Nose fairing for the bee, instead of digipod?

[KDOG]

I was thinking, could you put a nice, aerodynamic, nose cone/fairing on and place the instruments there IN PLACE of the digipod? Wouldn't be too much more weight, would it?

[Brian Jackson]

I've wondered this too. I'd be interested to hear some responses.

[Doug Riley]

There are a couple problems.

First of all, if you want the craft to be 103 legal, you'll have a tough time adding a pod. My VERY stripped-down 'Bee came in at 251 lb., using an overhead stick, plastic wheels, a 447, a 2-blade wood prop, no pod (digi- or otherwise), no prerotator and a small seat. You'd have weight left for a small pod if you used Dragon Wings (lighter than my Rotordyne blades) and no prerotator. D-Ws are a challenge for beginners to hand-start, however.

Second, pods tend to de-stabilize the aircraft, especially in pitch. The 'Bee with a small Watson-style vertical fin has just enough yaw control as it is. I hold all the left pedal I've got on takeoff. Adding pod area ahead of the CG can result in a craft that doesn't want to go straight. You might need some more vertical tail area.

I'd suggest making the smallest panel you can for starters and then modifying if you must after you get some experience. No need to be a student pilot AND a test pilot at the same time!

[KDOG]

What about the DigiPod for the Bee? Star Bee carries them, are you saying that their Bee isn't ultralight weight? I do think The Star Bee has the DW blades, though.
Oh, and overhead stick?!?!?! WTF?

[Doug Riley]

The overhead stick is shown in the Gyrobee picture in my last post. It has the same sense of motion as a hang glider or trike bar, which is opposite to a conventional joystick. Natural for hang glider pilots, confusing for most other folks. But it's light.

By pod, I thought you meant something larger than an instrument pod ... something that encloses your feet and perhaps carries a windshield (e.g. a Dominator pod, per attached photo). This sort of fairing gets well into double-digit weights, which will likely put you over 103 weight. They're also big enough to have some aerodynamic effect.

I'm not that familiar with the Digipod, but thought it was just an enclosed instrument panel, not a fairing for the pilot... big difference in size and weight.