1951 Loving/Wayne WR-1 Racer 'Love' – N351C

In the June 1954 issue of The Experimenter, there appeared a half-page story of a remarkable flight by a remarkable man. Neal Loving flew his homebuilt midget racer, the Love, from Detroit, Michigan, to Kingston, Jamaica. The flight covered 2,200 miles, with 215 of those miles flown over open water. His flight was widely regarded as a salute to the homebuilder and to experimental aircraft.

The most notable features of the WR-1 are its inverted gull wing and its fully enclosed landing gear mounted at the point where the wing sections join together to form the gull. This enables one complete fairing to enclose the landing gear and wheel, effectively creating a giant wheelpant.

Built in 1950, the Love’s fuselage is wood construction covered in fabric, and the wings are skinned with plywood. A Continental C-85 engine provides the horsepower. During the flight to Jamaica, Loving’s ground speed was 127.5 mph. The airplane has an unusually elaborate instrument panel for the era including such things an accelerometer, stall warning indicator, radio receiver and a novel electric lap counter.

This aircraft was donated to the EAA Aviation Museum by Neal Loving.

Length:  17 feet, 3 inches
Wingspan: 20 feet
Cruise Speed: 155 mph
Maximum Speed: 200 mph (approx.)
Seats: 1
Powerplant: Continental C-85
Horsepower: 85 hp