Start here
A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
Granville Brothers built the Gee Bee racers for speed competition. The Model R placed a large radial engine ahead of small wings and a cockpit set far aft in a short fuselage. Gee Bee takes its name from the initials of Granville Brothers.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗Praise for the R-2 coexists with a difficult race
Gehlbach’s cross-country race became a struggle to see through leaking oil. After an oil line failed, he reached Illinois and concluded that the problem could not be repaired there. He continued towards Cleveland with the canopy removed, enduring oil in his face, and finished fourth behind the leading Wedell-Williams aircraft.
Don Hollway’s retrospective account with quoted pilot recollections. Original R-2, race number 7, in the 1932 Bendix race; Jimmy Doolittle’s R-1 is a different aircraft.
Don Hollway / Aviation History · Read more ↗The original MSFS 2020 release
The April 2022 Famous Flyer II release combines the Model Z and R-2, with historic cockpit layouts and three liveries. The announcement offers both for PC and Xbox.
Gee Bee Model Z / R-2 · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
Microsoft Flight Simulator Team · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Military History and Aviation · 6 min ·
Great cockpit footage of Gee Bee R2 Aerobatic Demo
Delmar Benjamin displays a Gee Bee R2 recreation, with cockpit and ground footage.
Modern recreation · Delmar Benjamin’s Gee Bee R2
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Granville Gee Bee R2 / Z
Granville Brothers built the Gee Bee racers for speed competition. The Model R placed a large radial engine ahead of small wings and a cockpit set far aft in a short fuselage. Gee Bee takes its name from the initials of Granville Brothers.
The Model Z, R-1 and R-2 were separate racing designs. Modern replicas also differ from original racers; the photographs and simulator model labels identify the aircraft represented.
Granville Gee Bee R2 / Z
Aircraft type designators
A model-specific ICAO or FAA designator has not been confirmed in the references reviewed for this aircraft.
History & design
The Z and R-2 were built for different racing seasons
Microsoft’s historical release account places the Model Z’s Thompson Trophy victory in 1931 and the R-2’s Bendix and Thompson appearances in 1932. The R-2's race history is separate from the other Gee Bee designs.
Microsoft Flight Simulator Team · Famous Flyer II - Gee Bee ↗Historical background in the April 2022 release
Pilot accounts
Praise for the R-2 coexists with a difficult race
Gehlbach’s cross-country race became a struggle to see through leaking oil. After an oil line failed, he reached Illinois and concluded that the problem could not be repaired there. He continued towards Cleveland with the canopy removed, enduring oil in his face, and finished fourth behind the leading Wedell-Williams aircraft.
His public assessment of the R-2 was enthusiastic, praising its handling despite the disappointing result. Hollway also records a much more guarded private recollection: Gehlbach and Doolittle regarded their respective Gee Bees as exceptionally demanding machines. The contrast belongs to the pilot’s reported views at different moments.
Don Hollway’s retrospective account with quoted pilot recollections. Original R-2, race number 7, in the 1932 Bendix race; Jimmy Doolittle’s R-1 is a different aircraft.
Read the full account · Don Hollway / Aviation History ↗A replica brings an airshow pilot together with its original builders’ families
Benjamin’s airshow displays gave audiences a moving view of an aircraft more often remembered through old racing photographs. The report describes climbs, rolls and inverted passes in the replica. His preference for lively aerobatic aircraft comes through in a remark relayed by builder Steve Wolf: a placid machine would have held less interest for him.
An East Coast tour also brought a more personal encounter with the design’s history. At Concord, Benjamin and Wolf met members of the Granville family and engineer Pete Miller, who had worked on the original racers. Benjamin held a surviving piece of original R-2 fabric beside the replica. That reunion connected his modern display flying with people and material from the aircraft’s first life.
EAA report, July 1995. R-2 replica built with Steve Wolf and his team; the article’s closing R-1 label conflicts with its repeated R-2 identification and photographs.
