Gee Bee
This is my second Gee Bee. The first was scratch built from Henry Haffke plans and tip stalled on take off on it's test flight. This ones an ARF (almost ready to fly) and should go together a little quicker.
The Manual
The building manual is well done with lots of pictures and good information the expert tips are very helpful. There are no plans because this is an ARF. One of the things I think could be better is the location of the graphics there are pictures in the manual but not all of the graphics are shown. I had colected some documentation from my first Gee Bee so I was able to locate all the graphics.
Applying the Graphics
I've decided to deviate a little from the instruction and attach all the graphics first. I'm planning on using some Windex to float the graphics in place and then sealing all the edges so fuel can't get at them.
I installed all the graphics except for those located on the cowl these will be applied after the cowl is installed.
The Wing
I installed the wing servos next using the supplied hardware. The pushrods are 2-56 and I considered changing this to 4-40 but I think the pushrods are short enough so that the 2-56 hardware will be ok. Next I joined the wing halves which was very easy to do.
The Engine
While the wing was drying I installed the engine. I'm using an OS 108 2 cycle with a Bisson side mount muffler. Great Planes recommends a 91 2 stroke or a 120 4 stroke and provides a template for mounting either engine. There is also a slot formed in the bottom of the fuse for the stock muffler on these engines but I was unable to use either because of my engine choice.
Fitting the Wing
Next I fitted the wing to the fuse. The holes drilled in the wing for the wing bolts were very close but didn't quite line up the angle was wrong. So I used a rat tail file to correct this. The problem is that the head of the bolts do not fit flush with the wing angle. I made some wedges out of plywood to use as washers and this corrected the problem.
The Fiberglass Bellypan
I fitted the belly pan on the wing next. You have to cut the fiberglass belly pan along the lines prvided and clean it up with sandpaper. This creates a problem the edge of the fiberglass where you make the cut is now raw and unpainted to correct this I used a red permanent marker to color the edge. I'm debating at this point whether or not to add flying wires so the belly pan will have to wait.
Fuselage Servo Mounts
Next I installed the sevo and reciever mounts in the fuse. This went easy although the spacing between the bulkheads in the fuse was a little off. The servo mounts go between the bulkheads and were a little loose but with some clamps and some filler for the glue all worked out ok. The Rest of the hardware install is straight foward the servos are easy to installand the pushrods are easy to make.
Belly pan and flying wires
The belly pan is a pain in the neck to install it doesn't quite fit so there's some sanding to do. It gets attached with epoxy so I glued on one side at a time to allow the glue to set up. I deceided to add flying wires and I found this material called Pony Lace that is used for craft projects. It's round and has elastic properties so combined with some clevises and mounting hardware I had my flying wires.
Flying
Well I wish I could say that the first flight was a total success but that's not quite the case. About five minutes into the first flight I had a dead stick followed by a controlled crash on the runway I did some damage to the wheel pants and the cowl broke loose from its mount but the damage was repairable. The engine problem was my fault I forgot to tighten the muffler bolts and it came off in flight. The second and third flights were better but the airplane nosed over on landing I fly off a grass field so that may have something to do with it. The fourth flight was a good one right down to the landing and taxi back to the pits. The airplane is quite aerobatic and it loves to knife edge. Take offs have to be scale and gentle with not too steep a climb out. Overall I like it however I would not reccomend it to a beginner.
A full review of this aircraft is available on Rc Universe.
