Gee Bee R-1

An American racing plane from 1932

In the 1930s, airplane racing was very popular in the United States. Initially, ordinary civil planes were used for them, which underwent some modifications. After some time, special aircraft intended only for racing began to be designed.

One of the companies that took up the construction of the racing plane was the company of the Granville brothers, which until then had been building sports aircraft. The plane designed by them in 1931 had an unusual shape, it had a powerful engine in the arrangement of stars, a very bulky fuselage, small wings and a fixed undercarriage covered with fairings. The aircraft received the GEE BEE Z designation. The price for the aircraft's performance was its ugly flight characteristics and difficult piloting. For example, the minimum speed at full load was 190 km / h.

On December 5, 1931, and during the record attempt, the plane was crashed and its pilot was killed.

In 1932, two more planes appeared, derived from GEE BEE Z. These were GEE BEE R1 and R2 planes with different engines and purpose. The R1 plane was to compete for the Thompson Cup and had a Prat & Whitney WASP engine with 730 hp.

During the Preliminaries to the race. On September 1, 1932, the plane broke the world record for land planes with a speed of 471.83 km / h. Jimmy Doolittle was at the controls of the machine. The plane then won all competitions, outclassing famous opponents. The successes of R1 and the twin R2 and the resulting high cash winnings allowed the Granville brothers to repair their budget, which had been damaged by previous failures. As it turned out, the successful streak only lasted for a year.

In 1933, while taking off to the Indianapolis race, the plane crashed to the ground due to a gust of wind, and pilot Russem Boardman died in hospital from his injuries. The twin R2 was also shattered. It was a heavy blow for the plant, which, by the way, went bankrupt shortly thereafter. Although its owners tried to save the remnants of fame, associating the remodeled fuselage from the crashed R-1 with the salvaged original wings of the R-2 (it had new wings during the crash), but the "crossbreed" was also unlucky and had an accident at the first attempts. He bought it from the Cecil Allen label, who was going to start it in the transcontinental race for the Bendix Cup. It was supposed to be the last, tragic chord in the extraordinary history of a squat airplane. Overloaded, it was unable to pick up speed before the end of the runway. The pilot forcibly lifted the plane into a forced flight and after several dozen seconds of fighting for life, it fell. The plane was crashed and the pilot was killed.

After the Granville brothers left the factory, the company's successors tried again to fight for success on the R-6H, built in 1934, which was a two-seater enlarged version of the GEE-BEE line. It was built as a long-distance machine to take part in the gigantic race from England to Australia. The pilot J. Cochran, unfortunately, had to stop the flight in Bucharest.

The plane later changed owners several times. In 1939, it was bought by Mexican captain Sarabio and he made a successful record flight from Mexico to New York in 10 h 47 minutes. However, he too died crashing into the way back.

That was the end of the story, but the legend of the "flying engine" has survived. Several modern replicas of the GEE-BEE R-1 aircraft are currently flying.

Technical data:
WihgSpan: 7.62 m
Length: 5.2 m
Own weight: 835 kg
Take-off weight: 1390kG
Top speed: 500 km / h

In 1932, the Gee Bee R-1 Super Sportster became the world's fastest airplane and holder of the official world speed record by reaching an average speed of 476.726 km/h (sometimes slightly different values are reported). The pilot of the record plane was Maj. James Doolittle, an excellent aviator and aviation expert, who became famous during World War II as the commander of a group of B-25 Mitchell bombers that bombarded Tokyo after taking off from the aircraft carrier Hornet.

The record machine was created by the company Granville Brothers Aircraft Incorporated, which gave the initials of its name to the widely known designation of its types Gee Bee. The company was founded in 1928 by the five Granville brothers headed by the extremely capable Zantford. At first they were engaged in the repair of automobiles, and later, with mobile equipment, they engaged in the repair of aircraft. Growing enthusiasm for flying and technical skills led them to the idea of starting to build aircraft of their own design. In 1929, in Springfield, where the company settled permanently, their first type was built — the model A biplane. After the arrival of the gifted designer Robert L. Hall, the Granvilles began to deal with the construction of interesting specials designated by capital letters.

The first of these, the Model X (designated later as the Model B), was a low-wing, 80 kW (110 hp) Cirrus Hi-Drive engine designed for the nearly 9,000 km long All American Flying Derby. The aircraft took 2nd place in this race with an average speed of 187.3 km/h, which brought prestige and financial support to the company. From a design point of view, this type was the beginning of the following successful series of racing specials, which were called Sportster.

Several types of aircraft with different engines and design elements were gradually created — models C, D, E and the unrealized F. This was followed by the more mature two-seater model YW Senior Sportster with a P & W Wasp Junior engine of 220 kW (300 hp) and the improved model YL ,with a Lycoming R-680 engine.

The success of the Gee Bee aircraft in various races led in 1931 to the intention to build a distinctly superior racing machine. An elegant black-and-yellow Z model was created with an original design completely subordinated to the P & W Wasp Junior A engine with power increased to 393 kW (535 hp). The Model Z was literally a "flying engine" with all the hallmarks of the Gee Bee Sportsters. The fuselage was very short — it started from the contour of the aerodynamic cover of the massive engine and created a keel area behind the cabin. A small wing of rounded shapes carried a massive carefully hooded undercarriage. The whole airplane seems to have concentrated all the possibilities and ideas about the construction of fast airplanes of that time. The performances were excellent. At the Shell Speed Dash, pilot Lowell Bayles achieved a maximum speed of 460.17 km/h and an average of 430.15 km/h.

