I was working on the Spitfire, but honestly that quickly turned into a full-on paper so I had to back off and take a break. I wanted to say waay to much on that beautiful gal.

So here it is, plane of the week #1 is not a specific airframe, but a family of designs:

One of the many radical racers designed and built during the "Golden Age" of aviation. Today there are a couple of replicas in near-ready flight status. 2 owned by Kermit Weeks at the Fantasy of Flight museum in Polk, FL.
The Golden Age of aviation featured an extreme amount of 'tinkering' in aircraft design of all levels. Most experiments at the time were civilians with an itch to fly (think Barnstormers).....This era consequently ended after many fatal crashes with the FAA and aviation safety regulations coming on scene...stupid safety regs!

The Gee Bee family of racers were very dangerous to fly. Not only were they incredibly difficult to control at various phases of flight, but they also were structurally weak. On several occasions a Gee Bee's wing came free in flight leading to a spectacularly violent crash (see 2nd video below).

So why should you care? Why not just say "aw crap Adam is talking planes again, time to zone out". Aviation makes gains through daring, through pushing the flight envelope, and through trial and error. The recent 1st mission of the Space X Dragon is the result of this daring. The Golden Age racers of all types were extremely dangerous machines yet the pilots and designers had the guts to try. They experimented with new engine cowlings, new aerodynamics, new and untested engines, or new construction methods. The Gee Bee racers had many radical features and did meet success. The success of racers in the Golden Age of Aviation did a great deal to advance material, construction, and aerodynamics in aircraft design. Many features later present in World War II fighters bear strong resemblance to these volatile early designs. Many early aero engineers cut their teeth in this era's deadly quest for speed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vaBUAh4HkU

Crash previously mentioned:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KTyYVnSyq4

For detailed info:
http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Explorers_Record_Setters_and_Daredevils/...

Of course Kermit Weeks has a Gee Bee!
http://www.fantasyofflight.com/aircraftpages/geebee.htm
Side note: he is working on getting this back in the air as you read this.....or ignore this..

Here are some Gee Bees to give you the hee bees (okay stupid joke  )
http://simviation.com/1/search?submit=1&keywords=gee+bee&x=0&y=0
I strongly recommend the Model Z Supersports Package for FS2004, there is a version of it for FSX as well. The Wolf Cyclone is NOT a Gee Bee but very similar and very fun, this sim model is actually not at all the real Cyclone of today. This sim model is actually of the Laird Turner Meteor:
http://simviation.com/1/search?submit=1&keywords=laird+turner&x=0&y=0
Which is also a ton of fun!
Howard Hughes used the 'minimal profile' design style of these Golden Age racers to create his H-1 racer:
http://simviation.com/1/search?submit=1&keywords=Hughes+racer&x=0&y=0

So there are some aircraft you can fly by the seat of your pants in the virtual skies. Just remember to keep an extra pair of underwear nearby as flying these can get interesting! 

FYI, over at the SOH downloads section there is a substantial array of Gee Bee models ranging from the Model A inline biplane to the flying barrels for FS2004. I am in fact currently downloading them   

There you are folks, my first "plane of the week"
I am not shooting for high detail, just enough to get the reader to notice the aircraft plus give some of my (at times) blunt thoughts.

Critics welcome 
Disclaimer, always a disclaimer: I am by no means an official aviation historian. I am an amateur aviation history buff that is giving HIS interpretation.

Currently taking nominations for next week's Plane of the Week..other wise I will write whatever the heck suits my fancy  (PM me). I will take bribes too of food and or 'recreational beverages' .....*Fozzer*

Tailwinds,
Adam...off to get my hee bee Gee Bee's!

Flying Trucker wrote on Jun 13^th, 2012 at 8:40am:


dang you read my mind! I figured doing a plane you work on would be biased so I WAS going to stay away...but now that you mentioned it, I will gladly do a YMF one next then the Great Lakes. By the way, could you let me know how the heck one puts pictures on these forums? I got some pictures of the T-6 that was on our ramp and I will be taking pictures now every day of the array of random stuff that appears and of the Great Lakes project. The owner absolutely loves sharing these planes, in fact, he will give a tour to literally anyone that appears at our door! So if you are ever in town stop on by
Simmers and R/C enthusiasts are very VERY welcome at WACO!

jetprop wrote on Jun 13^th, 2012 at 5:20pm:


The last part of that is where I get lost...copy what codes?