Granville Gee Bee (Series)

History

Racer Gee Bee (from short for "Granville Brothers") became the unofficial symbol of the "golden age" of flying during the interwar period. Its unique design and high-speed performance allow it to compete in many aerial races that offer fans more than the Great Depression. The collapse of the world market has brought the sport jet business to a near standstill, forcing many small plane makers to turn to designing and building new equipment suitable for aerial competitions and the bonuses associated with such competitions.

The Granville racing series has proven to be quite successful for the small Granville company.

Granville Brothers Aircraft is a relatively small aircraft repair shop located in Springfield, Massachusetts. It is run by five brothers - collectively known as the "Granville Brothers", hence "GB" or "Gee Bee" - comprising Zantford (from Boston and the company founder), Thomas, Robert, Mark and Edward.

The company was founded in 1929 and was active until the company went bankrupt in 1934. Although they went out of business, Granville racers were still airborne in the second half of the 1930s, and their most memorable models became the Gee Bee Z, R-1 and R-2 racers.

Granville's aircraft are designed to operate out of Springfield, Massachusetts.

Granville produced only 24 aircraft in total during its flight. Unfortunately, many of these designs proved to be quite lethal in the hands of many well-trained people, resulting in multiple crashes and nearly multiple deaths of their pilots. Their first production aircraft became the "Type A" biplane design.

Nine examples were eventually produced, of which only one is known to exist today - this one in the New England Air Museum.

The

Gee Bee race car features a thick, sturdy fuselage design with low-set monoplane wings and the absence of a traditional rear wing. The fuselage is basically built around a large radial piston engine mounted at the very front of the structure. The fuselage contains the engines and fuel storage and is located forward of the pilot's cockpit, which is located at the bottom of the vertical tail. Horizontal planes protrude from the sides of the vertical tail and are attached to the center of the sides of the fuselage.

As a low-mounted monoplane, the main wing is straight, relatively small, with a slight V-shape, and the struts are managed by two struts that extend to the upper forward fuselage and the other to the streamlined static main landing gear. In all designs, a simple tail wheel is usually installed at the bottom of the rear wing.

The pilot gets relatively clear upward and side views. Among other things, its extreme rear position allows the front fuselage to block all forward visibility above and behind the engine.

Likewise, the small cockpit window area undoubtedly forces pilots to work harder than mosta far cry from the open-air cockpit designs that emerged a few years ago.

The design principles of the Gee Bee revolve around putting the most powerful engine in the smallest possible airframe with the least possible drag. The fuselage is no wider than the engine itself, and the lack of a true tail reduces both weight and drag. Small control surfaces and seemingly unforgiving flight characteristics ensure that only experienced pilots can apply. The Gee Bee's fuselage has a natural tendency to lift gear, allowing racers to make extreme turns around the tower while maintaining or gaining altitude rather than losing it.

This design, while potentially advantageous, also resulted in some deadly flying experiences for many of its pilots.

All in all, the Granville Aircraft comes in two dozen looks, each with racers in mind, many of which are simple "one-off" developments. The Model X Sportster completed its flight in the Cirrus Derby just in time when it crashed in September 1931 and her pilot Roscoe Brinton successfully ejected. The Model B Sportster features a Warner-branded radial piston engine, despite its relatively unknown history. Some sources mention that she was used in the Spanish Civil War and survived the entire WWII somewhere in Spain. The Model C Sportster features a Menasco inline-piston enginea big departure from previous radial-piston offerings.

This model was lost in a plane crash. Likewise, the Model D Sportster had a Menasco inline-piston engine, which was also lost in a July 1936 crash. Pilot Channing Seabury was killed while trying to eject from the crashed plane. The Model E Sportster appeared in four production examples.

Sadly, the four people were once again killed in the accident. The third model was lost in February 1931, resulting in the death of pilot Johnny Keitel. The first model was lost at Spartanburg, South Carolina in February 1934, killing the pilot and Granville brother Z.D. Granville.

The second model driven by Russell Boardman crashed in August 1932. Boardman survived, but not without a concussion. The Model 4 was also lost in an accident. The Model Y came in production form, and both models were lost in accidents. The first was a Warner radial engine mount whose propeller broke, causing the crash.

The second model was fitted with a Lycoming test engine, but was later fitted with a Wright Cyclone. Pilot Florence Klingensmith was killed in the crash of her Granville during the 1933 National Air Race.

Bob Hall (himself the winner of the General Tire & Rubber Trophy and Hybrid Free) designed the Model Z Super Sportster (Gee Bee Z), which became a "one-off" production model, powered by a Wasp equipped It's Pratt & Whitney's loan engine and Curtiss' propeller. The same engine won the Thompson Trophy for Laird Super Solutions a year ago. The new Gee Bee Z model made its maiden flight on August 22, 1931, and later earned Granville the 1931 Thompson Trophy. The same Granville was destroyed in a December 5, 1931 crash that killed pilot Lowell Bayles.

Bayless' experience at the Z is notable as he also won the Shell Speed ??Sprint and the Goodyear Trophy race at 267.34 mph and 206.00 mph respectively.

Types R-1 and R-2 were developed at the same time, the main difference being the goals of each design. The R-1 model is designed for top speed on short courses, while the R-2 model is designed for top speed on long courses. Both are equipped with Pratt & Whitney radial piston engines.

Granvilles' ultimate goal was to complete the development of both airframes in time for the upcoming 1932 season. The R-1 and R-2 models are direct descendants of the crashed Z model.

The R-1 Super Sportster model also features an 800-horsepower Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine. American WW2 legend Jimmy Doolittle (of "Doolittle's Raiders" fame) received the 1932 Thompson Trophy and Shell Speed ??Dash. Doolittle also set a new world speed record in the R-1, taking into account the type's natural characteristics and flying capabilities. On July 1, 1933, Russell Boardman, survivor of the August 1932 E-Type Roadster crash, was killed in the same R-1 supercar that Doolittle was driving.

The R-1 has a top speed of 294.38 mph and a cruising speed of 260 mph. The stated range is 925 miles with a climb rate of up to 6,100 feet per minute.

R-2 Super Sportster models are equipped with Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines. Pilot Jimmy Hazlip was injured in a plane crash in 1933. The remnants of the R-1 and R-2 models were combined into a sort of "hybrid", resulting in the aptly named R-1/R-2 Super Sportster model.

The R-1/R-2 was fitted with another Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial engine and ran until it crashed in 1935, killing pilot Cecil Allen.

The Gee Bee QED is another Granville aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney Wasp. On June 7, 1939, as expected, an example was made and crashed. The crash killed pilot Francisco Sarabia.

Despite the crash and loss of life, this particular plane was rebuilt and later decommissioned as a museum display to be housed in Lerdo, Mexico.

The aircraft is sometimes referred to as the "flying silo" because of its sturdy tubular shape reminiscent of grain storage silos used in agriculture. Gee Bee also plays the mount of fictional pilot Cliff Secord in the Hollywood film The Rocketeer as he prepares to take part in the upcoming national flying competition.

Granted, his Gee Bee landed at the airport after being hit and one of its landing gear was destroyed by a passing car.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes