SHELL GEE BEE R-1 SUPERSPORTSTER AIRPLANE #1 IN AIR RACING SERIES 99-0120

Description

SHELL GEE BEE R-1 SUPERSPORTSTER AIRPLANE #1 IN AIR RACING SERIES   99-0120  PRODUCED BY FIRST GEAR, INC. FOR KIPP BROTHERS
The 1920s to the mid-1930s was known as "The Golden Age of Air Racing."  During the Great Depression era aircraft builders were enticed to produce race planes.  Money was tight and with thousands of dollars of prize money available pure speed was what won the races.
In the early 1930s Granville Brothers Aircraft built the Gee Bee R-1 Supersportster to race in the Shell Speed Dash.  The R-1 was at the hands of Jimmy Doolittle.  At this race, Doolittle set a new landplane speed record of 296 mph in this straight line course.