I am thinking of getting a 40 sized Gee Bee. My question is which one? I know there are a couple ARFs and some kits. Which is more durable? A kit with a wood fuselage or an ARF with fiberglass? Any help and recommendations will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Dean
I don't know whether you're builder or flyer (i.e. are you more in ARFs or kits) and which do you prefer - Gee Bee R2 or model Z (or some other) but I ordered an all wooden kit from a guy called Adrian Page
The kit is laser cut, and is joy to build and the final model is very stron g and light-weight. Covering it is something else, since you realy, realy have to have patience if you wish to do it properly. BTW, model Z has a little bit more of a tail moment (compared to R2) that makes it so much easier to steer on the ground. However, if you are flying from the grass runway (like I do very often) I would recommend that you make fixed rear ski and mount it at the end of the fuse, instead of the rudder, like on plans. Otherwise, the rudder is bound to take some very hard beating during taxing, take-off and landing rollout.
Other than that, I realy have no objections worth menitoning, but you should be very careful to put the CG exactly on the spot shown on plans and don't be tempted to increase elevator travel. If you are flying from the grass field, it is very high probability that your Gee Bee woud be prone to nose over, especially during the take-off roll. Don't be tempted to increase elevator travel or to move CG further back!
The proper solution for those nose overs is to lower the CG as low as possible (lower the radio equipment in the fuselage) and to apply some up elevator (maybe even full up elevator) up to the point it starts to lift of, then ease forward on the stick.
Once in the air, Adrian's Gee Bee is a joy to fly and to look at. Everybody at my flying field was amazed how well it flew and looked. Great plane!
Cheers
Drago
Thanks a lot for the input. My biggest concerns are durability and ease of assembly. I built my first trainer from a kit. It was not pretty, but it could have been a lot worse. I built my second plane as an ARF and also built a spad. My biggest goal is to have a great looking, durable plane. If that means a kit and I have to spend more time with covering, that is fine (although I doubt my covering skills would allow for the plane to look its best). As for which model I like, I prefer the Z a bit over the R2 for looks. I do not know the difference in flight characteristics betweent them though. Thanks again.
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