FROm SAn fRAnCISCO TO BUmBLE BEE

THE KEITH RIDER R-2 WOULD ENJOY A LONG RACING CAREER

The first racer designed by Keith Rider was designated the B-1 and entered in the 1930 National Air Races. The craft was relatively streamlined and designed to H have retractable landing gear (somewhat of a novelty at the time). Registered NR10216 and equipped with a Menasco Pirate engine, the plane was to be raced by none other than Maj. John A. Macready - pilot of the famous Fokker T-2 that made the epic coast-to-coast flight that brought the Army a lot of publicity. However, during the first event things did not go well. Probably due to flutter, an aileron departed the wing and the racer flipped over out of control and smashed into the ground. Amazingly, Macready emerged with just a few minor injuries. The B-1 was totally destroyed and the only identifiable portion was the tail section.

Not deterred, Keith Rider showed up at the 1931 National Air Races - but this time with two racers! At first, they appeared to be cleaned up variants of the B-1 but they were actually completely new designs. Oddly, both racers were registered with the CAA as Rider R-1s but the planes were known as the Rider R-1 and R-2 (the R-1 is featured in the May 2001 issue of Air Classics).

The B-1 had been of wooden construction, but the new racers had all-metal fuselages of monocoque design. The wings were built around spruce spars with wooden ribs. The wing was covered with plywood which was then fabric covered to make an extremely strong structure. The R-2 was a smaller version of the R-I and it was registered R52Y with the race number 132 and the name San Francisco II. The retractable landing gear was rather unusual and consisted of two stiff struts (the only shock absorbing came from the fat air wheels) that retracted backwards and into the wing with the tires half protruding.

Power came from a Menasco C4S Pirate four-cylinder in-line which was factory rated at 150-hp at 2260-rpm and 3000-ft. Since we have mentioned the Menasco engines in many of our "Forgotten Racers" articles, an in-depth look at the C4S is in order. The powerplant offered low frontal area which meant designers could come up with sleek airframes. The Pirate carried its accessories, including supercharger, in the rear. The crankcase was ribbed for strength while the crankshaft was carried on five main hearings. Main and connecting rod hearings were of standard hobitt metal types. Pistons were the full skirt waffle head type with underhead cross ribbing for added strength and heat dissipation. Piston pins floated in both the connecting rod and piston and were located by end buttons.

Nickel iron cylinders were standard although steel cylinders could he ordered when light weight was desired. Separable heads were held to the cylinder and through to the crankcase by long nickel steel studs to provide easy servicing as any cylinder head could be detached by removing four nuts and disconnecting the intake manifold. Heads were of Menasco cast aluminum alloy with one intake and one exhaust valve per head spread laterally to provide ample cooling area over the head itself and with generous finning for efficient cooling.

The crankshaft had a splined propeller huh end of the No. 10 SAE type. Standard SAE mounting flanges were incorporated in the accessory case for mounting the generator and starter. Magneto ignition was standard, but battery ignition could also be supplied.

Aluminum castings throughout the engine were of Menasco foundry production and the supercharger was also of Menasco design and manufacture. The engine incorporated a special type cushion in the supercharger gear train which permitted direct drive without provision of a slip clutch, and supercharging was made more efficient due to the exposed supercharger scroll and long intake manifold which together provided an intercooler effect. This cooled the compressed charge and allowed the use of high manifold pressure with excessive heating.

The engine was split on the center line of the crankshaft and major stresses were carried through the lower case, the upper case serving as a cover. The C4S had four separable cast aluminum mounting legs. The crankshaft was Wyman-Gordon chrome nickel steel SAE 3240 of one-piece construction.

Without the air scoop, fuel pump or propeller hub, the C4S weighed 305-lbs. Fuel consumption was .56-lb/hp/hr. oil consumption was .010-lb/hp/hr. Ignition was supplied by two Robert Bosch or Edison-Splitdorf magnetos. Equipment furnished by the factory included a side air scoop, lifting eye bolts, tool kit, steel exhaust flanges, propeller hub cones and nut. Extra equipment comprised an electric or hand starter, fuel pump, hub for wooden propeller, battery ignition, and an electric generator.

Getting back to the R-2, the Menasco had been modified to produce almost 200-hp which also made the powerplant a bit temperamental. Both the R-1 and R-2 were owned by the San Francisco Racing Group which was headed by Robert Clampett who owned the R-2 and the majority interest in the R-1. Initially, both racers were sponsored by Standard of California and the R-2 was entered in the 1931 National Air Races. Flown by Ray Moore, the aircraft won the 400-cu-in race with a speed of 156.456-mph. ι During this time period, even though it was the Great Depression, there were a number of air races held across the United States and in 1932 the R-2 first went to Omaha, Nebraska, for a race and in one event Bob Clampett and the R-2 beat out Benny Howard in the Mike with a speed of 1 76.06-mph compared to Howard's 176.04 speed - a photo-finish if there ever was one.