First ,a little history.
CF-JLW rolled off the Travel Air factory floor in 1929 as a Model E-4000 c/n 1151.It was registered as a Model BE-4000,N9953 by the Dept. of Commerce.(The BE-4000 only existed in reference to the Group 2 Approval 2-156 which was superseded by the E-4000 ATC #188)
The E-4000 was the most popular of the radial engined Travel Air biplanes.About 85 were manufactured.It had the Wright Whirlwind J6-5 five cylinder 165 h.p. engine,the "A" fuselage with the rubber "bungee" shock cord landing gear,30X5 Bendix wheels,and he new Standard wing which was the replacement for the counter-balanced "elephant ear" aileron.The standard wing was available in two versions:the "B" wing with a fuel tank in the inner bay of each wing panel and in the center section;the "E" wing with a single tank in the center section only.Both versions had an upper wing span of 33 feet....