When the Granville brothers designed the original Gee Bee with its huge fuselage to support the equally huge Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine, short stubby wings and pilot crammed up almost in the fin it’s not surprising it quickly gained the nickname of “the flying barrel”. This was one hugely powerful and fast aircraft in it’s day, winning the 1932 Thompson Trophy race, piloted by Jimmy Doolittle who later went on to set a new world landplane speed record of 476 km/h (296 mph) in this aircraft. The Gee Bee was not for the faint hearted and rapidly earned a reputation as a potentially dangerous machine and an aircraft that could rapidly get away from all but the most skilled pilots, claiming many victims during it’s racing career.
Despite all this Seagull have managed to capture the essence of the Gee Bee superbly and thanks to some clever design have managed to tame this aircraft to such an extent that it is a practical everyday flyer. True, it isn’t for the beginner but for those who can fly this is a whole load of fun!





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