Gee Bee Senior Sportster Scale RC Plane (OVERSIZE)

super nice large ARF

Mine is powered with a Zenoah G26 and flys vary well. Will do all aerobatics with no hesitation. It also has a 24 oz. smoke tank on board and still hauls the mail. Great flying airplane, no complaints

We have looked for several years to find a plane to install an older O.S Gemini 240 twin. This installation needed 2 ounces of tail weight but was well worth it. Plane flies like a dream. We have the engine running slightly rich and it sounds like the real thing when passing by. Plenty of power. Plane is equipped with an on board ignition and smoke. Everyone that sees the model fly loves the realistic sound. Altitude here is 5500ft.

My Setup:

-JR 9303 TX/Spektrum 6200 RX
-Sentilon 100 Amp V4 controller
-Turnigy C6374 200Kv Motor
-20x10 Master Airscrew Classic
-1100 mAh A123's for the receiver
-(2) 6S1P 5000 mAh Lipos in series (12S2P)
-(5) DS-821 servos

My control throws:

Elevator
Low Rate
11/16" (11.5º) Up 9/16" (10º) Down
High Rate
11/4" (19.5º) Up 1" (18º) Down
Aileron
Low Rate
3/8" (8º) Up 1/2" (9º) Down
High Rate
7/8" (21º) Up 11/16" (22º) Down
Rudder
11/2" (28º) Left 11/2" (28º) Right



Modifications:

Moved the two elevator servos to the front of the plane to help with C/G
Installed cowl ring on firewall to help prevent cowl flutter
Added cooling vents in the firewall for better battery cooling
modified the main wheel axles so they don't protrude through the wheel skirt

Build thread (multiple builders)

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=780815


Review:

Building: The build was very straightforward with no surprises. The assembly instructions were lacking, but with the help of the above mentioned link, putting this plane together is a snap. Take your time with the wheel struts and line everything up prior to mounting, Mine seems to have a left and right skirt so be mindful of that. Again, for more build information, see the link above.

Flying: WOW! The maiden was good. She was a little twitchy so I landed her to adjust the C/G forward. The second flight wasn't so good...The adjustment to the C/G was spot on though and she is a very nimble flyer, precise and responds well. The first landing was fast and I used up the entire length of the field to land, so on the second flight I brought her low over the corn to set up a better landing. One thing you need to know about my flying field--We are surrounded by CORN! Right now it is about 9ft high... About 3 feet in from the edge of the corn Orville Redenbacher reached up and grabbed the wheel pants. The Gee Bee fought hard but Orville was determined to have that big ear of corn flying above him and reached out with his other stalk and caught the wing. She did a nice pirouette and hit hard on her nose and right wing just as she broke free. The nylon bolts did their job and snapped when she hit, but the whirling mass of motor was not so kind and decided to get a closer look at the batteries - punching through the firewall to get there. The cowl is largely intact with just a couple major cracks in the front and long rips where the mounting screws held their ground despite the cowl's retreat toward the rear. There was some minor damage to the wing, namely the studs that protrude from the leading edge to lock into the fuselage. They peeled away from the root when the bolts gave - very repairable and was an interesting break. The elevator pushrod snapped the threaded metal coupler to the clevis (that CF is strong!) and the fiberglass tailwheel pant took some damage. Some other minor bumps and bruises like the plastic belly pan cover and some stripped screws add to the list, but she came out of the crash better than what I thought. All the repairs are easy and I really got lucky with the firewall as it was just the center of the motor mount that broke and the rest of the stuff is fine. I even started a few minor repairs and could have her back in the air in less than a week. I really like the plane and she is a great flyer, despite Mr. Redenbacher's attempt to "pop" my plane!

Despite my obvious lack of depth perception, the plane definitely is visible in the air. While not a trainer, she slows down nice, but is still very slippery and you need to take that into consideration when landing. Loops, rolls, hammerheads, she'll do them all. The word that I would to describe the flying characteristics is "crisp".

Kit went together great. Used a great planes pull pull system instead of the one supplied with the kit. did some minor mods that doesn't really need to be done but that's how I wanted it. It flys really well and is very very easy to land. Used an OS 1.60 and a 18x6 master air screw prop. Has plenty of power. I love it!