Hello,
I want to build my first 1/4 scale kit. I think that I've chosen the Taylorcraft by Lanier. What I want to know is if they make good kits with quality wood, and good insrtuctions. The reason I ask is because I have heard some people say that they used to be kind of junky kits. If any one could help me out that would be great.

ONe more thing, why would this plane be rated for the advanced flyer?

Lanier Kits are excellent, BUT, You MUST supply your OWN hardware! they typically DONOT contain
any hardware, such as wheels, hinges, gas tank, engine mount, etc. Got to add this to cost along with glue, covering etc..

I guess Lanier has radically improved their kits since my last one. I'll still wait to see the contents and finished product of someone elses' before I re-enter their product line.

Let's just put it this way:

They are DEFINETLY a builders kit.

If you really like to build, and you don't mind wading through an instruction book without any pictures; then go for it.

If you've never built a kit before- I suggest you start with something else. If you've got several kits under your belt, and you like to build, then they are great kits.

I like the fact that they don't include hardware. Most of the hardware that you find in kits is junk anyway IMO. I like to spend my money on quality hardware and finish a nice model to my personal standards.

The Lanier kits are usually a bit cheaper than other brands- but this is because of the lack of hardware and other fluff commonly associated with other kits.

I just bought a Stinger .60 kit from Lanier. Keep in mind this is my first kit, so I may have had some higher than practical expectations of a kit.

CONS

I thought since I was at their website I was buying the plane directly from Lanier. This is NOT the case. They use something called Shopatron to bid out there online sales for them. I ended up getting the kit from some shop in PA that I had never heard of. Even if you order it on their website, you're not getting it directly from them so you may as well order from someone of your choice. I wish I had known that...

The info on the [link=http://www.lanierrc.com/lrcprivate/LRChtmpages/sting60.htm]Stinger .60[/link] page states, Upon arrival of my kit, my wings were certainly Not presheeted. They were raw foam still in foam panels.

The site said rolled plans. Well, this is true mostly. They were folded in the middle and rolled the rest of the way. I don't know if this is typical or not.

The instruction book is pretty vague to a new builder. It contains no pics at all and has no complete list of supplies needed to complete the kit. It mentions several types of glues, contact cement and other items within the book but never tells you ahead of time that you'll need them. I guess this is why you need to read the whole book first and make out your shopping list.

Several pieces of the included wood were either badly warped or had bad spots on it including the wing root spar. This may or may not be typical, but I had to replace some stuff. They also leave you very little room for error on the wood supplied. If you mess one up one piece you'll be making a trip to the shop.

PROS

The site said die cut lite ply parts. The sheet of of lite ply parts I received had been laser cut. They were almost falling out of the sheet when I picked it up. I thought this was a good thing...

Not having to sand a turtledeck and all the whatever else goes along with it will be nice. The whole top of the fuse is plastic from the stab to the cowl.

Nice sturdy landing gear were included in the kit.





Again, I may have expected more than I should have with this being my first kit. Rcpilot said Lanier kits aren't the best for a beginner and that holds true for this one. I've spent allot of time waiting to confer with another builder on what they are talking about and how to do it. Even he said some of it was a pain in the arse the way they laid it out. All in all I'm not too disappointed in the kit itself. I guess I got soured from the beginning by feeling a little misled though. Hopefully the one your looking at will be all you hoped for. Good Luck.
Rick

Rick:

The cons you listed, except the quality of the wood, don't bother me at all. But one item you mentioned as a pro is why I wont buy another Lanier kit. The ^&$ plastic deck. What's worse, it's not even a good plastic, it's ABS. And the cowl is the same trash.

If I want a plastic POS I'll buy an RTF foamie, thank you.

Bill.

I'm building the little Lanier Extra 3.25. I have enjoyed building it, but I like building. It is more of a plan pack rather than a kit, ie you get the plans and the bits pre cut, but the instructions are not worth too much.

Definately not a kit for the first time builder.

Fortunately the extra has proper stringers and sheeting decks. If faced with the plastic decking, I'd probably make my own out of balsa.

You're certainly right about the plastic being junk. I plan on taking the weight penalty to lace in insides of it with a thin glass tape. As for the pre-cut bits. There were only 13 laser cut parts. Thats not much when working on an entire airplane.

Yes forgot to mention that I glassed the inside of my ABS cowl. Plane hasn't flown yet, no idea how well it will work. Not worth shipping in an aftermarket cowl from the US, the shipping would cost more than the cowl. May get one as part of a larger order sometime though.

I just finished the 40% Staudacher, and let me say I think that if you like to build it is a great kit. It came with more instructions and pictures than I needed. The quality of the wood and the laser cutting was out standing. The finished product will fly with the best 40% out there. It is gettng harder and harder to find good kits, it seems we are heading towards the ARF world. just my .02

Well with kits like the stinger kit I just got I would almost lean towards an ARF. The further along I get the more I find wrong. One side of the fuse is completely twisted. And I've found a couple more pieces of wood missing. Again, no included list of parts makes it hard to inventory anything. You just have to wade through the book and read everything to know what is *supposed* to be there.

I also decided to scrap the abs turtledeck and build it up from balsa.

The biggest problem with Lanier kits is the lack of support from Lanier. The least they could do is provide a set of instructions written by someone who has assembled the kit. I have both the 60 size Stinger and the 1/4 scale Taylorcraft and the instructions are just pathetic. As far as laser cut they really need to adjust their laser so it cuts all the way thru the wood. None of the Lanier kits are designed for the first time builder. I would suggest they use Sig as a model for how to instructions...,.

I've got the 96" Giles by Lanier. And although it's been shelved for a couple of years while I'm building others, I plan to get back to it this winter. It doesn't have the plastic t-deck, it's all wood. The parts were all either Laser or CNC Router cut. The foam cores were some of the best i've seen. I had one bad piece of lite ply (twisted and cracked) and all it took was a phone call to Lanier before I had a replacement on the way. The biggest draw-back that I can see from their kits is the excess weight. They're built like battleships! I cut about a pound of ply out of the fuselage! Don't really care for the 'capstrip' sheeting on the wing, so we'll be doing a fully sheeted (1/16") wing in lieu of the partially sheeted and cap stripped wing. Hopefully, we'll get it done this winter. Altogether, the Giles seems to be a pretty good kit, and their response to the defective part was quick and easy! Props to Lanier!

I did the Stinger 60 , first and last Lanier kit for me. The really junky ABS is a TURN OFF and no fun to deal with. For those building the Stinger take note and re-enforce the Fus. at the forward and rear of the wing saddle. It should be glassed at the rear where the instructions advise the builder to score for the bend. My plane broke at that location on a hard landing as did a friends 40 size.
The plane flys well but is on the heavy side much of which can't be avoided. I did not enjoy the foam wing and required glue etc. , an extra cost and added weight in my opinion.
I had to order another ABS engine cowl after the first one gave up. Took about two months, cost an arm and a leg after shipping and was badly warped.

I'm slow but trainable,,,,,,