Granville Brothers Gee Bee Super Sportster R-1, a pioneering aircraft, captured the spirit of innovation and speed.

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The Gee Bee, with its sleek design, was a marvel of the Granville Brothers' engineering skills. Discover more iconic airplane images.

Designed by the Granville Brothers—Zantford, Robert, Mark, and Edward—the Gee Bee Super Sportster R-1 became a legendary symbol of aviation from the Golden Age of Flight.

To realize their vision, they collaborated with aviation icons like Bob Hall, a brilliant test pilot, and Howell 'Pete' Miller, a distinguished engineer.

Their breakthrough came with the stunning Model Z, which featured a 535-horsepower Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. engine. Piloted by Lowell Bayles, it triumphed in the 1931 Thompson Trophy Race, reaching speeds of 236.239 miles per hour. Tragically, Bayles died on December 5, 1931, while attempting to break the world speed record in the Model Z.

Undeterred, the Granville Brothers pushed forward with a bold new design featuring a teardrop-shaped fuselage, compact, wide wings, and exceptional craftsmanship. Miller oversaw the wind-tunnel tests that confirmed Zantford Granville's intuitive design would be incredibly fast.

Two Gee Bees, the R-1 and R-2, were built for the 1932 air racing season. Jimmy Doolittle piloted the R-1 to set a new world record for land-plane speed at 296 mph, then went on to win the Thompson Trophy at 252.7 mph. This marked the pinnacle of the Gee Bee legacy, with tragedy soon following as a series of crashes plagued the aircraft throughout the decade.

The Gee Bees developed a reputation for being perilous aircraft, sure to claim the life of anyone who attempted to fly them. This was an unfair characterization, as most crashes were caused by poorly trained pilots trying to handle a highly advanced aircraft.

In recent years, Delmar Benjamin, flying a perfect replica of the R-2 he constructed himself, has demonstrated that the Gee Bee is a highly capable aerobatic aircraft when flown by a pilot who understands its unique characteristics. Delmar has fully validated the original Gee Bee design and provided a significant contribution to aviation history. The Granville Brothers' vision and instincts have been proven sound.