[8] Alongside regular production of customer orders, Travel Air designer Lloyd Stearman and engineer Mac Short proposed a "Speed Ship" as a demonstration aircraft to promote the company.
[9] Company president Walter Beech was initially hesitant to interrupt production of customer orders to allocate resources to the project, but eventually relented.
[10] Apart from their use as general-purpose aircraft by private operators, Model Bs participated in a number of significant events.
[7] Walter Beech flew the Special in the 1925 Ford National Reliability Air Tour, from September 28 to October 4,[7] finishing with a perfect score.
[12] Travel Air chief test pilot Clarence Clarke flew a Model BH in the same event.
[13] The Special ended its career converted to a mailplane with a Wright J-4 engine, flying with Pacific Air Transport.