During the first week of July, HistoryMiami kicked off their exhibit highlighting Miami’s amazing 100 year aviation history. Wings Over Miami was honored to lend our beautiful Brown Racer to their project. The racer never looked so grand!
Our Brown Racer is the only aircraft of it’s type known to be in existence. Lawrence Brown of Santa Monica, California designed and experimented with a number of highly regarded race planes in the 1920’s and 30’s. His best known racers were the Brown racers simply named B-1, B-2, and B-3. Manufactured in 1933, this aircraft in addition to other racing accomplishments, won the 1934 Miami All American Air Races held at the old Miami Municipal Airport. The racer was piloted by famous race pilot Ralph Bushey.
The B-1 is a low-winged monoplane with an open single person cockpit and a fixed tail-skid undercarriage. The cockpit is so small that an average sized man can not fit comfortably in it; the racer is better suited to a jockey-sized pilot.
The Brown Racer will be on loan to HistoryMiami for the next six months. HistoryMiami is located on Flagler Street in Downtown Miami adjacent to the county government center.
