{"id":357,"date":"2013-09-17T13:19:27","date_gmt":"2013-09-17T17:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fantasyofflight.com\/collection\/?page_id=357"},"modified":"2013-09-17T15:58:45","modified_gmt":"2013-09-17T19:58:45","slug":"1931-gee-bee-y-sportster","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.fantasyofflight.com\/collection\/aircraft\/currently-not-showing-in-museum\/golden-age\/1931-gee-bee-y-sportster\/","title":{"rendered":"1931 Gee Bee Y Sportster"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like other \u201cSportsters,\u201d it was a wire-braced low-wing monoplane of conventional construction, with open cockpits and fixed undercarriage. Only two Y-models were built by the Granville brothers, who originally intended them to be used as company planes and support aircraft for their \u201cR\u201d series racers. However, when the first one fell into the hands of speedster Maud Tait, daughter of one of the Granvilles\u2019 earliest investors, it became a racer in its own right\u2014winning the Cleveland Pneumatic Aero Trophy Race for her.<\/p>\n

The Gee Bee Y was also a favorite for another fearless female pilot, Florence Klingensmith, who flew it with a Wright Whirlwind engine of double the original horsepower to second place in the Women\u2019s Free-for-All at the 1933 Chicago International Races. Once this aircraft entered the race circuit, it rarely finished outside the money. A noted Gee Bee authority claims the Model Ys won more races and made more money than the better known, purpose built Gee Bee racers! Neither of the two original aircraft exists.<\/p>\n

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