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Proud Members of:

Iowa Bed & Breakfast Guild

Iowa City Chamber of Commerce

Iowa City Convention & Visitor's Bureau

During your visit to Iowa City, take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a ride in an open cockpit biplane!  For just $50 per person (the front cockpit holds two) you can travel back in time almost 80 years, to the Golden Age of Flight, by enjoying a scenic ride over Iowa City!  (Note: The price is $70 for a single rider.) 

Operating from Iowa City's airport (located just 400 yards from the Inn), biplane rides are available most weekends in the summer and by appointment.  You may pay for your ride(s) at the hotel front desk as part of your stay, or separately -- your choice.   Click to request more information.

Owned and flown by Gary and Sharon Lust, this historic plane was built in 1929 by the Travel Air Mfg. Co., of Wichita, KS.    This company was started by a group of aviation pioneers, including Walter Beech, Lloyd Stearman, and Clyde Cessna -- each of whom in later years went on to head major aircraft companies. 

Known as the "Standard of Aircraft Comparison", the Travel Air Company was one of the major producers of civil aircraft from 1925 through 1931 when, like most other aircraft manufacturers, it fell victim to the Great Depression. 

This particular aircraft was first used for business transportation, but became a sky-writer over New York City in the 1930s.  It was a crop duster in the Mississippi delta through the 1940s and 50s, sat derelict for a number of years, and was full restored to like-new condition in 1991. 

It's now painted in the scheme of "The Flying Aces", which was the longest-running "Flying Circus" in the U.S.   In keeping with this theme, it has since earned its living as a true "barnstormer", providing a unique chance to relive "The Golden Age of Aviation" to hundreds of ecstatic folks!

Click on the thumbnails, below, for pix of the Travel Air and some happy passengers!