My review of the Electrifly Gee Bee
03-24-2014, 03:18 PM
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My review of the Electrifly Gee Bee
I recommend planes for review, but it seems like they never add them. And since I LIKE doing reviews I hope people don't mind me doing them here.
I resisted this plane for a while. Then one day I picked up and extra shift at work... I was excited to get the box, and it was one of the weirdest planes I have ever put together. I basically snaps together with magnets. Except for one thing I could have just driven down to the field and snapped it together in a few minutes and flown it! I didn't trust the magnets so I also glued everything. It was the easiest build I have ever seen. Gosh, I love foam!
The one thing that help up the build was that the wing bolt did not fit the nut in the wing! I know it sounds dumb and probably like it's my fault but I promise you that isn't the case! One wing bolt in the kit, one wing nut, and no fitty fitty! I had to go down to the hardware store and buy a metal bolt that fit. I did lock tight it.
It feels like sort of a heavy plane for the size of the wings. I worried about that.
I was so happy to have a great day (3-4 mph winds right down the runway) to fly the girl. I planned on it being a little under powered and keeping the wheels on the runway as long as I could. I added power and off we went! It was a smooth, stable run, with only a bit of right rudder. I was surprised with how stable the takeoff was, it took about 20 feet.
The climb out was great, I wouldn't call it over powered or anything, but it has more than I expected and plenty to get around.
I loved flying it, the beast isn't actually a beast! It tracks amazing well. While it's not a slow flyer, it flew slow enough to be easy to control. Stalls were surprisingly tame. WAY surprisingly tame. Mainly it just sets up a high rate of decent straight ahead. I could get it to break to the side, but I had to use the rudder. Aerobatics where fine, I could get it to do accelerated stalls, and they were easy to control. Sometimes it would yaw back on forth a little during flight. No big deal.
The plane doesn't look good in the air, it looks GREAT in the air. I loved doing low fast passes, and flying along overhead. It's one of those planes that I can fly all day just to look at. I got three flights in 8 minutes each and burned about 1200 mah each.
No beating around the bush, landings were tough. The first was OK, but I tapped the wing on the ground. AAARRRGGG!!! The second was worse I tapped one wing then the other then flipped upside down! AAARRRGGG. The third I tapped both wings and stopped. I have and extra gyro from a TREX I'm going to put into it and see if that helps. I know I can get good landings, I just wish I wasn't scratching it up on the way!
I love the plane. I'm thrilled to be adding it to my hanger. If you have any questions throw them out there for me. Hopefully I'll let you know how if fly's with a gyro tomorrow.
I resisted this plane for a while. Then one day I picked up and extra shift at work... I was excited to get the box, and it was one of the weirdest planes I have ever put together. I basically snaps together with magnets. Except for one thing I could have just driven down to the field and snapped it together in a few minutes and flown it! I didn't trust the magnets so I also glued everything. It was the easiest build I have ever seen. Gosh, I love foam!
The one thing that help up the build was that the wing bolt did not fit the nut in the wing! I know it sounds dumb and probably like it's my fault but I promise you that isn't the case! One wing bolt in the kit, one wing nut, and no fitty fitty! I had to go down to the hardware store and buy a metal bolt that fit. I did lock tight it.
It feels like sort of a heavy plane for the size of the wings. I worried about that.
I was so happy to have a great day (3-4 mph winds right down the runway) to fly the girl. I planned on it being a little under powered and keeping the wheels on the runway as long as I could. I added power and off we went! It was a smooth, stable run, with only a bit of right rudder. I was surprised with how stable the takeoff was, it took about 20 feet.
The climb out was great, I wouldn't call it over powered or anything, but it has more than I expected and plenty to get around.
I loved flying it, the beast isn't actually a beast! It tracks amazing well. While it's not a slow flyer, it flew slow enough to be easy to control. Stalls were surprisingly tame. WAY surprisingly tame. Mainly it just sets up a high rate of decent straight ahead. I could get it to break to the side, but I had to use the rudder. Aerobatics where fine, I could get it to do accelerated stalls, and they were easy to control. Sometimes it would yaw back on forth a little during flight. No big deal.
The plane doesn't look good in the air, it looks GREAT in the air. I loved doing low fast passes, and flying along overhead. It's one of those planes that I can fly all day just to look at. I got three flights in 8 minutes each and burned about 1200 mah each.
No beating around the bush, landings were tough. The first was OK, but I tapped the wing on the ground. AAARRRGGG!!! The second was worse I tapped one wing then the other then flipped upside down! AAARRRGGG. The third I tapped both wings and stopped. I have and extra gyro from a TREX I'm going to put into it and see if that helps. I know I can get good landings, I just wish I wasn't scratching it up on the way!
I love the plane. I'm thrilled to be adding it to my hanger. If you have any questions throw them out there for me. Hopefully I'll let you know how if fly's with a gyro tomorrow.
03-25-2014, 10:26 AM
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AAARRRGGGG! The gyro worked great in flight but I still struggled with the landings! After FOUR ground loops I unplugged it. I sat there scratching my head. I am not unfamiliar with squirrelly planes, and the fact that the top of my vertical stabilizer has a black asphalt stain is really bothering me. I think something I discounted earlier might be the problem. The tail wheel is crooked. I tried to straighten it but when I would cinch the allen screw down it would go sideways. Initially I just countered wIth the rudder, but I'm starting to think when I land the wheel touches down and turns the plane causing my ground loop. Sadly in my attempt to fix I broke the darn thing. I think it's the same as the tail wheel in my Hellcat, so I'm going to pirate that and try again tomorrow.
