ORIGINAL: Capt Midnight

Gerry,

My Gee Bee arrived last Saturday via Fed-Ex with no apparent external damage, however when I opened up the shipping container my observation was very similar to Pacoflyer's (Paul's). The fuse, wings, elevator halves and other misc. parts seemed to have come though OK, but the cowl was a different story. Even though the cowl was placed right-side-up in the box (sitting on the rear edge), the cowl had taken a side hit in transit as the mounting ring was in 3 pieces in the bag, and the cowl had 2 major creases in it that split the paint. Additionally, there were 3 large dents inwards, which I was able to push out without damaging the cowl further.

I stuffed the cowl with newspaper and foam rubber in order to let the cowl regain it's shape naturally, and will look at it again this weekend to see if I need to work it over with a heat gun to get it back in shape. If this works, I'm hoping the cowl can be salvaged.

Aero-works and Pilot-RC both have had similar problems with their shipments over the years. Their corrective-action fixes now include using a solid piece of light-ply cut in the exact shape of the cowl itself, and then screwed/bolted to the mounting ring to prevent crush damage. Their shipping containers also have a layer of 1/8'' thick Masonite between the outer shipping carton and the retail carton, in order to provide more protection from concealed shipping damage.

Regarding the vinyl graphics included with the ARF; these are made with very thin-gauge material that will tear or stretch very easily, if the end-user isn't careful. The graphics are also lacking a carrier layer, so the letters would have to be positioned by hand using masking tape as a guide. This will make for a long and difficult installation when it comes time to apply the graphics. My set was also missing one of the white ''TEXACO'' text logos for the side of the aircraft.

Since it will be at least 30 days before I get some of my other aircraft off the workbench in order to start work on the Gee Bee, I have shipped the entire package of graphics up to Bad Brad Graphics in Cedarburg, WI. Brad does most off my graphics, and keeps all the artwork that I have sent him over the years on file. He is also going to send me a couple sets of the round ''Texaco'' logo that I have used on my other Gee Bee's. This logo will be sized at 6-1/2'' diameter in order to fit the cowl.

Lastly, I reviewed the CD that came with the plane. The documentation does not contain any information relating to balance point, or recommended control surface throws for initial flight set-up. You may want to ad that to your ''to-do'' list of items to discuss, as it sounds like you have a trip coming up shortly.

Good Luck with that...

Bob