After installing an even more powerful 551 kW (750 hp) P & W R-1340 Wasp Senior engine in the Z model airframe, Bayles attempted to break the world speed record several times. He even crossed the magical 500 km/h mark, but only the third attempt was successful. In the end, however, it was not recognized due to a defect in the measuring technique. On another attempt, Bayles crashed and was killed.

The powerful Z model was followed in 1932 by other designs, on which, after Hal's departure, designer Howell W. Miller worked entirely in the spirit of the original concept. The main design elements were further emphasized — thus creating the famous Super Sportster R-1 and R-2. They differed in mission and installed Pratt & Whitney engines. Model R-1, with registration number NR 2100, destined for short speed races especially around pylons, was equipped with the R-1340 Wasp Senior T3D1 engine with an output of 537 kW (730 hp). Due to its weight, it was necessary to move the cockpit as far back as possible, so that the keel surface practically disappeared and its function was to be fulfilled only by the rear of the fuselage, even though tests in the wind tunnel warned against this solution. The R-2, which bore the number plate NR 2101, was fitted with a 404 kW (550 hp) Wasp Junior engine and was intended for long-distance racing. During the flight of both prototypes, it was necessary to increase the keel surfaces, as aerodynamic tests had already shown. Piloting the R-1 and R-2 was difficult due to the location of the cockpit, especially during take-offs and landings, when the pilot had practically no view. The influence of the reaction moment of the propeller and the unusually high landing speed of around 200 km/h for that time were also challenging.

Both Super Sportsters achieved their greatest success in various races in 1932. International records under FAI conditions could be set at the Shell Speed Dash, for which J. Doolittle was engaged to pilot a Gee Bee R-1 at the last minute. However, despite its difficulty, he managed the machine successfully and achieved the aforementioned world speed record with starting number 11. He also won the race around the pylons (Thompson Trophy) with an average speed of 406.6 km/h and became the most famous Gee Bee pilot, even though he did not work in the racing team for long.

With the second Gee Bee R-2 Super Sportster with starting number 7, pilot L. Gehlbach placed 4th in the speed race across the American continent at a speed of 338 km/h. He also achieved excellent performance in qualifying for the race around the pylons, where he was fifth at a speed of 397.968 km/h and in the race he placed 4th with a performance of 357.356 km/h.

In 1933, the R-1 was fitted with the even more powerful 662 kW (900 hp) P & W Hornet R-1690 engine, and the R-2 received the Wasp Senior demounted from the R-1. For both models, the area of the steering wheel has been increased. Both Super Sportsters made a promising start to the 1933 racing season, but were plagued by crashes. A hybrid R-1/R-2 (extended R-1 fuselage and R-2 wing) was built from the preserved parts. This aircraft, bearing the original R-2 registration number — NR 2101 and powered by a 662 kW (900 hp) Hornet T1C engine, flew until 1935, when it also crashed.

In 1934 Zantford Granville perished on the Model E and the company went out of business. Although the successor company then worked on designs for four-, six- and eight-seater Gee Bee business jets, they did not build on the success of their predecessors. A two-seater R-6H (QED) has been preserved and is on display in a museum near Mexico City.

The most successful and significant in the Gee Bee line of aircraft were undoubtedly the Super Sportsters R-1 and R-2. They were the original stars in the aviation sky and were really fast planes in their day. Their origin and conception were connected with the development of powerful air-cooled radial engines. They also inspired some types of military aircraft. Despite high piloting demands and several fatal crashes, according to J. Doolittle, the Super Sportster could be successfully piloted at appropriate speed and in "silk gloves, like balancing a pencil on the tip of a finger". This has now been tested again and pilot and owner of the newly built Gee Bee R-2 replica Benjamin Delmar also confirms it.
Technical description:

The Gee Bee (R-2) was a single-engine, single-seat, low-wing, stiffened monoplane with a fixed canopy landing gear and spur.

The fuselage had a basic lattice structure welded from chromium molybdenum steel tubes. It was completed with plywood shaped partitions connected by fir stringers. The covering consisted of an aluminum sheet from the bottom up to the trailing edge of the wing and on the back up to the cockpit, the remaining part was covered with canvas. A small covered pilot compartment was located at the very rear of the vertical tail area in order to distribute the weight. The entrance was through a door on the right side. The instrumentation corresponded to the standard of the time.

The two-piece wing of wooden two-spar construction had a resin-saturated plywood covering. Canvas was glued over the plywood, painted with 14 coats of varnish and the surface was highly polished. Inside, the wing skeleton was reinforced with strings. The wing and landing gear were reinforced with steel profiled wires. The M-6 airfoil used was slightly lowered. The setting angle was +2.5°, the elevation 4.5°.
The tail surfaces had an all-wood construction. Stabilizers had a plywood cover, rudders cloth.
The landing gear consisted of a fixed two-wheel landing gear and a spur. The 580 mm diameter wheels with Goodrich tires had an aluminum fairing and were equipped with brakes and air suspension. The partially cowled spur wheel was made of hard rubber.

Engine group. The engines used are listed in the text. They were driven by two-blade adjustable propellers.

Coloring. The Gee Bee R-1 and R-2 aircraft were all white. The engine cover, the front part of the fuselage and undercarriage hoods and the leading part of the wing were red. The borders between the colors were formed by arcs. The colors were separated by a thin black line. License plates, starting numbers and signs were red, bordered by a black line. The propeller remained in its original metal color and was polished to a high shine.

Technical data (in bracket R-2):
Span 7.62 m; length 5.41 m; height 2.34 m; bearing area 9.30 m2; empty aircraft weight 835 kg; take-off weight 1396 kg; maximum ground speed 497 km/h (362 km/h)