Travelair Mystery Ship Type R, NR-613K

[Wageslave]

Wikipedia reports that the Travelair Type R once raced by the legendary Pancho Barnes is in the UK under restoration.
Any info on where, by whom, for whom and on progress?
How did we manage to get such an illustrious aeroplane over here for restoration?

[DaveReidUK]

You shouldn't believe everything you read on Wikipedia. :O

There have indeed been a number of unconfirmed reports over the years that it's in the UK (some saying at Biggin Hill) but AFAIK no evidence, photographic or otherwise, has ever been forthcoming.

[Wageslave]

Which will be why I wrote "Wiki reports..."

[Old Photo.Fanatic]

Replica "Mystery Ship" at Old Buckenham Aug.2015.

Clk. on Thumbnail to enlarge the image.

OPF

[Wageslave]

Spectacular.

The FAA register has her as N316K registered to a corporation in Wilmington, Delaware (common place of registry due to Delaware tax laws, or rather lack of them) certificate issued in 2007 and it apparently exhales (well, that's what the FAA called it) in 2017. So she's stored somewhere, holding her breath until 2017 when one hopes she'll get another gasp if air and perhaps become a bit more visible.

One website "report" - doubtless even less reliable than Wiki - says she's is in a "missile silo" at Greenham Common along with a Spitfire, P40, and something WW1 - Camel maybe. Sounds decidedly unlikely by one never knows. Owner of GC collects aircraft does he?

Any more clues? I'd like to get to the (happy) bottom of this.

[treadigraph]

One or two of Doug Arnold's collection are supposedly still stored in a Greenham bunker by his son, never heard of the Travelair being there. I thought the rumour had it in Norfolk somewhere.

[megan]

This may answer your questions Wageslave. Someone may even be able to recognise the location/people.

A Mystery No Longer! (http://www.legendofpanchobarnes.com/index.php/516-a-mystery-no-longer)

[Wageslave]

Thanks megan. Certainly seems to fill in some gaps while leaving others even more wide open, though the machine pictured does seem to have the cowling lines of the missing 613K.

So who, where and why?

[megan]

The photos have "courtesy of Skyfire Corporation" on them. Did a brief search but couldn't come up with anything in the UK, but must be a clue.

Would a reading of the car number plates offer a clue, if that's technically possible?

[DaveReidUK]

The photos have "courtesy of Skyfire Corporation" on them. Did a brief search but couldn't come up with anything in the UK, but must be a clue.

Skyfire Corp is the anonymous Delaware-based company, referred to in post #5, to whom NR613K is registered with the FAA:

FAA Registry - Aircraft - N-Number Inquiry (http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N613K)

So that's probably a dead end, unfortunately.

[twelveoclockhigh]

Not sure where it is now but it was at Martham, nr Great Yarmouth, until 2010. Jeremy Moore was restoring aircraft there until he packed it in.

http://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/news/martham_s_link_to_world_s_richest_men_1_470120

[megan]

Good find, the photos in the link post #7 were when it was at Cess Road, Martham so a look at G'Earth tells me.

[twelveoclockhigh]

I only went there once, in about 2007, and there was lots of other stuff there too - an me262, a FW 190 (for Paul Allen), a Heinkel, the mystery ship. Not sure where it all went.