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my wood shop teacher wanted an RC plane right, so i told him to get a trainer he orders it and tower hobbies sent him a kyosho Gee Bee. he kept it and wants to build it, I think he got the survos and the recieve and the radio, for any one who has built this plane any information would be great. Pros, Cons anything. and what type of radio should i use?

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Sounds like this is his first plane. Are you going to be his instructor or is he doing this all by himself? If the GeeBee was more expensive than the one he ordered then he lucked out but you might want to be his voice of reason here and tell him to re-order the trainer.

The book that comes with it and the Tower description gives a good list of the radio equipment and engine. It also says it's for intermediate/advanced flyers.

If he still flies it please keep us up-to-date in the Crash Pictures & Discussion forum. :)

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no he still has to pay for it, hes like rich. im not exactly and instructor. i have built my RTF trainer and a GWS slow stick. were both going to build it, what type of radio should we use? he paid like 500 bucks for this thing. and he got the engine. do you have Gee Bee? if so is this plane easy to fly?

crash pictures, not to confindent in me ehh'?

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You can tell him he's pretty much guarantteed to crash the GeeBee the first time out. The actual GeeBee was a notoriously difficult (and dangerous) to fly a/c. And while the RC models have been made a bit easier to fly, these are still for advanced flyers. He WILL crash and burn -- this is just a fact. If he's "rich" he shouldn't mind spending another $120 for a proper trainer.

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i guess so, but hes dertimined to fly this, he says if it breaks, no problem. i still want him to get a trainer, i still have 4 years at tis school, and tahts enough for me to help him with the trainer. i am scared of this gee bee because i have never done anything this difficult, i cant work on it until thursday we havent even opened the box, i havent see it

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It won't "break." It will splinter into a thousand peices! Anyway, enjoy building it.

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Starting with a Gee Bee is certain for the trash bag. Might as well build it and jump on it. Tell him to get a trainer. A simulator might help. The Gee Bee probably should be a thrid plane after a good tail dragger.

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He he, sounds like the teacher has a hard time learning, and is in for a real lesson!:D

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hes getting the sim, and im telling him to get a trainer
remeber this was all a mix up, but he still likes it........hes got the bug

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I had the very similar Page GB. It does look scarey! But, it flies great IF you got some low wing time under youir belt. Ground handling, takeoff and landing is where the skill is needed.

He should hang it from the ceiling and admire it....and he should go to a club with qualified instructors to learn how to fly. Its okay if he can afford to crash, but what if he hurts someone in the process?? ....something to seriously think about!

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yeah im gonna be there with him and im goning to make a instructor check it out and madien it and then i get to fly it on the buddy box

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hows the build on this plane?

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It would be a sin for him to try to fly this. Tell him to give it to some deserving pilot rather than trash it . He sure isn't teaching anyone anything. Believe me he will not be able to fly it!

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I will fly it on the buddy box with the trainer

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Let him and the students build it as a shop demostration exercise. then get a trainer and both of you learn how to fly-- then get an advanced model and learn to fly it- the GEE BEE still hanging up for show and tell. keep it that way. dick

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i know how to fly
i just dont want to take the chance of crashing it, so i trust the instructor more them me, thats why i want to use a buddy box

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is the tower hobbies radio ok?

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You seem to be missing the voice of reason! I won't restate what everyone else had already told you.
You say he 'has the bug'. Do you have any idea how many other people have had the bug, bought something difficult to fly, crashed it, fixed it, crashed it again, fixed it, crashed it, and then lost interest in the hobby? Probably more people than people who stay with the hobby. His chances of being in this hobby 2 yrs from now are slim if he's going to start with a Gee Bee.

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i wan him to gat the trainer that my LHS has its a Alpha something its really nice comes with a JR quattro or comething 300 bucks

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Hi!
You say that you can fly R/C ..and you say that you are going to have the GEE BEE Z flown by an R/C instructor...
I can assure you that there are not many instructors out there that can handle the GEE BEE Z!

How many years have you flown R/C? If you haven't flown for at least 3-5 years and flown real fast Q-500 type low winged aircraft ...you are not going to handle this bird yourself.... believe me.
I have flown for 30 years competing in international pylonracing (even competed in USA ,Muncie) and I can assure you that the GEE BEE Z is not... I repeat...IS NOT an airplane for the novice or even for the seasoned flier. You have to bee GOOD at this to really fly it...just like the real one.
So get a high winged trainer and get help from a AMA charted club and practice, practice!
Then after a year or so get a low winged sport trainer...practice aerobatics for a year or two...or three then ...maybe then....get a GEE BEE Z.

Regards!
Jan K
Sweden

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I know that the Gee Bee was a dilivery mistake but if he is a teacher then he should know that you have to start at the beginning not at the end of the book to learn a lesson. Keep the Gee Bee build it but do like most of us have done start with something that will teach you how to fly not how to crash rite of the bat. And by all means get your AMA cause if some one gets hurt or he manages to get it up in the air and you both watch it fly off in to the sunset this will give our hobby a real black eye when somebody finds it in their front room or in their childs crib from a broken window. Could you live with knowing that maybe you would be responsible for something like that happening.Be a safe flyer and insist on him getting a trainer and learn to fly before something serious happens.

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And if all else fails, and you still fly it....make a video. I love crash vids. This is one ugly plane on the ground. Sweet in the air. But the short fuse and narrow wheele base make it a ground looper. I look forward to the video. [X(]

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Well Ive read this for a day or two and will finally put my two cents worth in..

I have 2 of the Kyosho Gee Bee. An early issue and a recent one that came from Tower as they are closing them out on sale..

As to your question on building--- It is the only ARF I have ever built as I am a kit builder from the 60's. I cannot compare it to any other ARF's but really had no problems with it.. The Horizontal Tail slot in the fuselage on the early kit was not level and took quite a bit of grinding on the glass to get straight. After 4 or 5 flying sessions the gear blocks failed in the wing and the gear came loose..Both ended up failing about 2 weeks apart... Problem was traced to a poor glue joint on both sides.. The repairs were made by cutting thru the top skin and re-glueing the blocks back down using epoxy.. quite a few people that have the Gee Bee Z complained of the same failure.

Put the battery up front inside the cowl to help with the CG which by the way should be at 64mm vice the 70 that is in the book... I padded mine with tape and foam and attached it to the ring that supports the cowl using tie-wraps.


I used a Saito .56 four cycle on the first model and it had more than enough power to fly

Now to the major issue of the beast.. The gear wire has too much flex in it. It has a bad habit of flexing back on takeoff or landing and tripping the model. It usually wont total the model but plays havoc with the tail fin and cowl. The improvement that will make a great difference is to add brace wires to the centerline at the mid point and back to the trailing edge centerline using music wire.


As to flying

You probably wont find too many people who instruct who are brave enough to tackle your test flight for you. Anyone who has been in the hobby long enough to teach is smart enough to recognise the issues with the airframe..

If you find one... Tell him to check the elevator travel at about 1/4 inch only as the beast will snap roll with anymore elevator than that.
and that if you can find a grass strip with short enough grass it is more forgiving there.

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Here is an old photo of the original..[img][/img]

Never mind its too big for their system

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Hi!
Picture! Where?

Jan K