kev71h

PLEASE put me in touch with the gentleman you bought your R3 From. 59'' R3 that is. [email protected]

TTRotary

Got a response from Donuts-Models, the purveyor of this plane. According to them, Horizon Hobby DE (Germany) is now the exclusive reseller. According to Donuts, the plane is still in production and they do a run of 400. No details on where that stands.

kev71h

So basically still not available from anyone currently.

nexusdc5

My Feedback: (4)

Hello Kev71h, Unfortunately your right, There are not any available here in the states yet. I contacted my friend in Canada Today and he thinks there will be some available in Feb. Keep your eyes peeled on RCU, I bought mine there and I also saw another after I bought mine selling from New York or something like that. Id sell you mine I love it too much! lol... Anyways... I'll keep the Communications channels open.

Vince...

Kerwin 51

[img]C:\Documents and setting\Owner\My Documents 1-8-2011[/img]

Just got mine, I love it!
I will talk to the guy I bought it from and see if he has anymore in stock!

rolliedog12

My Feedback: (3)

That's a beautiful plane, would love to have one!

kev71h

Ok get with me bro

nexusdc5

My Feedback: (4)

Hey kerwin 51... Where did you order yours from? I bought mine from a gentleman in Canada. He was saying something about the Texaco version not being available for awile due to copyright issues. I have the red and white 66 version, was going to have custom decals made for it to convert to the Texaco version.

Kerwin 51

Check out Giant Model products! Or call them and ask for Gerry!

nexusdc5

My Feedback: (4)

Thanks...

TTRotary

Spoke with Gerry at Giant Models (HUGEthanks Kerwin51 !!!!!) and they have not only the subject plane, AKA the "20cc" version, but also a 30cc 73" and a 100cc which must be that german one we see in the videos. All are made by the same Chinese company, and all are ongoing models. The 20cc (ours) is already in, but the others are coming February. The smallest one, ours, has the highest wing loading, which would explain the difficult flying characteristics, although having reviewed all the vids, some seem to fly this baby with no issues other than somewhat tricky landings due mostly to the no-spring gear. All the Giant models ones come in the Texaco scheme according to their website.

Nex, I'm about to pull the trigger but let me know if you want to trade. I'd prefer your paint scheme.


Also, Id love to know how much the airframe weighs. I keep hearing refernces to "light build" but then I see 8.5lb porkers. Can anyone weigh their airframe?

nexusdc5

My Feedback: (4)

hey TTRotary... The Air frame is built very light, I mean very light! I wish I had a scale so I could weigh it for you. Perhaps some one else will chime in and weigh theirs. Only reason I want pictures is I want to make sure it is built with the same quality as mine is. The paint on the Landing gear is absolutely beautiful. No Flaws in the paint what so ever. (im really big on finishes) Oh and no I havent taken off any of the covering nor would I have... The plane is covered so nicely, I wouldnt want to mess with such a great job.

Vince...

TTRotary

Vince, I'm replying in here because the PM isn't working fro some reason. I'm SoCal too - Claremont, so exchange would be easy of that's what we want. This is the exact same plane as the donut models one. The french guys were only distributors of the model. I got an email back from Horizon Hobby Germany that they had purchased the distribution rights to the plane from Donuts - not clear if it was for Europe or everything. The Giant Models guy (Gerry) claims they have a direct distribution contract with the Chinese factory, who are the guys producing these. Giant sells the 59" for $300 plus shipping.Not sure why the scheme keeps changing around, but Texaco is the one out there right now. RE weight - I looked more closely at the pics in the thread and realize to my surprise that the model is not skinned. The finish surface was so i good i thought it was! It looks to be built very light, built like my 3DHS planes...I'm wondering how light I can get it so the wing loading stays reasonable. I am really surprised at some of the AUWs reporting in here, especially the 8.5lb one. I also think the power needs to stay on the low side because I don't see the airframe handling big power. I am actually thinking of a Power 46 or equivalent on 4S, in an effort to keep the weight down. I threw a Turnigy 42-60, Zippy 4S 5000 batt, 4 servos, and a 60A ESC on the scale and got 2.25lb. If the airframe comes in at 3lb, I don't see a reason why one cannot build one to 6lb or less AUW. I am amazed some of these planes are not totally disintegrating with people stuffing 125s and other monster motors in there!

Capt Midnight

Gentlemen... Allow me to step in here with some observations and comments, as I have been following this thread since it was started in 2005.

If in fact, the new ARF from Giant Models is the very same ARF that was sold by Donuts Models (thru Hobby Lobby) then I have some relevant input as I have not one, but two of these models.

