In the Eastern United States there is a brand new time machine that can take even the most cynical, jaded techno junkie to those days. Even if only for a brief visit, as a passenger in the finest tradition of the barnstormers of the golden age of aviation. The time machine is in the form of a 1928 Travel Air biplane. Taking the name of its twin engine big brother, a 1946 Beech D-18-S, The Bird Of Paradise has undergone a three year complete restoration that has breathed new life into an airplane that was a classic even when it was brand new.
The Travel Air was designed with passenger service in mind. The front cockpit, which has a basic instrumentation in the panel, was built for two average size passengers. Extra large passengers may be surprised to find that they are in roomy, comfortable surroundings when they fly alone in the front seat.
The Bird Of Paradise’s original paperwork from 1928 bears the signature of none other than Walter Beech. His aircraft, built in partnership with aviation pioneers Clyde Cessna and Lloyd Stearman, is once again airworthy and working in a warm and sunny place where a lady of her maturity deserves to spend her days enjoying her surroundings and telling tales of how things used to be when the world was a simpler place.
