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Granville Brothers R-1 'Gee Bee'. HISTORY. Following the success of their Models Y and Z, the Granville Brothers of Springfield, MA developed the R-1 and R-2 models for the 1932 air racing season. (Gee Bee is a "spelling out" of the brothers' GB initials.)
Mar 10, 2017 · Piloted by Jimmy Doolittle, the Gee Bee R-1 set a world landplane speed record of 296 mph and won the Thompson Trophy before 60,000 enthusiastic race fans at the 1932 National Air Races in Cleveland. Gehlbach, also an experienced test pilot, raced the R-2 from Burbank, Calif., to Cleveland during the 1932 Bendix Transcontinental Race.
Their first venture—designed and manufactured in 1929—was designated the Gee Bee Model A, an open cockpit, 2-place Sport Biplane. Innovative features included side-by-side seating to improve communications and dual control sticks mounted horizontally to make room for the heavy clothing required in New England winter weather.
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What is a Gee Bee Model A?
The Gee Bee Model R Super Sportster was a special-purpose racing aircraft made by Granville Brothers Aircraft of Springfield, Massachusetts at the now-abandoned Springfield Airport. Gee Bee stands for Granville Brothers.
The main events—the Burbank-to-Cleveland Bendix Trophy endurance race and the closed-course, 100-mile Thompson Trophy dash—demanded two very different types of aircraft, but Doolittle believed he had a plane capable of winning both. Its predecessor, the Laird LC-DW-300 Solution, had been the only biplane ever to win the Thompson Trophy.
From this airport came a succession of Gee Bee planes: biplanes, Sportsters, Senior Sportsters, and racers. All were a contribution to the advancement of aviation during a period in history when civilians made The Golden Age of Aviation. The first biplane is now at the New England Air Museum at Bradley Field, Connecticut.
The Gee Bees--a series of 1930s racing planes--are perhaps the most famous, or infamous, aircraft in aviation history, depending on one's viewpoint. During the early 1930s, the Gee Bees were among the fastest planes of the day and won several prestigious National Air Races, but several pilots also lost their lives while flying them.