Read the full account · EAA Vintage Airplane ↗The first landing makes the restricted view unforgettable
Turner told Haffke that his replica was a good aircraft in the air, but its restricted view made ground handling and landing a different matter. After his first landing, he joked that he had expected the runway to disappear from view, without anticipating that the entire airport would disappear with it.
Taking the aircraft back to Springfield gave him another strong memory. Local visitors came repeatedly to see it, and their response moved him. Some remembered the original racer and the community that had supported it. By the time of Haffke’s account, Turner wanted the replica to become a museum exhibit, ideally in Springfield. The pleasure of flying it had become linked with the possibility of returning its story to that community.
Remarks recorded by Henry Haffke in Model Aviation, October 1984. Turner’s full-size Model Z replica with a tailwheel; Haffke’s separate radio-controlled model flights are not Turner’s experiences.
Read the full account · Model Aviation / Academy of Model Aeronautics ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2024Gee Bee R2 / Z
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Gee Bee R2 / Z
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 2020Gee Bee Model Z / R-2
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Gee Bee Model Z / R-2
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
The original MSFS 2020 releaseGee Bee Model Z / R-2 · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
The April 2022 Famous Flyer II release combines the Model Z and R-2, with historic cockpit layouts and three liveries. The announcement offers both for PC and Xbox.
2022-04-26 · release and package scope
Microsoft Flight Simulator Team · Read the source ↗A museum replica helped shape the simulator’s Model ZGee Bee Model Z / R-2 · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
Microsoft says its team studied and scanned the Model Z replica at Seattle’s Museum of Flight. This identifies a development reference for the Carenado recreation.
April 2022 announcement; source model does not establish physical fidelity
Microsoft Flight Simulator Team · Read the source ↗The announced Z uses a fixed-pitch propellerGee Bee Model Z / R-2 · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
The release describes the Z with a Wasp Junior radial and a fixed-pitch two-blade propeller. The larger engine used in later historical record attempts is a different configuration.
April 2022 description; no undocumented propeller control inferred
Microsoft Flight Simulator Team · Read the source ↗Pilot account
Praise for the R-2 coexists with a difficult raceDon Hollway’s retrospective account with quoted pilot recollections. Original R-2, race number 7, in the 1932 Bendix race; Jimmy Doolittle’s R-1 is a different aircraft.
Gehlbach’s cross-country race became a struggle to see through leaking oil. After an oil line failed, he reached Illinois and concluded that the problem could not be repaired there. He continued towards Cleveland with the canopy removed, enduring oil in his face, and finished fourth behind the leading Wedell-Williams aircraft. His public assessment of the R-2 was enthusiastic, praising its handling despite the disappointing result.
Lee Gehlbach
Don Hollway / Aviation History · Read the source ↗A replica brings an airshow pilot together with its original builders’ familiesEAA report, July 1995. R-2 replica built with Steve Wolf and his team; the article’s closing R-1 label conflicts with its repeated R-2 identification and photographs.
Benjamin’s airshow displays gave audiences a moving view of an aircraft more often remembered through old racing photographs. The report describes climbs, rolls and inverted passes in the replica. His preference for lively aerobatic aircraft comes through in a remark relayed by builder Steve Wolf: a placid machine would have held less interest for him. An East Coast tour also brought a more personal encounter with the design’s history.
Delmar Benjamin
EAA Vintage Airplane · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Granville Gee Bee Model R Super SportsterWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 950023370 · retrieved 2026-09-12Resource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftDeveloper documentation
Famous Flyer II - Gee BeeMicrosoft Flight Simulator Team · 2022-04-26 · release and package scopeBuilt-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 2 profile choices
Granville Gee Bee R-2
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Partial review
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Granville Gee Bee R-2: The profile supplies the selected racer’s stick balance.
Granville Gee Bee Model Z
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Granville Gee Bee Model Z: The profile supplies the selected racer’s stick balance.
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