at 2,175 rpm, and powered NR613K to a win in the Experimental class at the 1929
National Air Races. NR613K was later converted back to a radial-engined version by
Florence "Pancho" Barnes.
Paul Mantz later purchased the aircraft and used it extensively in film work. Years later, Barnes bought it back in an auction where other pilots made sure nobody bid against her. It is currently undergoing restoration in the UK. The third Mystery Ship, NR482N (Race No. 35), was purchased by Shell for the use of Jimmy Hazlip and
Jimmy Doolittle. NR614K's short wings were later purchased by Shell and were used, as required, on Doolittle's Race No. 400. NR482N also crashed and was a complete loss. The fourth Type R, NR1313, purchased by the Texaco Company for
Frank Hawks as "Texaco 13" became the most famous of the series, setting numerous long-distance records both in the United States and internationally. "Texaco 13" is now displayed at the
Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois. A fifth Type R, 11717/MM185, was built at the request of the Italian government several years after the rest, after Hawks toured the European continent. After factory construction and testing, it was subsequently disassembled, shipped by boat to Italy and served as the basis for the
Breda Ba.27 fighter. It was later scrapped. The last Type R was built by Travel Air after it had been absorbed by Curtiss-Wright. ==Racing==