PTS

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Hello Gents!

My Gee Bee is nearing completition. I will be traveling to Desert Aircraft this week to pick up a DA-150. Below is a pic of the lower flying wire support that was hand made by Ray Powell and also a pic of the wheel and tire i got from Glennis. These are narrow enough to fit easily inside the pants and checkout the scale tread.

Perry

dirtydingus

Hey Guys, PTS, DWR, RichardGee, and any other Gee Bee builders

How are the projects coming? Haven't heard from ya in a while. I hate to see this thread sit idle.

PTS

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The Gee Bee is 90% done. I just received the DA-150 and now we are going to paint. Will post updated pics...

Perry
PTS

RichardGee

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Since my mishap, I have repaired my Gee Bee structurally, but not cosmetically. I do not intend to get 'er cosmetically pristine until after posting LOTS more flights.

The DA 150 is still at DA. They have been really backed up on repairs since the Tuscon Shoot Out.
I have yet to find a single thing wrong with my fuel or ignition power / radio set up and am keeping my fingers crossed DA comes to a definitive conclusion as to WHY my engine quit so unexpectedly.

Believe it or not, I have acquired ANOTHER CARF GBR2 kit and am already working on it! Starting out by elimating all the visible seams on every part, which will include very careful painting.

I have acquired CB Associates 6.5" wheels for the new bird (instead of the Sullivan 7") and am setting up my new oleos.

I am now wrestling with the potential power plant...... my old DA150? new DA170? another used 150-size engine...OR... possibly RCS radial....

flyierjon

hey all ... im curious, would a zdz 210 be too much power for this gee bee??? i am seriously looking at this as my next plane! I love the size of it and looks and i have always wanted a gee bee but heard the smaller ones dont fly the greatest. I know this specific plane needs the nose weight so thats in my favor for the larger motor. please any info would be great! Thanks
Jon

dirtydingus

Flierjon,

I say go for it. I know that the plane can handle about any flight load you can throw at it. There are times I wish I had a bit more power. The only thing is, the plane handles better at the lower power settings, so the only time you would ever use 22hp is on a high speed (crazy high speed) pass. My two cents, DA 150, great... RCS 250, perfect for this plane.

RichardGee

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I am not the end-all and be-all of this aircraft's flight potential, but I can say that after 6 exciting flights, the 16.5HP DA150, spinning a XOAR 30x12, provides excellent performance.

I think the plane would fly with a good 100, but the 150 adds needed nose weight and provides scale prop spinning ability.

Some guys are flying these with a 150 on full length tuned pipes.

Andreas Gietz says that an RCS 250 would be suitable.

Can a Gee Bee be over powered? I dunno... what did they think of an 800 HP Pratt and Whitney hanging out on the nose of the little racer in 1932?

The ZDZ 210 is OK as far as weight. You may have very little ground clearance once you prop it correctly.

My $0.02

GEE BEE GER

nice to hear from you Richard and i hope your DA engine is in the next season errorless. pretty good that you have acquired a new Kit, i think we have all alittle from a psychopath but the plane is to cool.

i am building my Gee Bee in the winter. i think my plane must have an 3W 157ccm engine, that will be a flying rocket



grettings from Germany
Carsten

flyierjon

haha what were they thinking with the 800 hp pratt, turned out to be an awesome plane thou
yeah true about the ground clearence... I swing a 34-14 on my 210. Can anyone measure the ground clearence with a prop on a 150 for me? I would be curious to see what it is. Wouldnt the RCS 250 swing pretty close to the same size prop as the zdz 210?

Jon

RichardGee

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Still waiting for my DA to be returned, so I can't give you actual ground clearance measurement.

I can tell you that I purposely switched to the 30x12 (from 32x10) to give myself a bit more ground clearance; 30" is closer to the scale prop size; and I was more interested in speed than thrust.

Because the Gee Bee can exhibit a tendency to nose-over, I felt that the 30" prop would give me more 'time' to react and recover from a pending nose-over condition (before prop made contact)

Turns out all my my reasons are valid and I am sticking with the 30" prop.

The RCS 215, 250 radials use anywhere from a 32x14 to 32x18 prop. Because they spin at a lower rpm than a DA150, you need more pitch to accomplish the same thing and load the engine properly.

Personally, I think anything over 32" is going to give unsufficient ground clearance for either the occasional hard landing, in which the oleos flex, OR that pending nose-over where a split second is required to apply up elevator before prop contact.

HOWEVER, if you DO go with the ZDZ 210 and 34" prop, she ought to SCOOT!!!

flyierjon

I wonder if i could swing the 32-18 prop on the 210?? that would give me more ground clearance than the 34 incher lol and would scoot along even better!!! hooray for speed and over powered planes [sm=lol.gif][sm=biggrin.gif] where would i even get a 32-18 prop there is my next delima im sure you guys will tell me right away

Jon

RichardGee

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RCS sells both the 32x14 and 32x18.

Check 'em out
http://www.rcshowcase.com/html/acces...bulaprops.html

flyierjon

doh! I should have known they would have that prop.... thanks

RichardGee

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Guys,

I am in the midst of building another CARF GBR2. This one will have a 3W157CS for power. If anyone needs any particular construction area explained or photo, let me know as I am taking very detailed notes and photos of this project.

RichardGee

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Some pix from my second Gee Bee build: The stunning 3W157CS; 42% Products Blue Box, High Power Switches, and Hitec 5645 on the finished radio tray; finished Tank Tray with DuBro 50 oz. tank, 42% Li Ions and Regulators, installed in Gee Bee nose.
I have also been working on sanding and painting all the seams to give the Gee Bee a more finished look.

dirtydingus

RichardGee,

That looks great. The engine should look nice through the baffle openings. Still flying mine and love it. Good luck and keep us up on the progress. Jim

RichardGee

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Well, I flew the repaired Gee Bee last weekend... I waited until now to post as I thought I would have some killer in flight pictures available, but the photographer has not yet made them available.

