|
The Gee Bee Biplane First built by the Granville Brothers in 1929. |
||
 |
Tour
Page 3
From
the Book
|
In March, 1929, work began on the first Gee Bee (Granville Brothers) airplane. The talented brothers worked evenings, weekends, and whenever they could find the time. My father, Tom Granville, once told me, "Every weekend, people jammed into our workshop to have a 'look-see' and watch the crazy Granville brothers." Even though all the brothers were capable of any job, each took on a different task. Thomas served as the master woodworker. Edward welded tubing. Mark installed the engine. Robert provided supplies, and Zantford designed, supervised and pitched in wherever needed. Granny's congeniality and humor kept the crew happy as they worked well into the nights. The Granvilles were joined by an associate, Albert Axtman, who provided a 56 hp Vellie engine.
On May 3, 1929, their biplane (MA permit number: 3086) was ready for a test hop. It had several unique features. Movable sections ran the entire length of both the upper and lower wings. Adjustments made by the pilot controlled wind resistance. The "up" position added approximately eight miles to the plane's 100 mph cruising speed. The "down" position decreased the landing speed to an exceptionally low 30 mph, a very safe landing speed. Since rough landings often caused landing gears to rip away from a plane's fuselage, Granny attached his landing gear with bronze universal joints. This allowed the gear to break away freely, without damaging the rest of the plane. His idea later became very popular.
The preceding two paragraphs are from the book, "Farmers Take Flight." June is a very good writer and the book is full of surprises. The Gee Bee airplanes that you see at the air shows today have a very different history than you would hear from talk among pilots. I highly recommend this book because it's not only well written, it tells the whole story which is very little known to the average aviator. C. Jeff Dyrek, webmaster
