Page 24 - Volume 12 Number 4

as much as 450 horsepower, Liggett had done well. Only 10 mph had separated Miss Wanda from rst place.
Further modi cations were made to Eldon’s Model AW to give it a few more miles per hour, while the CR-2 would compete in the 1932 NAR in its original con guration and, hopefully, take the checkered ag for the rst time instead of nishing in fourth or fth place. At the end of the NAR, Eldon in his Model AW and Liggett in Miss Wanda had won $1,700 in prize money. Despite these successes, Clyde and Eldon knew that to win races and top money, the CR-2 needed more horsepower and a maximum speed exceeding 200 mph.
Clyde was able to obtain a special version of the Warner engine known the Super Scarab that produced 145 horsepower. Installation of the heavier powerplant, however, required a slight increase in the CR-2’s fuselage length for weight and balance purposes, and a new cowling had to be fabricated to compensate for the increased outside diameter of the seven-cylinder radial. In addition, Clyde and Eldon further streamlined the little racer to reduce drag. The CR-2 was rolled out of the factory on December 28 for its second “ rst ight.” Speed tests indicated that a full throttle with the Warner screaming at 2,700 RPM, the tiny monoplane easily broke the 200-mph barrier.4
Charged with enthusiasm for the racer’s potential, Clyde wasted no time having Roy Liggett fly the monoplane down to Miami to compete in the 1933 “All- American Air Races” that kicked off a new season. The Super Scarab engine and drag reduction efforts paid off when the little monoplane won the Colonel E.H.R. Green Trophy race at an average speed of 194 mph. Liggett
collected a whopping $6,500 and the victory was made sweeter because he nally beat Johnny Livingston and his modi ed Monocoupe. The CR-2 had defeated Johnny by a signi cant margin, and Livingston began to realize that if he was to remain at the top of his sport he needed a Cessna racer. After the races concluded, Liggett ew the ship back to Wichita where it rested in the hangar before the next major race scheduled for July.
In March, while the CR-2 was undergoing further modi cations to eke out more speed, Johnny Livingston ew his Monocoupe to Wichita and had a serious chat with Clyde and Eldon Cessna. Before he departed Johnny ordered a custom-built racer that would be known as the CR-3. The ship would incorporate certain changes dictated by Livingston, including a shoulder-mounted wing recommended to him by Dwane Wallace, Clyde’s nephew who had recently earned a degree in aeronautical engineering. By late April, the basic airframe was nearing completion, and Livingston removed the Super Scarab from the Monocoupe for installation in the CR-3.
By 1933, Johnny had become one of air racing’s all- time top money winners. For example, from 1928-1931 he took the checkered ag 79 times, placed second on 43 occasions and third only 15 times. Johnny was pinning his hopes of dominating the air race circuit with his new Cessna speedster. In May the only task remaining was to have Livingston sit in the cockpit to determine weight and balance calculations. The CR-3 was trundled out of the factory on June 2, 1933, and Livingston handed Mr. Cessna a check for $2,700. During the next few days a series of ight tests were conducted,
Roy Liggett posed with the CR-2 during the 1933 Miami Air races. A more powerful Warner Super Scarab engine had been installed and further modi cations made to the airframe to reduce drag. The racer was capable of speeds well in excess of 200 mph and was highly competitive. (TEXTRON AVIATION)
22 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
APRIL 2018