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"Travel Air 4000s used every engine then available,and the J-6-7 was one of the more popular installations.They used Wright J-4,J-5 and J-6 mills,as well as Axelsons,Curtiss Challengers,Kinners,the Ace,and Lycomings.
After the engine was changed,everything from the firewall aft received the full Reid treatment.The original wings were faithfully reproduced in new materials.In searching for aircraft-quality spruce ,Reid found a ladder manufacturer to be a prime source,and he prowled through the yard hand-selecting his spars.All the fittings,wires,and attendant hardware were copied or designed with greater strength.Reid probably has the only brand-new speed-wings in existence.
The struts,too,are all new manufacture(beefed up,of course),and were treated to a trip to the chrome shop,along with every other bit of exposed steel.The flying wires have been doubled for strength,their ends neatly fitting into handmade fillets and covers.It's these extra streamlining wing fillets and flying wire fairings that make CF-JLW a D4D rather than a D-4000.All of these fairings are either mirror-smooth pieces of new aluminum or fiberglass copies of the originals.
The interacting lines of the struts and brace wires form intricate patterns almost as beautiful as the airplane.
The fuselage was stripped to the bare bones,sand blasted,and all members were drilled and checked for internal corrosion.As it happens,the fuselage longerons are among the few original parts.All the fuselage fairing pieces were copied in new metal,the hinges on the front door were moved inside,and a Spitfire-type door was made for the rear pit,making boarding less of a gymnastic chore. to be cont....
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Dad and I.
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"The original Travel airs used wooden horizontal and vertical stabilizers,with steel tubing surfaces.Since Captain Reid planned on twisting the tail ,he decided the wood had to go and replaced it with 4130 tubing.While the rudder is original ,the rest of the empennage is new.The brace wires are bigger than original,and every hinge(And this is true of the entire airplane)has a one inch safety strap to preclude the possibility of losing a control surface due to hinge failure.
The tail skid has long since disappeared and has been replaced by a full swiveling tailwheel unit from an old T50 Cessna.Reid reports that there are no problems in its ground handling because the rudder is very effective,and the brakes can handle what the rudder can't.
The main gear Vs are also original,and mount wheels and brakes are from the same UC-78 that donated the tailwheel.Reid replaced the mechanical binders with hydraulics,but he says it was hardly worth the effort,since brakes are very seldom needed.The shock struts are chromed (naturally)and the shock cords are enclosed in a very trim,and nicely detailed fairing unit.
The neat belly pan runs all the way back under both cockpits.The fuselage depth has been reduced by about 5 inches,and the usual wood and fabric panel replaced with aluminum.This modification resulted in a slimmer fuselage,and necessitated the streamlined bulge under the aft stick assembly.
The cockpit area is reminiscent of classic sports cars,with its black leather,chrome,and mahogany panel.Every single piece of exposed metal is chromed,which sounds garish,but it definitely is not.A VHF unit is mounted on the floor,with the transmitter switch on the stick,and during taxing a headset isn't even necessary. to be cont......
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"It's quite difficult to talk to Reid about his airplane and how it flies because he's always grinning so wide it's hard to understand him.That could be an immediate indication that it flies as well as it looks.He says the most amazing thing about it is that it flew absolutely hands-off,first time out.He had made provisions under the control surface fabric for attaching metal trim tabs,but he says he won't even need them.
Asked about takeoff,he says,"It's very straightforward,nothing difficult at all. I did have one problem of overrevving the engine because I flattened the pitch of the propeler on the advice of a so-called expert,I think I'll go back to the original pitch setting.(we later installed a constant speed prop)
The control feel is very light,similar to a Harvard's.The rudder,however,is very sensitive and powerful.All controls remain effective all the way through the stall,which occurs at about 45 mph.I was holding her stalled and easily rocked the wings with the ailerons.Since the wings are shorter than the normal Travel Air's I had expect a much sharper stall,but it just mushes and loses 300 fpm,or so." to be cont...
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