Story Little Gee Bee

George Bogardus flew the Little Gee Bee from Oregon to Washington, D. C., in 1947, 1949, and 1951. These three flights helped to convince officials in the Civil Aeronautics Administration and the Civil Aeronautics Board that amateurs could design and build light aircraft that were safe, reliable, and capable of practical cross-country flights. The CAA enacted legislation in 1952 that for the first time sanctioned the registration and operation of amateur-built aircraft. Later that year, Paul Poberezny founded the Experimental Aircraft Association, which has grown into a worldwide organization with more than 170,000 members.Little Gee Bee was built before World War II. With financial support from Lee Eyerly of Salem, Oregon, Tom Story of Portland designed and built an aircraft in 1938 patterned on Leslie Long's Low Wing Longster. Story's airplane took the nickname Wimpy but when George Bogardus acquired it after the war, he renamed it Little Gee Bee.