beegee foam plans

spctrkn65

Junior Member
Anybody have or experimented with a beegee design? Either R3 or racer. I am interested in building one but i lack any cad skills so id love to have a foundation to start with and build on. Tried using pics of existing models but cant get numbers on dihedral degrees, fuse width etc. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 

Tench745

Master member
I think you mean the Gee Bee. Wilsonman just finished up a GeeBee Z build last year, he'd probably be your man. The R3, as far as I can tell, was never a real or even a planned aircraft. They only ever built the R2, the R3 only exists as an ARF model, so good luck finding plans for that one.
*EDIT*
Looks like I spoke too soon, a set of plans apparently exists somewhere. http://www.foro-aeromodelismo.com/viewtopic.php?t=15928
 
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jamboree1

Active member
Thanks for the info, and your right in that im not looking for plans on building a 70's era disco group.

Now i want to build a plane with a retractable disco ball mounted to a 360 servo and see if i can make the plane continue to be "staying alive"
 

Tench745

Master member
Now i want to build a plane with a retractable disco ball mounted to a 360 servo and see if i can make the plane continue to be "staying alive"

Saturday Night Fever: the airplane. Paint it up in purple, bell bottom wheelpants, gold trim... Why didn't I think of this when we premiered the new Saturday Night Fever musical this summer?
 

willsonman

Builder Extraordinare
Mentor
Yes, you are probably thinking of Gee Bee. Simply put, the name stems from Granville Brothers. There are several models that are fairly popular such as the E and Y models. Their design philosophy was generally put the biggest motor you can find onto the smallest airframe possible in the name of speed. The R2 is usually the most popular model that is kitted by manufacturers. The Differences from the R1 and R2 are minimal. Google search will reveal what they are. The Z model, which I've modeled, was the R series' predecessor. It was notorious as an unstable aircraft due to its pilot mortality rate. In reality it was mere coincidence. There are some design issues with the wing plan that contribute to its reputation. It uses the Clark Y airfoil which is nearly flat-bottomed. This airfoil is combined with an elliptical wing format which does reduce drag in some cases however, the stall characteristics are not well-conveyed with this airfoil. With the flat-bottom airfoil the tips end up stalling before the root anyway. Had they incorporated washout this would have been much better but would have induced more drag, negating the elliptical design. The McKellar Z model I built is a fantastic flying model. I'm not sure what Mr. McKellar did to change the wing plan but there are no bad tendencies and it was a very quick balsa build due to the laser cut parts all keying together and therefore not really needing plans to build over.

I've built another golden age racer and they do have their design issues when modeled. Vertical stabilizer area is usually the main issue and building as light as possible is a close second. They have very little wing area for their size so the bigger you build them the better.

I have the plans for my Z model scanned but depending on the model you are looking for there are plans out there.
 
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