Hi Folks I just purchased a CMP GeeBee and I'm thinking of using my Saito 170r triple for this bird. My concern with this engine is the wing loading and landing qualities . So looking at the Kit and seeing the belly pan , the thought occurred to me - why not make a 4" center section between the wing halves which would be hidden by the belly pan. I would then have a 75" span instead of a 71" span which could possibly offset the high wing loading issue. Seeing as the wingspan would be bigger in relation to the already short fuselage do you think the handling would be affected ? Or does this sound like a good Idea?Opinions?

You’re increasing the wing area without increasing the empennage area. This could lead to an unstable condition. Also, depending on the shape of the wing, the center of gravity position may have to change. You will have to take these two things into account before you make such a large change. Dan.

Whenever you have a question about what an increase in wing area will do to your pitch stability, the geistware CG program is a good place to look for answers. Most times when you're only increasing wing area by around 6%, the only thing you'll see is a narrower CG range that's a touch forward from where it would be otherwise.

This program will give you all the figures that you'd want to look at to make the decision. Run it with and without the increased span and compare.
It'll take your simple measurements and instantly figure out your areas etc etc.

http://www.geistware.com/rcmodeling/cg_super_calc.htm

I think it would be interesting to develop some sort of Heavy duty servo operated telescoping wingspan adjuster. The gopher wheel in my head is turning ... Let me see , if I get some large diameter closly fitting Brass tubes ...............