RichardGee

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I have not been flying mine. I had an incident where i caught a wingtip in tall grass adjacent to our runway and it damaged the right wing. Although I finally repaired the damage, I still have not flown the plane in months. I don't know what's up with CARF, except that the owner has turned over the sale of all RC stuff in the U.S. to Andy Kane. Not sure who the European contact would be...
Just my opinion, but I don't think CARF is much interested in dealing with buyers that fall "outside the box"... IF you want a kit, fine, but don't ask questions and don't get too clever or they just don't respond

They don't sell many Gee Bee's, but I agree with you 100% that for the steep increase in price, a new manual should be part of the package!

Airbus: If you have read all 1770 posts, then you know as much as anyone about what to expect with this plane.
Now we would like to hear from you, your impressions of the "new and improved" Gee Bee kit???

Airbusdriver74

I think I deal with CARF in Germany. But here we go already,,,don't even know exactly who I'm talking to. There's no phone number or address on their website. About the new kit, I must say as far as I can see it now it looks very complete and good quality. I'm sure I run into a few difficulties when I start the build. I'm waiting for the gear to arrive so I can kick off, of course I post my experiences here.
Stefan

eagledancer

i am also interested in how the new version preforms, not currently flying mine either, i had a issue with a elevator servo unplugging itself in flight caused a roll out of a turn and straight down. repairs are about 3/4 finished.

Airbusdriver74

Here are some pics from the kit. You can see the differences in the fuse and horizontal stab. Also the motordome is from cfk, not sure if that was the same before.
in post nr1738 Hanes is using an electric starter which seems to have enough torc to start his radial. Does anybody know which starter this is, I would like to buy one...

n8622t

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Airbus I flew mine 6 times and sold it to a jet guy in Oklahoma City ....it is an airplane that requires a great deal of concentration to fly. Six times was my limit lol

n8622t

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Nice improvements !!! Looks like the same crappie side door hinging though The engine dome it totally changed which looks pre drilled and well marked, the original was a big problem with orienting onto the fuse. Are the flying wires pre-cut ?? That was another change that could have been made
keep us posted on your build Airbus

Airbusdriver74

Yes Jimmy the flying wires are precut, in one piece without soldering and look fantastic. I will post a photo of them in my next update. The dome looks like it has some side trust build in, no idea if it's enough for the moki 250...The top is clearly marked It's a pity you don't fly yours anymore. Did you have at least a bit of enjoyment out of it?

n8622t

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Airbus lets just say this model will elevate your self worth

n8622t

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Glad to hear the wires are finished which will eliminate a weak point. As far as the Moki goes I believe I would mount the engine with the thrust angle that's built in and just manage the throttle on the take off to counter any torque. This plane is really no problem on take off so I believe you will be fine .... Hope this helps. Maybe Hannes will jump in on this subject since he ran a radial on his

RichardGee

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...Not to mention your blood pressure!
I have over 60 flights, ALL of them memorable.

n8622t

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LOL yes, I like my blood pressure normal

Airbusdriver74

Today the Moki 250 and my landing gear arrived! The building can begin!! Richard I have a question for you. I saw that you fitted your landing gear with gas shock absorbers. What is your experience with this. I was surprised that the CARF gear is fitted with springs. I think a plane thats lands as difficult as a GeeBee should be fitted with shock absorbers in stead of springs. Thinking about modifying the gear but don't know wich shockers are the best for this purpose ...

RichardGee

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The gas shock absorbers were provided by Hannes. I do not know where he obtained them. There is no doubt that a gas shock absorber (with dampening) is preferred to a simple spring, BUT I can also state that unless your landings are perfect, you probably won't notice the difference. What I am saying is that they are "nice" to have, but not essential. IF you are flying off a grass runway, you will not notice any difference between real shocks, and simple springs.

RichardGee

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Airbus, any progress on your Gee Bee?

Airbusdriver74

Hi Richard,
I had the impression that there was not a lot of interest anymore in this topic. Thats why I didn't post anymore.
The GeeBee is ready for its maiden in the mean time! Really enjoyed building it. The sound and power of the moki is amazing! Do you have any tips for the first flight?

RichardGee

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Hmmmm....tips? Have a change of underwear handy! Actually, seriously... FIRST, be sure to have UP TRIM dialed into your elevator. This will do two things: it will keep the tail down on the ground longer on your take off roll and will prevent the plane from nosing over or requiring lots of stick back pressure once airborne. You can always dial back the trim once you are flying and get the feel of the plane. You have SO MUCH power on tap that there is no fear of getting into the air too early and lacking speed. With the Moki you could be flying in 10 feet if you wanted to. Since I have never flown this plane with an engine that produces as much torque as the Moki 250, I can only strongly suggest you be VERY READY on the rudder!! My guess is you're going to need lots of right rudder input on your take off roll. Once in the air you should bring back the throttle to no more than 3/4 and get the plane trimmed out. I know it's going to be very tempting to unleash the thing, go fast, yank and bank.... and certainly you have every reason to do some of that, but personally I would suggest you almost immediately begin doing landing approaches. Fly your downwind, base, and final over and over so that you are confident you can get the plane lined up for landing. IF you're feeling particularly brave, try a few fast touch and goes... There's no better landing practice.
You will have LOTS of time to put the Gee Bee through its paces, but unless you can reliably land the thing without breaking it, everything else is just fluff...

I would also add that you should baffle between the cylinders on the Moki. They tend to run hot and without blocking air flow between the cylinders I am afraid the cooling air will go around the engine rather than through it. IF it overheats and quits in the air, that is a worst-case scenario

Would love to see some pictures of the finished plane and flight video would be awesome. GOOD LUCK.

Lifer

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That's good advice for ANY plane......

Airbusdriver74

Many Thanks for your tips Richard. I make sure I wear a diaper when I do the first flight :-)). I'll post some pics later on. Maybe I bring the plane to the field this week to do a few taxi runs. For the maiden I wait till I have my solo shot camera which tracks the model during the entire flight...

RichardGee

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I have been looking at the Solo Shot for quite some time... very cool product IF it works as described.

Airbusdriver74

I ordered it months ago already but I'm still waiting for the release of solo shot 3. If you look at the price we may expect a lot from it I think. Hope it arrives soon. Can't wait!

40GeeBee

Has any one built and flown one of the the latest kits from Composite Arf?

40GeeBee

I would also like to see some videos!

40GeeBee

Lets keep this site going!

Airbusdriver74

I have build the new version. The manual that comes with it is not 100% but the changes that are made are easily to build. I haven't got the time to bring the GeeBee to the field. And I'm actually waiting as well for the soloshot 3 camera to film the maiden flight.. Unfortunately the release of this camera is delayed till late summer 😡😡😡. Hope there are more Guys here who have build this plane!

mikepq

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I have 7 flights on mine so far.. super fast and landings are good, but much faster than I am used too. My last landing in this video was clocked at 57mph.. top speed 132.9 mph.. I read every page of this thread.. You guys rock!! I took all of your advice and it Flies great! DA150 with 30x12 prop.. balanced at 74mm.. I added the powerbox IGyro3 and that makes it smooth as silk !! Gain is set to 60%..
https://youtu.be/ZAkVGE-UWGI