A Swarm Of Gee Bees

Mick

Mick

SOH-CM-2024
Just uploaded to FlightSim and here a complete set of all the Granville Brothers Gee Bee single-seat Sportsters: Models X, B, C, D, E and F.

In two packs to reduce the size of the downloads, in-line versions in one pack, radial versions in the other.

"Granville Brothers Gee Bee In-Line Sportster Package FS9 / GW3
A complete set of the in-line Cirrus, Menasco and Fairchild powered Granville Brothers Gee Bee Sportsters. Includes the Models X, B, C, D and F. Five models, eight authentic paints, 2D panels and VCs...."

"Granville Brothers Gee Bee Model E Radial Sportster FS9 / GW3
The radial engined Granville Brothers Model E Sportster on wheels and on skis. Four models with four authentic paints depicting each of the four Model Es that were built, three of them on skis as well as wheels. Includes 2D panels and VCs. By David Wooster and Mick Morrissey, sounds by Mike Hambley."

Every single-seat Sportster ever built is represented with at least one authentic livery. The radial Sportsters can even be flown on skis!

Next up: the Model Y Senior Sportster. (Trying not to use the "S" word...)
 
Whew....!! Re-read the title....at first I thought it said "A Swarm of Bee Gees Uploaded...." and had a disco flashback ! :faint:


Thanks, Mick ! A worthy addition to the hangar !
 
Very nice looking models Mick. And all the variations ta boot. I heard these are a handful in the skies..especially the landing part..lol. Once I get my sim rig back up and running (today I hope) I'll see if I can manage a flight :kilroy:

Are they pretty squirrley to handle?
 
OleBoy said:
Are they pretty squirrley to handle?
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Nope, they handle beautifully. Even I can perform aerobatics and land them first try almost every time.

Their sweet handling seems to be authentic. It was the big unlimited Models Z and R Super Sportsters that were reputed to be a handful to fly, and not all pilots agree about that. Granny Granville, Bob Hall and Lowell Bayles, the only pilots who ever flew the Model Z, all said it flew very well. Jimmy Doolittle wasn't pleased with the handling of the Model R, to put it mildly. But Delmar Benjamin, who for years flew an aerobatic display in a Model R replica, said there was nothing wrong with its handling.

Nobody ever criticized the handling qualities of the Sportsters (or the Senior Sportsters either.) If anything, they may have handled too easily for some of their pilots, encouraging them to exceed their capabilities. All of the single-seat Sportsters had careers as airshow performers and five of the eight were lost while performing aerobatics. Pilots who survived (many display pilots wore parachutes in those days) reported that they'd become disoriented, and witnesses to some fatal crashes observed that the pilots seemed to have become disoriented. That seems to suggest that the aircraft may have had snappier handling than their pilots were prepared for. None of the survivors seem to have blamed the planes for their crashes.

It may also be that the good handling qualities appeared with the larger tail surfaces introduced on the Model D and continued on the Model E. The three earlier Sportsters (Models X, B and C) were all licensed in the Restricted category, with their use restricted to racing and airshow performances. That the Model D had increased tail surfaces and was licensed in the standard category might suggest that the new tail brought about an improvement in flight qualities. That suggestion is reinforced by the fact that the Model C shed its restricted status when it acquired Model D tail feathers.

We didn't attempt to make the different models handle differently. The only differences in the flight models have to do with engine power and top speeds.

Something else to think about - the Ryan STA was highly regarded for its handling qualities, and the STA was pretty much a metal-skinned copy of the Gee Bee D.
 
Thanks for the info sir. Sounds like you know your stuff. Can't wait to try them.

Some of those old pictures looked to be a bit rough for reference.
 
OleBoy said:
Some of those old pictures looked to be a bit rough for reference.
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Yes indeedy!

We had a lot of other pics, and the others were worse. We selected the best to include in the package. But as bad as the photos are, often we could see in one something that we couldn't make out in another. Most fortunately, though, there are verbal descriptions of the planes that gave us the colors and markings, so even fairly rough photos were enough to show where those colors and markings go on the planes.

Some of those descriptions can be found in the web references we provide in the documentation. If you peruse them you'll see that they don't always agree! Sometimes the photos could sort out the discrepancies. For example, one source says that NC72V was green and cream. Another source says it was green and yellow. The photo, rough though it is, clearly shows that the plane was painted in three colors, not two. Green, cream and yellow seemed like a reasonable interpretation. Fortunately, only one of the others was so uncertain. The final green & white livery of the Model D formerly known as "The Cat" is the only one I don't feel pretty confident about; it's speculative to assume that the new colors were applied in the old pattern, and there's no photographic evidence. I almost didn't keep that paint, but I like the green & white colors.

There are informative comments in the books we used as references, too, especially June Granville's "Farmers Take Flight." The books filled in a few blanks that you won't see in the photos or web pages.
 
Separated at Birth?

Has anyone else noticed that the Gee Bee Model E looks like a certain fighter plane from the same time period-only maybe a bit smaller?
PS-Awesome job on the Gee Bees. Looking forward to seeing the Senior Sportster take (virtual) flight :)
 
Thank you David, and Mick! The Gee Bee R-1 and R-2 have long been some of my favorite aircraft, and it is great to have an even larger family of Gee Bee aircraft, and learn about a part of aviation history that I didn't know all that much of! There is no doubt that the Gee Bee and P-26 share similar looks - the P-26 is another of my favorite aircraft as well...then there is the Bearcat, which also shares a similar build.

BTW, has anyone else ever had experiences with non-aviation family members wanting to always call Gee Bees, Bee Gees?
 
MattJeo11 said:
How's the Model Y coming along?
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Pretty well, and thanks for your interest!

We're having a bit of trouble figuring out some of the fine points of the second Model Y, which was poorly documented, especially in its initial configuration. For example, we're having a devil of a time determining where the exhaust stack(s) were, and how many there were.

The first Senior Sportster was very well documented and we're having no trouble with it. That's the one built for aviatrix / race pilot Maud Tait and used as a Granville Brothers company plane. (Maud's dad and uncle were the Granvilles' landlords and major investors, so it was "all in the family.")

The second senior was built for the Cord automobile company as an engine testbed for its Lycoming aircraft engine division, and it's initial configuration was very sparsely documented. All we can find are two grainy, low-resolution photos.

Later it was sold to Art Knapp and modified for racing. The initial modification is moderately well documented and we anticipate no major trouble modeling it. Still later, Knapp modified it further, turning it into an overpowered deathtrap that promptly came apart in the air and killed pilot Florence Klingensmith. That final configuration is very well documented, but we're not interested in modeling it because Knapp's mods turned it into a treacherous piece of crap, far removed from the Granvilles' outstanding design.

Some details of the second Senior might turn out to be our best guess rather than our usual documented authenticity. The first Senior will be spot on in all ways.

In addition to the research snags, David's got some health issues that sometimes limit his computer time, and I'm undergoing radiation treatment for cancer, which takes a piece out of my day for five days each week. Still, while I won't use the "S-word," I don't think it will be a very long wait.

Combined with our earlier Gee Bees, Wozza's "City of Springfield" and Tom Eads' R6H "QED," the Senior will complete the set of Gee Bee planes to fly from our Springfield Airport scenery.
 
Mick said:
In addition to the research snags, David's got some health issues that sometimes limit his computer time, and I'm undergoing radiation treatment for cancer, which takes a piece out of my day for five days each week.
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I'm very sorry to hear this. :frown: The Gee Bee's can wait...ya'll take care of yourselves first. I wish you both a full and speedy recovery. :wavey:

Brian
 
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