ORIGINAL: adolf
With the GP Gee Bee Racer has anyone developed a reliable method of landing this beast? I have the the CG and elevator throw exactly as per plan but it tends to run out of elevator on flair causing a heavy landing and flip. Apart from that it takes off easily and is a delight to fly around. Pity about the landings.
They all seem to land like that. Remember that the original didn't fly that well, either! It's unstable in every axis.
A good landing is more luck than anything else, especially when flying off pavement. Patience is a virtue in this case! I bring mine in rather warm (not hot) in a relatively low, flat approach. Once you coax it into ground effect it can get pretty pitch sensitive. Then it's just a matter of riding it out until the airspeed bleeds off, grease it on the mains, then be prepared to dance all over the rudder to keep if from swapping ends when the tail comes down. A good landing is very rewarding. A bad landing can be very exciting. Most landings are 3-point (top of rudder, top of cowl, and a wingtip).
Mine had the Robostruts, my friends did not. They both landed about the same. I suspect they'd land better on grass than on a hard surface.
Rule of thumb: if it bounces when you set it down, plan to go around. Be ready for the torque roll when you hit the power. Trying to ride out a bad landing will almost always ensure that the wheels are sticking up when it's all over.
This is not an airplane that you can ever hope to tame, and that's most of the appeal. About the best you can hope for is to have fun when it's around, and consider getting another one after it's gone.
This isn't a problem with the kit design or the manufacturer. I don't believe that any Gee Bee of scale proportions can be expected to fly like a friendly sport plane, 'cause it isn't!