Almost a contender

Air Classics, Apr 2002 by O'Leary, Michael

During 1933, designer, Lawrence W. Brown was contracted to build a racing aircraft around a four-cylinder Menasco engine. The result was the Miles and Attwood Special NR225Y (named for the builders) and the little aircraft was of fairly trim appearance for the time period. Appearing at the 1933 Cleveland National Air Races, the Special was flown by Lee S. Miles and the pair quickly scored two firsts, two thirds, one fourth, and two fifth places. The Special hit 210.64 mph in a speed dash and its best pylon speed was 170.14 mph.

Clearly, the aircraft was one hot ship and it started piling up victories until tragedy struck at the 1937 Cleveland event. Miles had the 185-horse Menasco's throttle all the way forward as he went into his qualifying run but, without warning, one of the flying wires from the fuselage to the wing snapped. Since the aircraft was already under stress, a wing failed and the racer smashed into the ground. Miles was instantly killed.

By this time, Larry Brown had already refined some of his racing concepts and the next racer he designed bore his name - the Brown B-- 1. The aircraft looked like a much more refined version of the Special and had the same overall dimensions (span of 16 feet eight inches, length of 16 feet 9 inches). Also, a Menasco C4S of 185-hp was retained for power. As mentioned in previous articles, Menasco engines did not achieve much in the way of commercial success even though they were installed on numerous designs but the engine did enjoy popularity with the air racers since it had just about as little frontal area as possible while also having a high horsepower output for a relatively low weight.

The Brown B-1 was of fairly standard construction for the time. The fuselage was of welded steel tube truss construction and was quite stout. The cowl was tightly-wrapped sheet aluminum and the area around the snug cockpit was also covered in sheet aluminum. The remainder of the fuselage was covered in fabric. The plane was registered NR83Y.

Wing construction was also fairly standard with substantial built-up spruce spars and closely spaced spruce and plywood ribs. The wings were covered in fabric. The tail unit was a welded steel tube framework covered in fabric. The metal fuel tank was located directly in front of the pilot and held 20 gallons. The widely spaced landing gear had tight spats around the wheels and tires and was quite streamlined. The Menasco displaced 363 cubic inches and was fitted with a ground adjustable propeller. The racer tipped in at just 680 pounds empty and 964 pounds gross.

Brown had built the plane during 1933/934 for Ralph Bushey who wanted a hot ship for Cleveland and the numerous other air races being held across the country during the 1930s. Initial test flights proved quite promising and Bushey took the plane to the Pan-American Races in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he placed a very respectable second place in the aircraft's first outing. The future appeared very promising for the bright yellow racer but the plane was badly damaged in a landing accident after the races.

The bent airframe was disassembled and placed into storage. Oddly, the Brown B-1 remained stored and was not rebuilt. During World War Two, many of the surviving pre-war racing aircraft were scrapped but somehow the Brown survived. By 1947, the racer had been purchased by Billie Robinson who wanted to convert the airframe to the new Goodyear category.

The post-war Cleveland races were very popular and had everything from the latest jets to the new Goodyear "midget" category. These small racers were quite affordable and provided the basis for a whole new generation of racers. In order to achieve low airframe cost, good reliability, safety, and close competition, a strict series of requirements were mandated for the midgets.

The rules included a powerplant with fixed pitch propeller that could be no more than 190 cubic inches in displacement and had to be without performance modifications. The wings had to have an area of at least 66 square feet while the overall design had to be approved (in advance) by the National Aeronautics Association. The empty weight of the aircraft had to be no less than 500 pounds while the landing gear had to be non-retractable with 5.00x5 wheels. Also, the pilot and aircraft would have to undergo flight tests.

The first event for these aircraft was the 1947 Goodyear Trophy Race and 15 aircraft showed up to race. The course was a tight 2.2 miles and all eight heat races were safe and highly competitive. The 15-lap final race lasted just a dozen minutes and was won by Bill Brennand flying Steve Wittman's Buster. Since the first prize money of $7000 basically equaled the cost of a racer, the Goodyear was off and running.

It appears that Robinson did little to modify the Brown B-1. He repaired the airframe but the plane was still in its same basic configuration. Official statistics for the 1947 event lists the wingspan as 18 feet 9 inches and length at 16 feet 10 inches so there was an obvious increase in wingspan. The Menasco was, of course, replaced with an 85-horsepower Continental C-- 190 and the elegant cowling that tightly wrapped the Menasco was replaced by a much smaller affair that had the four cylinders sticking into the wind.