With the
success of the Model X under their belts, the Granville
brothers set out to produce and market a new line of
aircraft in the Sportster series. They were billed as "The
fastest and most manoeuvrable licensed airplane for its
horsepower in the United States" - and they were all that
and more. The Gee Bee Sportsters were frequently shown off
at airshows by their owners, attracting much attention
wherever they appeared.
The
prototype models for the D and E were retained by the
Granville brothers for a time, and were very successful in
production class racing. The Model Y, known as the Senior
Sportster (a two seat version) was also very successful in
competition - said to have won more money and races than the
purpose built, better known Gee Bee's. However, the
marketing of these aircraft could not have happened at a
worse time. The Great Depression was entering its dismal
peak and the sales of personal aircraft were almost
non-existent. There were only a handful of these aircraft
ever produced; Only two Model X's, one Model C (later
converted to a Model D), one other Model D, four Model E's
and two Model Y's.
With the Great Depression taking its toll on sales, the only
true venue of hope left to the Granville brothers was
racing. An amazingly large sum of prize money was being
offered at the Cleveland National Air Races and the
Granvilles were convinced to build a racer that could win
the Thompson Trophy Race. The Gee Bee Model Z was created -
and in 1931 won the Thompson Trophy race in Cleveland, Ohio,
showing the world that the Granville Brothers could build
the fastest airplanes in America. That same year, during a
speed dash attempt, the Model Z shed a wing and rolled into
the ground, killing pilot Lowell Bayles. This was the
beginning of a run of bad luck that would plague the
Granville's racing aircraft.
With the
1932 races just a half year away, Granville Brothers
Aircraft hired a new engineer, Howell W. "Pete" Miller, a
performance specialist fresh out of school and brimming with
innovative ideas. Led by the elder Granville Brother,
Zantford "Granny" Granville, the
four brothers and Miller set out to build two new planes for
the upcoming races. The racers would be designated
the Model R-1 and R-2 and powered by engines on loan from
Pratt & Whitney. The R-1 was designed and built around the
new R-1340 ci nine-cylinder, supercharged engine which
produced 800 hp.
Built for
the Thompson Trophy race, a pylon
course, it would be a short-range airplane built for all-out
speed. The R-2, on the other hand,
was built for the Bendix Trophy race,
where long-range and speed were needed. Consequently,
the R-2 was powered by the R-985ci Pratt & Whitney engine
developing 535 hp. Burning less fuel than its bigger
brother, the R-2 could fly the race with fewer stops, giving
it a better overall speed. The main difference between the
two airplanes, other than engines, was that the R-2 held 302
gallons of fuel versus the 160 gallons of the R-1. There
were other slight differences as well, such as the shapes of
the vertical fin rudder, and the R-2's fixed tailwheel
versus the R-1's steerable
tailwheel.
In the hands
of Jimmy Doolittle, the R-1 won the 1932 Thompson Trophy
race. At that time Doolittle also set a new world landplane
speed record of 296 mph in the Shell Speed Dash, a straight
line course. Lee Gehlbach, flying the R-2, finished fourth
in the Bendix due to oil leak problems and fifth in the
Thompson. Once again, the Granville Brothers brought home
the trophies. They were on top of the world. Then in 1933,
in the hands of pilot Russell Thaw, the R-2 stalled on
landing approach at Indianapolis, rolled, and hit the
wingtip.
Although he
recovered with only wing and landing gear damage, the R-2
was out of that race. Russ Boardman, pilot of the R-1, was
shaken by Thaw's accident and, pulling the R-1 off
prematurely, stalled and caught a wingtip, flipping the
plane onto its back. Boardman died from the injuries. The
R-2 was repaired and while landing at Springfield in 1933,
James Haizlip found himself floating too far down the 2,000
ft runway. As was done with most airplanes of that period,
he kicked the rudder to sideslip and kill the speed. This
caused one wing to stall, and once again the R-2 found
itself rolled into a ball. Haizlip escaped without serious
injuries, barring his pride.
Granville
Brothers Aircraft used parts from both crashed airplanes to
build the R-1/R-2, a hybrid model initially flown by Roy
Minor. During a test flight out of Springfield, he made
thirteen landing attempts before finally getting it on the
deck; whereupon he slid off the end of the runway with the
brakes locked.
The airplane
caught its wheels in a ditch, performed a complete
somersault, and landed upright on the road. After another
trip through the shop, the R-1/R-2 ended up with Cecil
Allen. Despite warnings from Miller and Zantford Granville,
Allen Granville installed a large fuel tank well aft of the
center of gravity (cg). The two designers feared the cg
would be moved so far back that the plane would be
impossible to fly. Ignoring their warnings, Allen took off
with the tank full, lost control, crashed, and was killed.
Thus ended the R-1 and R-2 racers, as well as the Gee Bee
line of aircraft.
The
Granville Brothers Aircraft, Inc., liquidated in the fall of
1933. They built a total of 22 aircraft - including 9
biplanes, 8 Sportsters, 2 Senior Sportsters, 3 Super
Sportsters, and one long-tailed racer. They had a large,
cantilever monoplane under construction that disappeared
into history. After liquidation, the workforce went on to
build the QED for the 1934 England-to-Australia race and
Time Flies, a racer for Frank Hawks.
Even though
none of the original Gee Bee Sporster Series aircraft
survive today, they were without doubt some of the most
unique and beautiful aircraft ever
to grace the skies.
At least two replicas have been built and flown.