Gee Bee Model Y Senior Sportster

Granville Brothers Aircraft · United States · first flew 1931 · light aircraft

The Gee Bee Model Y Senior Sportster was a two-seat sport and cross-country aircraft built by the Granville Brothers of Springfield, Massachusetts in 1931. More practical than the extreme Gee Bee R-series racers, it retained the family's distinctive portly fuselage and external wing bracing.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	Open tandem cockpits on a compact fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Externally braced low wing with wire and strut bracing — less extreme than R-series racers
Open tandem cockpits on a compact fuselage
Fixed tailskid undercarriage typical of 1930s sport biplanes

Shares the characteristic Gee Bee round-fuselage, small-wing proportions with external bracing, but with tandem open cockpits rather than the near-absent cockpit of the racing R models.

Specifications

The Gee Bee Model Y Senior Sportster has a length of 6.4 m (21 ft).
It has a wingspan of 9.14 m (30 ft).
Its maximum speed is 260 km/h (162 mph).
Typical crew: 2.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Two Model Y aircraft were built and raced by pilots including Maude Tait and Russell Boardman. Unlike the single-seat pure racers, the Senior Sportster was intended as a fast cross-country tourer. One example was re-engined with a Wright Whirlwind to improve range.

Variants

Two aircraft built; one re-engined with a Wright Whirlwind R-975 radial.

Where you'll see it

Operated by private racing pilots; no military or commercial service.

Related aircraft

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