"Mystery Ship" on display at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. So named because they were built in secrecy, only five Type Rs were made by Travel Air during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Flown by flyers like Jimmy Doolittle, Doug Davis, Frank Hawks and Pancho Barnes, they participated in air races, beating the military entries for the first time. "Texaco 13" was the fourth Type R to be built and was the most famous of the series. On 13 Aug 1930 Frank Hawks flew this aircraft from Glendale to Long Is. in a time of 12h 25m 3s, bettering the record set by Charles Lindbergh.

I've been spotted!

'Captain Hawks leaving Vancouver airport for Los Angeles.' The fourth of the five Travel Air R racing aircraft had longer-span wings and Frank Hawks, who clearly was not superstitious, used Texaco No 13 to set some 200 'speed records' between various cities. Text on the fuselage reads:'This plane has traveled 100,000 miles at an average speed of 192 mph on inter-city flights in the U.S., Canada and Europe.' Hawks crashed it on 16 April 1932, but it was repaired and is preserved in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. Photo by: Stuart Thomson / City of Vancouver Archives

First flown in 1929, the Type R racing aircraft was called Mystery Ship by the press in Wichita because it was built in secrecy. This beauitful British replica was completed in 2012.