Simanaitis Says
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MILLER TEXAS GEM
FORMULA ONE—whether on the ground or in the air—is replete with high technology and innovation. One of my favorites of Formula One air racers is Jim Miller’s Texas Gem N74M.
My Microsoft Flight Simulator version shows the Texas Gem in its earliest—and most innovative—form.
Jim Miller built the first of three pusher race aircraft, his Texas Gem N74M, in 1973 and continued racing it through the Reno 1986 Formula One event. Two offspring, Pushy Cat N414M and Pushy Galore N189BB evolved from this original design. The Texas Gem gave up its propeller ducting in 1975; its two offspring never had this feature.
The Texas Gem, c. 1973, while it still had its propeller ducting. Image from the collection of Johan Visschedijk.
The Formula One class originated in 1947 in response to the high cost of Unlimited Class air racing, the latter using highly modified World War II fighters. By contrast, Formula One had an initial displacement limit of 190 cu. in. (chosen to encourage use of the ubiquitous Continental 90). This rose to 200 cu. in. in 1968 with introduction of the Continental O-200.
The Texas Gem was cover subject of the British Sport Aviation magazine, February 1974.
Wing area for a Formula One aircraft is no smaller than 66 sq. ft. Empty weight has to exceed 500 lb. Both landing gear and propeller pitch are fixed. These regulations combine to promote “midget air racers” approaching speeds of 300 mph—on only 100 hp. They are invariably sleek—and tiny to the point that ads contain comments such as “pilot no taller than 5 ft. 8 in.”
My Texas Gem ready to touch down at Santa Ana’s 19R.
The Texas Gem and its offspring have had strings of successes in varied Formula One competitions. Traditional air races held in Reno, Nevada, are on a 3.19-mile oval defined by pylons.
Bruce Bohannan in the Miller-Bohannan Pushy Galore leads Judy’s Turn, a traditional Formula One racer of Holbrook Maslen at Reno, 1998. Image by Don Bucky Dawson, a legendary air-racing authority and photographer. See http://goo.gl/IkmKEb, “A Different Shape in the Sky.”
Pushy Galore also set three records recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, all involving time to altitude. It and Pushy Cat also competed in AeroShell 3D Speed Dashes, straightline competitions akin to aerial Bonneville runs. Check out http://goo.gl/Dd4oyn for a retrospective look at the 1993 AeroShell event, including a brief chat with Jim Miller.
Jim Miller celebrates a Formula One victory in 1991 with Miss Reno 91, Amanda Allman, left, and Miss Reno 90, Jennifer Eckert, right. Image by Don Bucky Dawson.
In Jim Miller’s chosen category of aerial Formula One, he was a blend of driver Ayrton Senna and designer Adrian Newey—quite an achievement. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2013
Simanaitis Says 
Unfortunately there’s no racing today the equivalent of a kind of Formula Libre, to which Formula one in cars and unlimited in air racing, was as close as we ever got. To allow engineers complete freedom in the design of engines, chassis (airframes in aircraft), tires and such was what fostered some of the great innovations. Now it’s just high-buck spec racing, at least in auto racing.
Hi Simanaitis,
Would you happen to know how the curved tail on the texas gem was actuated? I am restoring an old RC model of the gem and I can’t find much reference material on this.
Hi, Jasper,
Gee, it has been years since I did my GMax Texas Gem. I recall an excellent source, “The Air Racer,” by Charles A. Mendenhall, Specialty Press, North Branch, MN 55056, 1994. I’m afraid my copy has gone lost (full disclosure: packed up among scads of books in the garage…).
I just fired up the sim and took a look at those curved elevators. I suspect there were control horns somewhere, but I didn’t model them. Sorry.
Good luck on your model. It’s a neat project. — Dennis