It was designed to fill the gap between the single engine Model 35 Bonanza and the much larger Model 50 Twin Bonanza, and ultimately served as the basis for its replacement, the Baron. Designed as a competitor to the Cessna 310 and the Piper Apache, the Travel Air (developed as the Badger) took many design features from previous Beechcraft airplanes. It took its basic design from the Model 35 Bonanza, fitted with the vertical stabilizer from the T-34 Mentor, and two four-cylinder engines. Its wing spar was borrowed from the large Model 50 Twin Bonanza, along with thicker gauge aluminum on the leading edge; landing gear systems had been taken from the United States Navy Mentor, which was a stronger structure built for training pilots for later aircraft carrier landings. Power came from, in the 1958 model year, two Lycoming O-360-A1A at 180 horsepower (130 kW) at 2700rpm each. With 75% power, the Travel Air was capable of 200mph at 7,500ft. During its ten-year model run, between 1958 and 1968, the Travel Air saw four distinct variants emerge. All use the ICAO aircraft type designator BE95. Specifications below are for the D95A Travel Air.