The first was purchased from Hobby Lobby in June 2008 and flown shortly after. The model was partially destroyed during the maiden flight when the hatch blew off (magnet latch only, no mechanical latch) when the front of the canopy F1 former gave way, filling the airframe with very high pressure air. You can imagine the result; the fuse expanded, the servo tray separated from it's supports, and all control was lost. The cause and effect impact of the crash was very well documented back to Hobby Lobby, and very much to their credit, they twisted some arms at Donuts to get me a replacement aircraft. Shortly after I got the replacement, Hobby Lobby seemed to loose interest in the aircraft, and discontinued the model from their inventory. Whether this was due to my input or the negative comments showing up on RCU, I do not know, but the model was history from that point on until it showed up at Giant Models.

If the two ARF's are one in the same, then some caution is in order WRT the 59" WS version.

First, the airframe IS very lightly constructed, and yes Virginia, 8.5 lbs is a very achievable AUW even with all the modifications that need to be done to make the airframe airworthy and safe to fly. Photos are below for illustration. The F1 former on the canopy needs reinforcement, I used 1/8" lite ply with carbon fiber tubes to augment the stock system. The F1 former on the fuse also needs reinforcement, and the airflow into the fuse also need to be limited so the pressure doesn't blow the canopy off. I used a combination of lite ply and hard balsa to reinforce and block off the former along with 6 - 1/2" dia. holes to aid airflow. I also added two triangular-shaped air vents to the ventral side to aid airflow. The two side wall plywood panels that come with the ARF (for gas motor applications) needs to be used regardless forF1 to firewall reinforcement. Do not fly without them.

The airframe is setup with an AXI 4130-16 motor along with a Castle 85HV ESC and uses a FlightPower 6 cell 22.2V 3700Mah LIPO. Detail specs are included with the photos.

As for the first Gee Bee R3; this will fly again, but as a gas powered (Saito FG-20) float plane (Yeah, you read that right!). The fuse goes back on the building board for lots of reinforcing C/F Structural Plate (.030" & .040") and the wings grow 2" to 3" on each side to aid the wing loading with the extra weight of the floats. Color scheme and graphics will remain the same since I don't intend on flying both planes at the same time. This will help in case I have another "senior moment".

Ciao,

Capt. Midnight

Capt Midnight

To all,

A copy of the specs for the 59" V2 version of the Gee Bee R3 is attached. I forgot to load it in the upload last night.

I called Gerry at Giant Model Products this afternoon; he had just sold the last 59" R3 (electric version) just before my call. We ended up having a very interesting chat for the first time on the phone. I sent him copies of the V1 and V2 instruction manuals for those of you who may be looking for them. Call Gerry if needed.

He's getting in the first 81" 50cc R3 (prototype) soon; maybe by this week; hopes to have more by Toledo. He's also hoping to have the 100cc (Moki 215/250) and the 150cc (Moki 400) versions in time for Toledo also, and at this time doesn't have specs or prices on either.

I was originally thinking about getting the 50cc version, but after seeing the 100cc version fly on U Tube, I dunno....

Maybe Santa's gonna come extra early this year

Capt. Midnight

TTRotary

Thanks Capt. for your input here. BTW, that last planeGerry sold would be mine . I expect to get her next Monday.

I had read your initial report and those of others with great interest and a fair bit of apprehension.I am not that experienced a flyer, but it stuck me that the guys having real issues are not using enough expo. I have the Cermark Fantasy Racer, which is basically a 51" foam replica of this plane, and it was a real handful until I got the right amount of expo dialed in, which came out to 60% for me. It was also CG sensitive, and lots of guys crashed them on the maiden. It now flies like it is on rails, with no real bad habits. I can also see where an 8.5lb plane (32oz wing loading for this bird) in a 2G turn would stall out at 50mph, which is probably what happened to that one guy whose plane basically augered in mid-bank (he may have also dumb-thumbed the rudder in his haste to line up for the runway).

One question I have Capt. is: does this plane require rudder mixingtoturn properly? Jason Cole made some statement about the wheel pants acting as SFGs such that rudder was required. I note no such behavior on my Fantasy Racer...just nice smooth aileron turns (once the correct amount of differential is dialed in).

Also: would you say there is a good bit of P-factor here? Or was that perhaps a case of incorrect motor thrust. There seemed to be some question as to whether it was consistently set on the early models (and something I will most certainly verify). I have not dealt with p-factor yet but I will shortly complete my first warbird (P-51) and fully expect it.

