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Description
In the 1930's, there was fast and there was Gee Bee Fast! Built by Granville Brothers Aircraft Company, Springfield, Massachusetts the Gee Bee Racers were built for one thing and one thing only... SPEED!!!

The Model "Z" was the hit of the 1931 National Air Races at Cleveland. Piloted by Lowell Bayles, the "Z" won the Shell Speed dash with an average speed of 267.342 mph. This was the fastest speed ever recorded by a land based plane in a race! Then Bayles and the "Z" went on to win the Goodyear Trophy race with an average speed of 206 mph! The only disappointment at Cleveland was that the Model "Z" didn't break the World 3 Kilometer speed record for land planes. The record stood 278.48 mph. To set a new speed record, a pilot and plane had to beat the standing record by 4.97 mph.

Refitted with an 800 horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine, on December 1st 1931 Lowell Bayles tried again to break world speed record with the Model "Z". He made four passes at an average speed of 281.75 mph, but could not beat the old record by the required 4.97 mph over. Landing too fast, he shot off the runway and in an attempt to avoid hitting a fence, he ground looped the "Z" dragging the right wing on the ground in the process.

On December 5, he made another attempt, but after diving into the course from 1000 feet and leveling off at 150 feet the "Z" suddenly pitched up, as part of the right wing tip tore off and the "Z" plummeted to the ground. Lowell Bayles was killed instantly. He was only 31 years old. It was estimated that he had in fact exceeded 300 mph just before the mishap!

The Gee Bee model "Z" had been built in a short five and half week and was flown for a total of only 160 days before the fatal crash that took Lowell Bayles life. Talk about going out in a blaze of glory.

This illustration shows the Gee Bee Model "Z" in a more correct paint scheme.

Adobe Illustrator 8.0. Apple G3 iMac, OS 9.2.

Description
In the 1930's, there was fast and there was Gee Bee Fast! Built by Granville Brothers Aircraft Company, Springfield, Massachusetts the Gee Bee Racers were built for one thing and one thing only... SPEED!!!

The Model "Z" was the hit of the 1931 National Air Races at Cleveland. Piloted by Lowell Bayles, the "Z" won the Shell Speed dash with an average speed of 267.342 mph. This was the fastest speed ever recorded by a land based plane in a race! Then Bayles and the "Z" went on to win the Goodyear Trophy race with an average speed of 206 mph! The only disappointment at Cleveland was that the Model "Z" didn't break the World 3 Kilometer speed record for land planes. The record stood 278.48 mph. To set a new speed record, a pilot and plane had to beat the standing record by 4.97 mph.

Refitted with an 800 horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine, on December 1st 1931 Lowell Bayles tried again to break world speed record with the Model "Z". He made four passes at an average speed of 281.75 mph, but could not beat the old record by the required 4.97 mph over. Landing too fast, he shot off the runway and in an attempt to avoid hitting a fence, he ground looped the "Z" dragging the right wing on the ground in the process.

On December 5, he made another attempt, but after diving into the course from 1000 feet and leveling off at 150 feet the "Z" suddenly pitched up, as part of the right wing tip tore off and the "Z" plummeted to the ground. Lowell Bayles was killed instantly. He was only 31 years old. It was estimated that he had in fact exceeded 300 mph just before the mishap!

The Gee Bee model "Z" had been built in a short five and half week and was flown for a total of only 160 days before the fatal crash that took Lowell Bayles life. Talk about going out in a blaze of glory.

This illustration shows the Gee Bee Model "Z" in a more correct paint scheme.

Adobe Illustrator 8.0. Apple G3 iMac, OS 9.2.