A modern replica of the 1934 Brown B-2 air racer orginally built by the Brown Aircraft Company of Montebello, California. "Miss Los Angeles" raced in the 1934 Nation Air Races and Thompson Trophy race and competed for a few more years after that.

Experimental rated. Daytime VFR only. With no transponder, you may think you are limted with airspace, but in the U.S. you can call ahead and get clearance into most airspaces and airports.

INSTALLATION

Copy the sal1800-brown-b2-racer directory into your community package directory. 

Startup

Battery switch on
Fuel cutoff to on position (up)
Mixture handle full rich
Throttle 25%
Turn key to energize magnetos and continue to rotate to start
If engine starts, adjust throttle for 700-1000 RPM

* At low RPMs, the alternator may not produce enough voltage to charge the battery. Avoid spending too much time at low idle.

Taxi

As with any taildragger, visibility is limited. Look out the sides and use S-turns. Full rudder and brakes will engage differential braking to help make tight turns as long as your speed is low.

Takeoff

Set mixture rich and fuel pump on. Set a small amount of up trim. Gradually apply full throttle. When the tailwheel lifts, be ready to apply left rudder as needed to maintain centerline. At 90 kts. you should be able to lift off. Adjust the throttle to stay below the redline RPM.

Cruise

Turn off fuel pump and adjust throttle and mixture for best fuel economy. Trim for level flight. You may find that you have a consistent roll. Use keybindings for alieron and rudder trim to adjust.

Approach and Landing

Plan ahead to slow to below 100 kts while decending to pattern altitude. Take your time because diving the nose down will pick up too much speed. Trim up as you slow. When stable below 100 kts, you can select flaps and end up at 70 kts on final with as gentle a touchdown as you can manage. 

After touchdown, apply brakes along with gradual backpressure on the stick to keep the tailwheel on the ground.

Crosswinds are not recommended. If you are having a hard time flying this plane, please try settng your weather to clear skys and give it a chance. 

Fixed Pitch Propeller

The propeller pitch is set for reasonably high speeds, so you will need more throttle on the ground and as the airspeed increases, adjust lower to stay below the RPM redline. 

Realism

I developed the engine performance and flight model to be both real world plausible and easy enough to fly in the simulator. I used many references, so this is not attempting to recreate any particular real-world aircraft, but a realistic homebuilt replica version of the type.

The flight model has been developed around a Curtiss airfoil (http://airfoiltools.com/airfoil/details?airfoil=curtisc72-il) which would be appropriate for the time it was originally designed. 

This would actually spend most of its life in a museum. If it was kept in flyable condition, it would maybe see very few flight hours.

Sound

With version 2.0, I have a more realistic engine sound through a simulated version of the Menasco B6 using Engine Simulator. You can try this engine out for yourself in Engine Simulator. https://catalog.engine-sim.parts/parts/916

Painting Resources

I have included some files to help repaint this model. Some areas, especially in the interior have the textures mirrored and some UVs overlap. The exterior largely can be painted easliy. 

There are a few decals available on the exterior that can be changed just by modifying the textures with alpha channel. For example, there is one on the side of the cockpit if you would like to add your name there. 

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Brown B-2 Air Racer

Replica of the 1934 Brown B-2 air racer, "Miss Los Angeles". Experimental rated for daytime VFR flights, this add-on offers realistic flying experience with detailed startup and flight procedures. Featuring a fixed pitch propeller and realistic engine sound, its a unique addition with painting resources for customization options.

Version History