Gerry says his version is futher improved over V2, we'll see. He didget back to me today withan airframe weight: a whopping 4lb 13oz which is anything but light in this size.Having studied pics of the fuse, I see it is really built light - in the same manneras my 3DHS planes,so I expect it to be somewhat delicate. I think theissue on the kit is the weight of the hardware. Gerry measured 9oz worth of guy wire+associated hardware. The wheel / fairing /steel wire is about another lb - pretty consistent with retracts. I have weighed out some different power sets, consisiting of motor / esc / batt / servos.A Power32-46 equivalent powerset is the lightest, at a smidge over 2lb all up. This is a Tgy 42-50600 with a 4S 5000 20C batt. Next up is the 42-60 600 with heavier DS821 digital servos. I havea Power60 and6S power that could go in but I'd really like to avoid that if at all possible. I'll bemaking every effort to stay below 7lb. I may add flaps.

Any further thoughts / comments / advice you have would be greatly appreciated. -Marc

TTRotary

I got my plane in and, boy, is she beautiful!!. Super nice construction, like a 3DHS plane. Some notes:

Wing lookslike a Eppler 197 semi-symmetrical. It has good thickness and washout is built in, soI would expect this model to handle decently as long as wing loading is not excessive. There is room for flaps, about 50% of wing surface area, so slotted flaps would give 1.4x CL, enough for slow landings even at the higher wing loadings.

All-up airframe weight is 3.75lb including the landing gear. This is really very good. There is a lb of landing gear alone, pretty much in line with what spring-air 602 retracts for .50 sized models would come out to. I added the powerset I intend to use, servos, spinner, all linkages, servo extensions etc., and the whole thing came in at 6.25lb. This was using heavy DS821 digital servos. This does NOT include the guy wires and hardware or the glo stuff, which added 1lb on it's own. I will not use any of this. With a .60 EP /6S setup and a 4in alu spinner, I can see how this plane winds up at 8.5AUW. AGain with the 4S power set I'm using and precautions, I should be able to get 6.25lb "wet". We'll see.

I know this is marketed as a >60-.90 or more plane, but I don't see how the airframe would last long at such power levels. This is really a .46 plane to me.

The "30cc" (73in WS) version has far lower wing ,loading.

MrPheer

My Feedback: (5)

Can you post some pictures of the plane that you received? I'm seriously considering ordering the 30cc version.

TTRotary

Yes if I can figure out how on here. I have provided pics on the other forum (RCG). You can find them in the thread I started under Sport Planes, entitled Gee Bee R3.

Capt Midnight

Just hit the "Reply" button on the last post, or go to the "Post" button at the bottom of the page. After the post dialog window opens, click on the paper clip icon that says "Click here to upload images and files!" and load images off your hard drive.

B.

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Have to agree with everything Capt Midnight posted on it. They do not like rough grass at all. Ask me how I know. LOL!
But in the air, whole nother story. Mine flew like the beast a Gee Bee is supposed to be. FAST!!! I think that's where folks get into trouble with em. Go to slow, especially in a turn and she will stall. Like flying a war bird. She is a "racer", fly her like one and she's just fine. Don't expect her to be a floater.

Mine ended up right at 9 pounds. But she was running a 9S5800 pack. But was over 1:1 on thrust and airspeed was 80-85 mph.


If you read back, I made some mods to mine. Tail feathers were all internal control, and I rebuilt the aileron servo mounts so instead of the whole top of the servo hanging out, mine had the servos laid on the sides, so only the arms showed. New one is going to be rotary drives so nothing is going to show.

taprackflip

My Feedback: (29)

Hi guys,

If anyone is interested, we have a NIB Airworld Gee Bee R3 kit for sale for $2800. This is about $1200 less than what it would cost shipped to your door if bought from Airworld.

Only 1 kit left. The plane is located in the LA area and can be shipped or picked up.

Rod Wise

will be building geebee z from wendell plans and others plans.say to use wood size from 29% to build 40%what do people think about that and how would you find out the answer. look at plans for planes of simuler size weight its 112 inch span 23lb as 29% 40lb as 40% big diferance don't see how wood size for 29% works for 40% any help would be great thanks

elapids1970

Kimball, without any offence, but myself and a lot of people....I think you are an absolute deads**t! Besides another one of your widow makers killing a top pilot within the last few days, you are the only *******, who asks the same price for a CD with drawings, what an AEIO-540 with 0-hours costs to build a decent Gee Bee Z replica, which you have lousily failed at with your flutter queen! Now you talking about building a Gee Bee 3...another sci-fi dream, that is just gonna kill another bloke, from RC model drawings? Get yourself a foamy from HK, and be happy.....you are just an idiot with a lot of money. Why dont you strap your precious bum in anything your head dreams up first????? And if you cant remember while being occupied with your cartoon planes, I was the one you wanted to charge a 5-figured amount for your drawings of the "Z" a few years ago, yet another plane you couldnt get to fly properly and scared the hell out of the most experienced Gee Gee pilot this world has seen. Stick with Rc....because a big cheque book doesnt buy any skill, as aviation has shown in the past!

HighPlains

My Feedback: (1)

As fine of an example of sanctimonious screed as I've seen of late.