ISTAT Jetrader - Autumn 2019 - 40

AVIATION HISTORY

money was in winning races instead of
building and selling sports models.
LEFT: This is not a caricature. The Gee
Bee Racer fuselages really were plump to
resemble the shape of a teardrop.
Photos courtesy of SDASM

The Super Sportster

ABOVE: The Gee Bee Model R-1 ready for the
first flights. Note the very small rudder and
virtually no vertical tail fin. It fishtailed wildly
and was barely flyable in this configuration.
LEFT: The Gee Bee R-2 with the "long-tail"
configuration. An 18-inch extension inserted
behind the cockpit gave the rudder more
leverage for better control. Below the cockpit
is a hinged door for the pilot to get in and out.

The Model Z was a brutish-looking machine, powered by
a huge Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial engine ...

YEARS

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For the 1931 races in Cleveland,
the Granville Brothers built a single
new aircraft that would be especially
designed for speeds. Bob Hall, the
young engineer mentioned earlier,
turned out to be a masterful aircraft
designer and an excellent test pilot.
This new aircraft was the Super
Sportster Model Z, but mostly it was
just called the "Z," and its sole purpose
was to win races. Construction began
in June and was completed, painted
and rolled out on 21 August, just
in time for the races beginning on
29 August.
The Model Z was a brutish-looking
machine, powered by a huge Pratt
& Whitney Wasp radial engine, but
everything else was small, light and
aerodynamically clean. The length
was only 15 feet, with a wing span
of 23 feet. It was painted black and
yellow and was said to look like "an
overgrown, irate bumblebee." Its
estimated top speed was about 280 to
290 miles per hour, enough to win any
race and break any record.
The 1931 National Air Races
included 38 events over nine days.
The Granville Brothers' aircraft were
in eight events, winning first place in
six, plus second and third in the other
two. The Z easily won the four races
in its category, two piloted by Hall and
two by Bayles. The Z alone earned
$12,000 in its four races, and the other
Gee Bees won about $5,400. The total
was big money in the days of the Great
Depression and worth about $270,000
in 2019 dollars.

Tragedy
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www.InternationalAircraft.com

40

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In December, Bayles planned to win a
new speed record to take place at the
Wayne County Airport near Detroit.
The existing record for the 3-kilometer
course was 278.5 mph, and Bayles
knew he had gone faster than that in
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