Forgotten racers: Redhead

Air Classics, Jul 2002 by O'Leary, Michael

SUCCESS AL WAYS ELUDED THIS WELL-DESIGNED RACING AIRCRAfT

Gordon Israel had gained a great deal of racing experience while helping Benny Howard design and build his stable of winning racing aircraft. Utilizing this experience, Gordon decided to create his own aircraft which, like the majority of the smaller racers, would be powered by a supercharged Menasco C6S of 544 cubic inches. As mentioned before, the Menascos could be temperamental engines but they had an extremely low frontal area and could be "tweaked" to pump out a lot more horsepower - albeit with a downturn in reliability.

Israel utilized the tried-and-true construction methods of the early 1930s. The fuselage was built from welded steel tubing to give an exceptionally strong and fairly light structure. Around the basic tube fuselage, Gordon added wooden stringers and formers to give the unit its desired shape. The aircraft's large turtledeck was constructed from molded plywood and it also served to cover a small rollover structure located directly behind the pilot's head. The top portion of the fuselage in front and around the cockpit was covered in formed aluminum sheet as was the fuselage tail cone.

From the firewall forward, the Menasco was fitted to a tubular engine mount and then wrapped in a tight-fitting aluminum cowl with extensive louvering on the left side while the six exhaust ports protruded from the lower right cowl. Cooling air was supplied via a duct in the hammered aluminum nose bowl. The Menasco was connected to a fixed-pitch metal two-blade propeller. Oddly, there was a lack of a streamlining spinner over the blunt propeller hub. The completed fuselage was 18.5 feet long.

The wings also were of standard construction and were built up around sturdy laminated spruce spars with wood ribs. The entire unit was then covered in plywood, sanded down, and then covered in fabric. This undoubtedly created a very strong unit but the designer must have wanted a bit more safety because he added two sets of bracing wires, the top wires were anchored in the fuselage while the lower wires connected to the landing gear. From the landing gear, a single bracing wire extended into the cowl and was fixed to the motor mount. The completed wing spanned 21.5 feet.

An interesting design feature that set the new racer apart from

other similar aircraft was that the center section, which appears to have had a thinner airfoil section than the outer wings, was built in an inverted gull shape. The reason for this particular feature is not known. The simple landing gear legs were fixed to the center section. Small balloon tires were wrapped in aluminum spats and the tires were the sole shock absorbers. Completed in 1933, the trim little racer was given a white and red paint scheme. Assigned the restricted civil registration NRI IV, the plane carried race number 97 and Gordon named his new mount Redhead.

Test flights proved that the aircraft handled well but there were, no surprise, problems with the Menasco and its supercharger. For 1933, the National Air Races were held at Mines Field in Los Angeles and the event was shortened to just four days - 1 to 4 July (instead of Cleveland's traditional ten-day August-September racing program). Many of the previous Cleveland categories were eliminated and the LA event would be free-for-alls with just pure racing aircraft categorized into classes by engine size.

Redhead was trucked to Los Angeles and assembled and test flown. The engine was still being temperamental but in the various heat events, Gordon managed to take two third-place trophies and one fifth-place trophy. His best pylon speed was 173.98 mph. However, the mechanics worked wonders on the Menasco and Gordon was able to place third in the Shell Speed Dash at 221.746 mph. Later in 1934, Gordon and Redhead attended the Chicago Air Races and took a second and third place.

Obviously not pleased with the racer's performance, Gordon began modifying Redhead. First, he revised the cowl, eliminating the louvers. This caused increased engine temperatures, so he moved the cowling slightly forward to allow a gap between the cowl and firewall, through which air could freely pass and help cool the Menasco.

Even more drastic modifications followed. The original wing was removed and replaced with a new wing which appears to have had a thinner airfoil. The unique inverted gull center section disappeared and new, more streamlined, spats were added around the tires. The bracing system remained the same and the paint scheme was revised several times. Also, at some point, a ground adjustable propeller was added.

It appears that the modifications did not do much good for although Redhead appeared at several more air racing events, it did not score any victories. Like so many of these early racing aircraft, the history of Redhead is a bit murky but it apparently suffered a hard landing and was not repaired. We would appreciate hearing from readers that might know of the craft's final fate.

Gordon Israel would continue his relationship with Benny Howard and even served as copilot with Howard aboard Mr. Mulligan when the pilots won the 1935 Bendix Trophy crosscountry speed dash. Israel would go on to have a very successful career with Grumman and, later, Learjet.