Beech Travelair history, performance and specifications

Today, most Travel Airs are used by flight schools for twin-engine training, relatively few are in private hands and even fewer are in pristine condition. A useful load of 1,172 pounds, an economical fuel flow and relatively fast cruise speeds didn’t overcome the higher horsepower and gross weights offered by Beech’s new light twin, the Baron. The Beech model 95 first filled the product slot between the model 35 V-tail Bonanza and the larger twin-engine D-50 Twin Bonanza. One hundred and seventy-three airplanes were built that first year, and by the time production ended 10 years later, 720 Travel Airs had been manufactured.

Beech couldn’t have known it was creating an unsung twin-engine workhorse. Conceived as a simple step in its product line, the Travel Air’s simple elegance and economic operation made it one of Beech’s most successful airplanes, the proverbial light-light twin. The first versions of the airplane shared the fuselage and interior detailing of the J35 Bonanza, arguably the finest-handling versions of the V-tail airplane ever made.

Crisp roll and positive pitch response have endeared the airplane to thousands of fledgling multi-engine pilots. Good handling and, by today’s standards, marginal single-engine performance aren’t enough to save an airplane from the oblivion of use and neglect, however. Some special verve or attraction is required. Without a V-tail, or two big-bore engines and six seats, you have to wonder what was special about this particular “Badger.” For those who didn’t know, Beech was originally going to call the model 95 project the Badger until it became known that the U.S. Air Force was also interested in the name. Deferring to the Air Force, Beech chose to resuscitate an old name in its history, and the new Travel Air was born.