This was definitely the pinnacle of the Granville Brothers and the Gee Bee line of airplanes. The Gee Bee R2 piloted by Lee Gehlbach came in fourth place at the Bendix Trophy race and took 5th in the Thompson Trophy. In 1932 pilot Jimmy Doolittle not only won the Thompson Trophy race, but also set a new land speed record of 296 miles per hours with the Gee Bee R1. The only major difference between these two airplanes was the engine size and fuel tank capacity. GB Model R2The Gee Bee R2 was designed for cross country duration races such as the Bendix Trophy race. GB Model R1The R1 was built for short range all out speed competition such as the Thompson Trophy race. These were the Gee Bee R1 and Gee Bee R2. With the Model Z obviously out of commission the Granville Brothers, along with another engineer they hired, designed two new racers for competition in 1932. Piloted by Lowel Bayles,The Gee Bee model Z won nearly every race in 1931 including the coveted Thompson Trophy.īayles even established a world speed record for land airplanes of 267.342 miles per hour while qualifying for one of the races that year! Sadly, Bayle's life ended when one of the Mode Z's wings failed while attempting to set another speed record later that year with the same airplane with a larger engine. The end result was the Gee Bee Model Z with its short wings attached to the infamous teardrop shaped fuselage with a cock pit right in front of the vertical stab. Their goal was to fit the largest engine possible into the smallest airframe. They were using wind tunnels long before most of their competition. The Granville Brothers were pretty sharp engineers. There are tons of pictures of other Gee Bee Models there as well. Most of the photos on this page were taken from a site called Golden Age of Aviation. This racing for money thing seemed to be working well for them, so they set their eyes upon the 1931 Thompson Trophy with their Gee Bee Z. Their first two planes they modified for racing was the "Model X monoplane" and the "Model Y Senior Sportster". The prize money of the National Air Races enticed them to modify some of their planes to compete for some much needed cash. Unfortunately this was about the same time the Great Depression began to bear down on the economy. ![]() ![]() In 1930 they expanded their operation with the intent of building and selling extremely fast line of "Gee Bee Sportster" racers. But I digress.įive brothers of Springfield Massachusetts, the Granville Brothers, grew up as aviation buffs and started their own aircraft repair business. As a matter of fact, the infamous Spitfire was modeled after one of the marine racers of this era. Retractable landing gear, super charged engines, flaps on the wings, aerodynamic cock pits are just a few. The fierce competition lead to many innovations that we take for granted today. Several of the pilots who took the Thomas Trophy ended up dying in later crashes shortly after winning.Īs sad as it is for those young men to have lost their lives during this era, it may comfort you to know that they didn't die in vain. As a matter of fact Marine pilot Captain Arthur Page lost his life in the 1930 inaugural Thomas Trophy race when he lost control of his Curtis F6C-6 Hawk in lap seventeen right in front of the grandstands. ![]() Unfortunately it wasn't uncommon for crashes to take the lives of talented young pilots during this era. Who would take the lead? Would there be a crash? Who would. They watched anxiously as these birds came screaming by wingtip to wing-tip battling for each position. The thunderous roar of the radial engines shook the excited fans to the core as theses monstrous machines would knife-edge around the pylons. The airplanes flew so low that the crowd in the stands could watch the entire race unfold right before their very eyes. The course distance was about ten miles with each turn marked by a giant fifty foot tall pylon. Back in the day some referred it as a horse race in the sky! Oh no, this was an actual race from start to the finish. Unlike the other air races of the time, this was not a timed event where each plane competed solo. Without question, the most sought after feat was to be the winner of the infamous Thompson Trophy race, held every September in Cleveland Ohio. ![]() To put it in simple terms, the pilots and designers in the 1920's and 30's were absolutely crazy about aviation.Īnd I don't use the term "crazy" lightly! No pesky government regulations, not even the fear of death itself was enough to deter these daredevils from pushing beyond the limits in pursuing their dream of having the fastest airplane in the National Air Races! In order to appreciate Gee Bee model airplanes you first have to acquaint yourself with the "Golden Age of Air racing".
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