Gee Bee CG
Dale,
All the Gee Bee R-2 kits and plans I know of recommend 18-20% for the CG. This seems to work out pretty good for most. I had a smaller .40-.60 sized built from plans (originally a rubber band powered free flight model) and it flew great. I have the Hostetler 25% I am building now and that is what I will be using. I have heard of some people that went back as far as 22%.
I crashed my little one when I started experimenting with the CG. It was getting worn out anyway so i thought I might see how far back I could get it. I was progressively moving it farther and farther back with each flight. Anything beyond 22% the elevator got real sensitive. At about 25% you barely had to think about moving the elevator and it would dive or climb. When I approached 30%, one notch of trim was the difference between diving and climbing. It basically was too sensitive and I couldn't get the thing pointed back towards the runway. I put it into the weeds and rekitted it. I think the short fuselage makes this one very pitch sensitive with CG changes.
I would start out between 18% and 20% and move it back if you don't like the way it flies.