First, the cause of my engine flame-out was finally discoverd, at the field, during range checks. GUYS! DO NOT FORGET to range check!!! This saved my plane.

The flame-out and very hard landing some time back was caused by a bad crystal in my PCM receiver. I proved this at the field last weekend by performing an antenna-down range check, engine running, and repeatedly having the engine die when I had reached about 20 paces... the radio was going into Fail Safe and killing the engine!
Initially, we thought it was a bad receiver, but I figured it was worth a try to swap crystals and VOILA! NO more range issues.

So, what happened last time was that, after 6 successful flights, the crystal just decided to go bad and reduce my range by a factor of about 10, killing the engine shortly after take off. When it went into fail-safe, the plane was banked and turning back towards the field with the engine off, all control was restored and I landed dead stick out in the rough.

Repairs completed and courage restored, my flight last week was successful, albeit nerve-wracking, as the plane was way out of trim and required TONS of up elevator trim. GENTS - Be aware this Gee Bee does tend to require up elevator trim. I even moved the CG from 18% back to 19.4% and this made virtually NO change in the need for up elevator trim.
Not sure why this is, as everything is set up zero, zero, zero EXCEPT 2 deg. positive wing incidence and about 3 deg. engine right thrust.

Anyway, once trimmed out, even with a very rich DA150, the Gee Bee certainly IMPRESSED! There is simply NOTHING LIKE IT in the air!
p.s. I did almost do her in while performing a tight loop - STUPID!!! A slow Gee Bee and tight loop combine for an instant snap. Luckily, I had just an enough altitude and rudder throw to get out of it, but I can live without that level of "pucker factor!"

When I have more photos, I will post them; as well as photos of the new Gee Bee build.

RichardGee

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JIM?
Saw the pictures of your HOT ROD Gee Bee R2 in FLY RC Magazine!
Congrats!! VERY glad to see IT LIVES and FLIES!

My second CARF Gee Bee build comes along nicely.
I anticipate it will be 95% DONE by Dec. 31.
Weather here is cold and rainy (Northern CA) and I have my first Gee Bee to fly, so I will likely take a break from Gee Bee #2 and build a few of my other birds that have been lanquishing in the shop throughout this Gee Bee obsession.[&:]

Will wait for warmer weather to complete some of the paint touch up on Gee Bee #2, but it will be very difficult to go without running that beautiful new 3W157CS

dwr

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Hi guys, Happy New Year. Well I am almost in the mood to make the repairs on the GeeBee. Got the new wing set (ouch!) a while back but just wasn't up for it yet. I hate fixing airplanes so they always sit in a corner for a while. I know if I get started I can have it ready in a couple weeks. Richard I admire your tenacity and Jim you make it look so easy. Wish I could have made it up to Tiano's flyin to see it. I'll keep you posted on my progess. Now that I have posted this I have to do it right? DWR

RichardGee

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INDEED! To remain a member of the Gee Bee R2 Flyer's Fraternity in good standing, you gotta git er back in the air

Since my last posting on 12/8, I have tuned the engine and posted 3 more flights - all successful. This plane is just simply awesome!

Not sure about other's, but mine has the most wicked 'howl' or 'whine' it is just remarkable. I have received a couple negative comments about the prop noise - spinning a XOAR 30x12 and it almost sounds as if the tips are going super-sonic. This racket also drowns out the very cool whine coming from the cowl / flying wires / not sure, but is only offensive (to some) when at full throttle.

I don't need anymore speed, so do not want to go up in pitch. I could go to a 32x10, but enjoy both the scale size and better ground clearance of the 30" prop. What to do?

The selection of props at the 150cc size range is fairly limited.

dwr

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Richard, If you don't have noise issues with your neighbors at the field I say let her rip. More pitch would increase your landing speed too. DWR.

RichardGee

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Unfortunately, our days are numbered at our present flying site[&o]. We are also limited by encroaching neighbors that, amongst other things, DO complain about the noise.
Fortunately, we have acquired a new property and will be building a world-class field over the next few years and noise will NEVER be an issue again (at least not in my lifetime)

I will likely try the 32x10 and see how it does. It will be very difficult to improve upon the overall performance of the 30x12, but if noise is such a big issue, I may have to make a few sacrifices.[>:]

Keep us up to speed on your Gee Bee exploits.

Would also be curious as to how PTS' R2 is coming along ??? From the pix, it appears they are going ALL OUT to make theirs super scale.

DWR - Remind me again - did you fly yours with a DA100? If so, how was the balance and performance?

hotrodblazer

Richard The XOAR props are well known to be among the most offensive noise makers around.
You can keep your current size and try another brand,some are especially quieter than what you have.
For instance, the Mejzlik props are among the quietest props available.
http://www.desertaircraft.com/page.php?Page=Mejzlik.
something to consider!
Good Luck,Danny

RichardGee

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HotRod, thanks for the tip!

I wondered about CF props as an alternative, but with the Gee Bee's nose-over potential, felt that the $100 per copy pricetag would add to the Russian roulette nature of landing an R2...[]

dwr

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Richard, I am using a 3W100. The all up weight was 33lbs. for the first flights. The flight performance was very good. A radar gun showed 100mph. The speed looked good in the air, I would say very scale. I am coming along on the repairs. All the minor stuff on the fuse is done. Now working on the new wings. Weather has been bad lately so have been getting some shop time. Might have it ready to go in another week or so. What throttle setting are you using on approaches? I was amazed how much throttle mine required to keep the bottom from dropping out. DWR.