Brown B-1 Racer

{{Infobox Aircraft Begin

| name=Brown B-1 Racer

| image=Brown B-1 Racer NR83Y Tamiami FL 26.04.09R.jpg

| caption=The B-1 Racer as restored postwar on display in the Wings over Miami aviation museum at Tamiami Airport, near Miami

}}{{Infobox Aircraft Type

| type=Racing aircraft

| national origin=United States

| manufacturer=Brown Aircraft Co.

| designer=Dan Holloway

| first flight=1933

| introduced=1933

| retired=circa 1948

| status=preserved in a museum

| primary user=racing pilots

| number built=1

| developed from=

| variants with their own articles=Brown B-2 Racer
Brown B-3

}}

The Brown B-1 Racer was an American-built small monoplane racing aircraft of the 1930s. {{TOC limit|limit=2}}

Design and development

The B-1 Racer was built in 1933 by the Brown Aircraft Co. of Montebello, California, which had been founded by Lawrence W. Brown, previously of Clover Field, Santa Monica, California.

The B-1 was designed by Dean Holloway and was intended for competitive flying at the hands of Ralph Bushey. The diminutive aircraft was a low-winged monoplane with an open single-person cockpit and a fixed tail-skid undercarriage.[http://aerofiles.com/_bo.html "American Airplanes Bo-Bu."] Aerofiles, April 2009. Retrieved: September 27, 2017.

Operational history

Ralph Bushey raced the aircraft NR83Y in several prewar competitions in the United States, but the aircraft was damaged in a crash after the engine fell out during the race. It was rebuilt in 1947 with a removable closed cabin and powered by an {{convert|85|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Continental C-85 engine.

The aircraft continued to compete as a "midget racer", named Suzie Jayne.

The B-1 was withdrawn from flying in the late 1940s, and is currently owned by Kermit Weeks.Ogden 2007, p. 146. The aircraft was on public display at the Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida, alongside the Brown B-2 replica.[http://www.rodbearden.com/Florida%202016/Fantasy%20of%20Flight/Index.htm "Fantasy of Flight."] Rod's Aviation Photos. Retrieved: September 27, 2017.[http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=83Y "FAA Registry N-Number Inquiry Results."] Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved: September 27, 2017.