Travel Air 4000

Single Piston

The Travel Air 4000 is a classic open-cockpit biplane from aviation's Golden Age, manufactured by the Travel Air Manufacturing Company in Wichita, Kansas between 1927 and 1929. Designed as a rugged three-seat commercial and private aircraft, the 4000 became one of the most successful biplanes of its era, with over 1,100 examples built before Travel Air merged into Curtiss-Wright. The type earned its reputation for reliability and pleasant handling characteristics, making it a favorite among barnstormers, flight schools, and early air taxi operators throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s. Powered typically by a Wright J-5 Whirlwind radial engine producing 220 horsepower, the Travel Air 4000 cruises at around 110 knots with a range of approximately 500 nautical miles. Its fabric-covered steel tube fuselage and wooden wing structure represent the transitional technology between WWI-era designs and the all-metal aircraft that would follow in the 1930s. The biplane configuration provided excellent low-speed handling and short-field performance, with a stall speed around 52 knots in landing configuration, making it well-suited to the primitive airfields of the era. Today, the Travel Air 4000 is a prized antique aircraft, with surviving examples meticulously maintained by collectors and vintage aviation enthusiasts. The type remains a regular performer at airshows and fly-ins, celebrated for its elegant lines and its role in the development of American commercial aviation. SkyMeter has tracked 3 flights across 1 airframes and 1 operators, with MACPHERSON STUART S the largest observed operator.