75" Gee Bee R1 build log and questions thread

Pilot-294

Senior Member
so today my uncle gave me plans for a giant scale Gee Bee R1 75" gasser. Plans call for a. 91 nitro engine but it seems like it may be too small for me. I want to go gas for sure if i can afford it. But i also dont wanna pay a grand for her engine... Its a tough call haha. But anyways i took pocs but i cant post them from my phone so ill post them later or tomorrow. This is gonna be one of those long build projects i have to buy all my stuff as i go. And money is tight atm due to an unnameable terrible ex-wife haha. Well anybody with experiance with large scale geebees and or gas planes at all ill be happy to take any warnings or ideas. More to come later. And my first question starts here. Ill be looking up if the g-b r1 had flaps and if it did ill be modding the plans to include them. Any ideas or help is greatly appreciated!
 

Foam Addict

Squirrel member
:eek: .91?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
75"?!!!!!!!!!!
Nice, that's cool. I get scared even watching balsa fly, much less flying it.
I had a 70" span .60 balsa trainer that had a receiver glitch at 500'.. If it wouldn't have unglitched, I would be dead. Quite literally.
 

Pilot-294

Senior Member
Ill be keeping plans and after its done building extra wings stabs and cowls as needed. Main body and small repairs to be done strictly as needed but i hear geebees are terribly hard to land. Im just hping being a large scale plane it will be more stable and easier to fly in the long run. I just really hope i dont kill it on my maiden i swear ill literally cry... Hahaha. Ill be getting tools over the next month or so and talking to the guys at my shop to see if i can use space there or maybe at the hobby shop on base. Itll be cool once the project starts to roll tho
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
I don't know anything about this particular model, but the "real" Gee Bees were known for killing pilots. I don't think there was anything well behaved about them. Let me know when you want that Tiger Trainer 40 back to practice with!
 

Pilot-294

Senior Member
I may but i think you will get better use using it for the rc club or for training prospective pilots. The scale difference wont do much for me training with that. Idk lol. But i think even if i train with it it wont do me too much good once i take up the beast of a plane im building
 

Pilot-294

Senior Member
well i attempted to upload pics of the plans. ill try again later once i have another way to upload them. i was looking at the plans and it seems that the plane uses a stationary tailwheel so im gonna have to mod that. it shouldnt be a hard fix. im thinking i may use that nitro .91 or maybe a larger nitro engine to cut costs. but overall im getting the plans down. just trying to figure out atm if the wing half on the plan is drawn from the exact midpoint or if it uses two ribs at the center or what it does. im thinking its drawn at the midway point but in mot sure. haha well im going to be posting another thread in the flite school section asking for help on how to do balsa planking and how other people do it. as in whats the best method and best tools to do it. ill leave a link here to that post but the reason im posting there is so more people can see it and can learn from it too.
 

bicyclemonkey

Flying Derp
Mentor
Do you have a link to the specs for this kit? What's the flying weight according to the manual? If it recommends a .91 two stroke glow then that would be approximately equivalent to a 1.20 four stroke glo, which equals a 20cc gas.

.91 2c glo = 1.20 4c glo = 20cc gas
 

pgerts

Old age member
Mentor
Are you going for a 50cc gas?
The GBR1 need a bigger prop than normally recommended for the engine as the front of the plane makes most of the prop useless.
If you are going for scale - the GB is known to be easy to "nose over". If scale is not the most important try to get the wheels a little more forward.
 

Pilot-294

Senior Member
Im not sure for engine atm. I dont wanna stray from scale so ill deal with the messy wrecks haha. But im not positive if gas or glow will be best. I was thinking sleightly oversized nitro engine. Save on cash anyways. Flying weight is 14-15lbs scale is 3"/1' span is 75" length is 52"
 

Pilot-294

Senior Member
Well im on my way back to montana. Next step is figuring out how to transfer the plans onto balsa or copying the sheets and cut and paste the patterns right on balsa sheets. I have a couple motors im looking at. But as for cost i think im gonna have to go with a 2 stroke glow 1.20 or something similar. Id really really like to get the saito fa 200 r3... But its too expensive. Maybe a 1.20 4 stroke if i can find a good deal. I dont wanna spend over 300 for the motor if i can help it. Hope to be building this weekend or on the first of the month next month. Ill try to have pics as i go if my phone will allow me to post pics. Anybody know where to buy decent priced balsa/ply/bass wood?
 

pgerts

Old age member
Mentor
Are you intending on a lot of flying?
Fuel cost are not something to forget on 2-stroke large glow engines.
4 stroke are a lot better in fuel consumption - and sound.
Gas is another thing - a lot cheaper in fuel than glow.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...cc_Gas_engine_w_CD_Ignition_3_9HP_2_94kw.html
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__23040__DM_33_Gas_engine_w_CD_Ignition_3_8HP_33cc.html
I have no personal knowledge of the gas enges above byt i assume that they will pull more scale like propellers.
Googel will tell if the motors are OK i assume.........
 

Pilot-294

Senior Member
Ill text ya my pics and as for the motor i may need to swing a larger prop. The widest point on the cowl is about 15"but idk if i can put much more than a 22" prop on due to the landing gear height since a 22 inch leaves just a few short inches ground clearance as per what the plans look like. Maybe a 20 would work ill research more tho
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Gee Bee Plan Pics

Here are pics of Pilot-294's plans:
 

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bicyclemonkey

Flying Derp
Mentor
Take it to a printer that can transfer the plans to like an autocad file. You can then send the file to a laser cutter and they can cut you a kit. I'm doing this for a set of plans for a 126" Goshawk biplane for a friend.
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Take it to a printer that can transfer the plans to like an autocad file. You can then send the file to a laser cutter and they can cut you a kit. I'm doing this for a set of plans for a 126" Goshawk biplane for a friend.

That is an awesome tip, BM! Thanks for posting!
 

bicyclemonkey

Flying Derp
Mentor
It just needs to be scanned to whatever file the laser cutter uses...I think most of the time it'll be an autocad file. If you'd like you can spend a few bucks and ship the plans in a mailing tube to either me or straight to the printer I use, I can get them scanned for you. Another reason for scanning them to a file is so your plans aren't destroyed.

Here's the laser cutter we use, since they're only a short drive away...http://eurekaaircraft.com/
 
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