My new project.
I met a neighbor down the street few years back whom I would see driving with his RC planes in and out of the neighborhood. He is an older gentlemen in his 80’s and a great guy. I would invite him to fly at OCMA and he would decline and say he was just getting to old and a safety hazard flying. About three months ago he came knocking on my door saying he just cant do it anymore and wants to clear out all his RC stuff. I tried to talk him into keeping his stuff and coming with me to fly and I would help him . NOPE!
Well I got him to go with me last week and he let me fly his planes. It was a great day and he had fun. However we had a close call with him almost getting eaten by a 35 CC plane. Lucky for us no one got hurt. After we got home he said he needed to walk away from RC because of his health. So this week I went and helped him clean out his garage. Most of the stuff was very outdated and beat up pretty bad. However one plane kept telling me to take it home and give it some TLC. So beside boxes and boxes of bolsa wood, motors, servos, radios and old planes I am now the proud owner of a scratch built Gee Bee R1.

Looking at the picture you will see I have my hands full. But tell you what. It is one of the easiest flying Gee Bees I have ever flown. Almost zero rudder on take-off and it just stuck to the runway when landing. In the air it flew with authority. The tail did not wag at all. Which surprised me being that it has such a short fus. Many folks that day had to come look at it and comment on how stable it flies. My Neighbor, Mr. Hefner was very happy to see all the attention his scratch build got. It was great seeing him light up like a teenager.
Well my goal is to get it as pretty as I can ASAP and take him out flying again.
Just had to share.

Here are some pic’s

That's great. The plane is just stuff, but the memory of a great day with with a cool friend will last forever.
I bet that old dude is still smiling!
Nice one!

I cant wait to see the look on his face when his pride and joy is like new again.

The joy you will give him will probably make it the most fun refurbish you have done.

I'm surprised he had time for a hobby, what with the magazine and all the parties going on all the time.....
Oh! not that Mr. Hefner. I've got a flying buddy that is now 85 yrs. old and he is an inspiration for the younger (slightly) guys to not give up enjoying the greatest hobby there is.

looks cool

To cool

Cool story. Very cool.

this is a great great story!! and that plane is just awesome!! not to sidetrack this thread, but it just blows my mind how the prop sticks out about 2 to 3 inches from cowl, yet, this is where all the thrust comes from --- the tips of the prop!!

Sounds like a story that should be in high flight or model aviation. Bring him to the field until he cant go!

Thanks for sharing

Check out the how he mounted the motor box. Very creative. It is super stiff. Just a bunch of dowels forming a cone. The skin around it is panty hose and resin.

Looks like i can make an old T-28 canopy cut up into a canopy that is pretty close to scale.

I got the cowl off and sanded. It is not in too bad of shape.

i am not sure what to think of the muffler. He made it and said it allowed him to go from a 18x10 to a 20x10 @ 6800 RPM. i will probably leave it alone and just hide it behind a dummy radial. Any ideas where to find a cheap, not over the top dummy motor?

Wheel pants come off tonight. i am going to try to save what is there.

Got the cowl stripped down. Right now it is covered in primer and filler ready for sanding then another primer / filler coat. Should be ready to paint Wednesday or Thursday.

And i think i found some wheel pants and skirts for her. I should have those this week.

I have decided to slow down and add some scale features. At first i was thinking just clean it up and fly. But my brain keeps saying " you cant put your name on that and have parts of it look half ass". Guess i need to start researching photos and what not.

Parpar1, Thanks for sharing a great story.

I've seen Bill fly that GeeBee at Prado several times in the past. Looks good in the air.

I'm a GeeBee nut so I have some books that I can bring out to OCMA maybe next Sat.

Dan

Originally Posted by airbike

Parpar1, Thanks for sharing a great story.

I've seen Bill fly that GeeBee at Prado several times in the past. Looks good in the air.

I'm a GeeBee nut so I have some books that I can bring out to OCMA maybe next Sat.

Dan

Yes please. See you Saturday. That is T-28 race day too. Which is turning in to a pretty big group of pilots.

Bill is super neat guy. My kids think he is great with all his stories and that old car of his.