Specifications |
|
|
Aircraft Type: |
Sport Aircraft |
|
First Flight: |
X Sportster: 1930 |
|
Wingspan: |
25 feet |
|
Length: |
17 feet 3 inches |
|
Height: |
8 feet |
| Wing Area: | 95 Square feet |
|
Weight: |
912 lbs |
|
Power: |
1 Warner Super Scarab 145 hp radial engine |
|
Crew: |
One |
The small, flashy Granville Brothers Aircraft E Sportster embodies the spirit of sport aviation in the early 1930's. Over a period of just four years, the five innovative Granville brothers of Springfield, Massachusetts, led by chief designer and oldest brother Zanford Granville, went from building simple biplanes to producing highly advanced race planes that set world landplane speed records.
The Gee Bee Sportster offered their pilots the thrills of a high-performance
aircraft, without the high costs or dangerous flight characteristics of
a specialized race aircraft. Advertised as having "no rivals in
performance, maneuverability or beauty," the brothers marketed their Gee
Bee Sportster's with a number of different engines for a cost of less
than five thousand dollars.
Scott Crosby built the Museum's Gee Bee E Sportster replica. The construction process lasted eight years and two
months. Crosby was able to obtain the same FAA registration number for
his Gee Bee replica once assigned to the first Granville Brothers E Sportster.
Famed air show pilot Delmar Benjamin test flew the
aircraft in January 1995 before Crosby sold the little Sportster to
Jim Teel, who donated it to the Museum in 2004.