Laser 3D
 

:cool: Hey Mike & All; keep the post going for sure, good info !
We have ours about 3/4 done and will try to get some pics soon before we cover it. Have not run the Magnum 61 yet but will let ya know how it goes. We plane to cut our wing tips in 1/2 and still use em , mostly just for looks and hope it will harrier and all well with 1/2 tips. If not we will dial in some spoilron and play with it. It is a nice looking bird that builds light and strong ! Hope all will keep the post rolling !! Have FUN ! Rod & Chris in PA. ;)

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Bill

Building a Laser3D
 

Well you guy's have done it now.........My Laser 3D was order saturday, should have it by the end of the week...:)

Looking forward to see it now.

Daniel D.

Building a Laser3D
 

lol! i'm starting an epidemic

Building a Laser3D
 

I would LOVE one, but I just can't afford it really. Especially if you need more powerfull servos. :cry:

Building a Laser3D
 

One thing that I am curious about, is the wing tips. I read on Ed Mooremans site a while back that basically flat wing tips performed the best.

My Laser 3D was built with the stock wing tips and the roll rate is no good when using the "expert" throws printed in the instructions. I had to add 20% to get a good roll rate.

My Pizazz on the other hand, I reduced the throws by 20% because the roll rate was so fast that I had trouble flying through snap rolls. The pizazz has flat wing tips.

I've thought about chopping them off, but I know that somebody will build one like that, and look forward to a comparison.

monday's big report...
 

hey everyone,
mike here; just joined the wing, feel like i just survived some kind of nasty surgery... had odd prob.'s with parts r10 and r11 not fitting right... sandpaper on a radial-saw blade solved that prob.. when i built the right half, i built it a little skewed (trailing edge to the right). this caused a gap in the trailing edge where the wing joins when it was lined up straight. so i epoxied the spars and ply center webbing and leading edge and all that stuff in front but left trailing edge unglued when it is all dry, i will pull right trailing edge to left to get rid of skew...

it wasn't so much a kit prob. as builder error...

anyway, it is goin' real well...

color scheme update... i will be covering the plane in jet white and insignia blue monokote, with insig. blue cowl. there will large white panels covering the middle of both left and right wings. left will have a large black futaba decal. right will have 'Laser 3D' decal. i am debating using the decals they send with it or using this one i made up. (below). that's all i have thought of so far (sumthin' like the box, except better)

enough for tonite...

Crazy Mike

Building a Laser3D
 

I really like the decal.

It's kick ***** compared to the cheezy kit version.

Great Job! :cool:

Building a Laser3D
 

as for the decal, i am thinkin' about printin' it on transparency filim and then using spray-adhesive to stick to monokote. apparently, you can get a smoother effect out of that repro flim stuff, but it is way expensivo! i won't order any untill i find that the transparenceies look as bad as i think...

Crazy Mike

Building a Laser3D
 

I did not put any of the decals on the plane that came from the kit. Being that I did the plane in yellow monocoat, they wouldn't
have shown up very well.
I'll have to play around with the computer and see if I can come up with anything better.
You've got some good ideas for graphics!

Building a Laser3D
 

finally!!! i got a pic off digital cam.. this is only one, but don't expect more cause my access to this camera still comes very inoften. anyway, this is what the wing looked like right after i took the clamps on the front off.

Crazy Mike

Building a Laser3D
 

oops forgot about da pic!

Building a Laser3D
 

later tontie i will epoxy the trailing edge with 6 min. and then start the sheeting. This thing has a lot of sheeting on the wing; a lot on top and bottom leading and trailing edges and complete sheeting front to back top and bottom for the center sect.. this is going to be a difficult part of this kit for me, don't like all that sanding and stuff...

Building a Laser3D
 

another set-back (still not kit-related). so i am just sitting next to my workbench and all of a sudden my dad comedown and says, "Michael, go gotta move it all somewhere else foar a while, i need to build my durastik wing!" So it is now sitting on sawhorses next to the bench but the foam building board would break if i put any kind of pressure on it. Back in business in 1 or 2 days guys.

Building a Laser3D
 

ok, so i exagerated a little. i got the trailing edge epoxied with the rear joiner in place. my wing is just slighty bowed up in the middle (droopy wingtips), but it is only maybe a 16th or a 32nd. anybody think this will be prob.?? Next i have to sand all my bumpy surfaces and start all that tedious sheeting. (I HATE SANDING AND SHEETING!!!!!!!) report later tonight maybe.

Building a Laser3D
 

hey guys,
still no kit defects, but a semi-major builder defect (i'l get to that in a moment).
so i the trailing edge joined (easy), put on the rear sheeting (easy),and then i got around to doing the front sheeting (cringe). I put on the top left piece first, and had a little defect where the wwood popped along the leading edge a bit. on the right side, this happened again, except a lot worse, and out towards the end. My remedy for the messed up top sect.s is to put filler underneath the sheeting, and then sand through all the defects when the time comes. I still need to think up a better method than what i've been using. suggestions PLEEZ!

