| Sportster | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Gee Bee Model E Sportster replica | |
| General information | |
| Type | Sports plane |
| National origin | United States of America |
| Manufacturer | Granville Brothers |
| Designer | |
| Number built | 8 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1930 |
TheGee Bee Sportster was a family of sports aircraft built in the United States in the early 1930s by theGranville Brothers. They were low-wing strut- and wire-braced monoplanes of conventional, if short-coupled, design, with open cockpits and fixed, tailskid undercarriage.
The prototype of the small series, designatedModel X was built to compete in the 1930All-American Flying Derby sponsored by theCirrus Engine Company. The Model X, piloted byLowell Bayles placed second in the race fromDetroit toSan Francisco and back, averaging 116.4 mph (186.7 km/h) over the 5,541 mile (8,887 km) distance. Bayles used his share of the $7,000 prize money to purchase the aircraft. The same year, two generally similar aircraft were built, oneModel B and oneModel C. These differed from the Model X by having landing gear that incorporated shock absorbers, as opposed to the Model X's rigid landing gear that relied on its tires for shock absorption; but while the Model B had a similar Cirrus engine to the Model X, the Model C was fitted with aMenasco B-4.
The Models X, A, and B were granted only restricted registrations by theDepartment of Commerce, meaning that they could be flown under very specific conditions and only in specific places. In order to obtain unrestricted certification, Granville Brothers produced a revised version called theModel D, the most significant difference being a redesigned and larger tail fin. A similar fin was later fitted to the Model C, enabling it to also gain an unrestricted registration. The sole example of the Model D built was flown in competition at the Cleveland air races of 1931, whereBob Hall won theWilliams Trophy with it, andMary Haizlip placed second in two of the women's events.
The definitive member of the Sportster family was the Model E, which was fitted with aWarner Scarab radial engine in place of the inline engines used on the previous models. Four of these aircraft were built, and it was in one of them thatZantford Granville was killed in February 1934, attempting to land after an engine failure while avoiding people working on the runway below.
General characteristics
Performance
