Travel Air Type R Mystery Ship

Mystery Ship
Mystery Ship NR482N with Jimmy Doolittle
Role Racing aircraft
Manufacturer Travel Air
Designer Herbert Rawdon
First flight August 29, 1929
Number built 5

The 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 two aircraft of the series (R614K, R613K, together with Model B-11-D R612K) were built entirely in secrecy.

In total, five Type Rs were built and flown by some of the most notable flyers of the day, including Jimmy Doolittle, Doug Davis, Frank Hawks, and Pancho Barnes, not only in races but also at air shows across the United States, and most notably, by Hawks in Europe.