Building a Laser3D
 

Built my laser 3d about a year ago. I acquired the kit from England before they were available in the States. Powered it with a Webra .50 which proved to be adequate, but not for vertical maneuvers; would not hover. A change I would definitely make is to strengthen the elevator balances. Both blew off my plane during the maiden flight during an idle power dive with rapid pull-up. Landed with about two-thirds of the total elevator missing. Another came off again when landing in tall grass. During the second rebuild I strengthened the leading edge of the elevator with a piece of spruce located just aft of the balsa leading edge. I also used spruce in the elevator balance which was secured to the elevator spruce in lapped "Lincoln log" fashion; worked great, no more breaks. The wing hold-down screw is some unusual size. You can avoid losing it by cutting a hole and slit into a cyno-type hinge and using that hinge as a "thin nut" to keep the hold-down screw attached to the wing. Good luck.

Building a Laser3D
 

Combat 20,

Good idea using the spruce!

I replaced the goofy wing hold down setup with a Dubro 1/4-20
setup which was very similar to the kit pieces.

Crazy Mike,

I full length tack the sheeting to the leading edge with thin CA, then I wet the sheeting with windex, form it to the contour till it holds the shape.

I then use Slow CA on the ribs, press the sheeting down with a large straight edge until the glue holds, and then grab a beer.

:p

Building a Laser3D
 

Thanx BTM, i will try your suggestion for da bottom. But what do you think of what i'm gonna do to fix the top?

Crazy Mike

Sheeting leading edge
 

If you use any water on the leading edge sheeting to form it, be sure to let it dry before you glue it in place. Otherwise, you will have a warped wing. Been there, don that.

3D Laser sheeting
 

:rolleyes: Hello Mike , just did our wing sheeting and have done many others like it. I use slow CA so you have some time to work with it and use pins and masking tape to hold it down well , then use meduim CA on the ribs and spar so it will hold sooner. Have often used Elmers or other Alphetic resin (sandable) white glue on the LE to help fill the gaps and keep it sandable. I also sanded about a 45 degree angle in the front of the sheeting to help it fit better to the LE block / ribs. Have FUN ! Rod & Chris ;)

Building a Laser3D
 

Reference the discussion on wing sheeting. My preferred method is to use Titebond glue and thick CA in the following manner. Sand the sheeting top side before applying it to the wing. Sanding it first prevents excessive sanding once it is applied to the wing and helps troughs in the sheeting between the ribs. Next, carefully sand the leading edge of the sheeting so that it carefully matches the leading edge of the wing then glue the sheeting to the wing leading edge with Titebond (or Elmer's). Allow that glue to dry while you work on the tail feathers, fuselage, etc. Once the Titebond is dry wipe the sheeting with water or window cleaner. Don't soak the sheeting, just dampen it; warping has never been a problem if the sheeting is just dampened. If the sheeting is not overly stiff, you may not have to even dampen it. Next put a bead of thick CA along each rib and the front edge of the spar. Don't put so much CA on the spar that it will squeeze out when the sheeting is eventually pushed down upon the ribs; doing that will prevent the cap strips from fitting well. Next step is to spray CA kicker on the bottom side of the sheeting where the sheeting will contact the ribs. Hold a 3x5 card over the ribs to prevent any kicker from getting on the CA. Final step is to "roll" the sheeting onto the ribs by using a long T-bar sander. The sheeting will stick to the ribs as soon as it touches because of the kicker. Let the wing set for a while because even though the CA sets quickly, it takes a while longer to reach full strength. Make sure the wing is truly flat to the building board (Wright building board is great?) so as not to build a warp into the wing. I weight the wing down with T-bar sanders and scrap metal blocks obtained (free!) from a metal shop. Why use Titebond? - it sands easier than CA and is less likely to leave an unsightly bump along the leading edge. Once the wing is completed, but before applying the shear webs, I give the wing a second application of CA (thick or thin) as required.

Building a Laser3D
 

finally, after production stalled for 3 whole days, i'm back!!

anyway, i got the filler in on the top sheeting, and i sanded a nice edge for the bottom stuff. the leading edge was slightly warped so i cut the front of the sheeting to match it. next i will fit it in and tack the front edge with gapfilling CA first, the bend it over and tack the back, followed by going over everything with medium.

here's a crucial question for those of you who have succesfully built this kit. the large lengthwise 10x10 balsa pieces on the top and bottom of the leading edge. Obviously, these need to be sanded to the airfoil. is it necessary to sand them inside the middle two ribs where the leading edge meats the fuse?

Crazy Mike

laser wing
 

I got my kit a couple of days ago. It looks to me like you glue the center blocks in before applying the sheeting. You do have to plane or sand the block corners off to match the coutour of the wing ribs. Mark the ribs with a strong pencil mark on the edges before you glue the blocks in. When you are sanding, stop as soon as the pencil marks start to show signs of being sanded off. This way you won't sand too deep and change the coutour of the ribs.

Building a Laser3D
 

Yep,

Just mark 'em and carve and sand, being careful not to get into the ribs. Sounds like you're coming along nicely!!!