Lanier Ultimate Pitts finished
 

After 4 months of toil, I finally finished up my Lanier Ultimate Pitts. Engine broke in and running perfect! I should be maidening the plane this Saturday afternoon.

Final Specs:
Zenoah G38 (PLENTY OF POWER)
Hitec 6945 digital coreless
20 X 10-6 prop
AUW 13.3 lbs

Things left to improve on
1. paint trim scheme on cowl
2. add wheel pants (I doubt they'll stay on for long at my field)
3. add smoke system (if the plane flies as nice as it looks, it should be a great addition!)

Here are some completed pictures:

RE: Lanier Ultimate Pitts finished
 

outstanding. in a word, that's the best i could do.

do you have a tenative date for a maiden??? or are you going to wait until all the improvements on your list are completed?

RE: Lanier Ultimate Pitts finished
 

I am going to maiden it Saturday afternoon. I hope to get some pics and video. I doubt I'll try anything stressful on the plane for a few flights tho, so the video might be a little boring (unless I wreck it!). I'll keep everyone posted. I should have the wheel pants finished tonight.

RE: Lanier Ultimate Pitts finished
 

Bip looks real nice, I have herd some bad things about Lanier and once I had a small fun fly lanier .40 size, a bad plane awfull looks and worst flier, since then I have had this bad Idea of Lanier products but your plane looks otherwise, so I need to ask this question:
What do you think about your kit, about materials, manuals, ease of building, information, quality?

Thank you and congratulations, you did a great job.

RE: Lanier Ultimate Pitts finished
 

Nice job. I have one in the box to build this winter,anxious to hear about your results.

RE: Lanier Ultimate Pitts finished
 

tmproff, looks real good. I had a UP that weighed about the same as yours, it flew OK because it was to heavy. I took out my Roto 35 and replaced it with a Saito 180 and it was a whole new plane. The weight dropped to 11.5 lbs, that;s were the weight should be for this bird. In my opinion if the wing cords were 2" deeper this would be a super plane to fly.

RE: Lanier Ultimate Pitts finished
 

Looks very nice!

So how did it fly?

Bart

RE: Lanier Ultimate Pitts finished
 

Looks good. I have had this on my building board for way to long. Look forward to hearing how she flies.

RE: Lanier Ultimate Pitts finished
 

Ok, I maidened the plane this weekend! I had some difficulties getting the engine started (had to hand crank it because my glow starter just wasn't up to the task), and the maiden was done with the cowl off. I was running a 20 inch prop on the G38 and the landing gear barely gave enough distance (I was mowing the grass on takeoff!). Well, after a few practice run ups, I was able to take off at half throttle (with authority I might add). The plane needed a little trim, and I didn't want to put much stress on the plane for the first few flights due to the engine being brand new, and my first heavy plane. Even at half throttle, the plane was pretty fast!!! I landed the plane at a walking pace....she's a beauty to land...no bad tendencies at all...the landing gear strained when she touched down, but didn't bend much.....I checked the plane for any loose hardware and then took some pictures. BTW it flew GREAT at the 13.5 weight (just make sure you have your COG correct!)

OH yes, I had to get my girlfriend to pose with the plane!

Here are some pictures:

RE: Lanier Ultimate Pitts finished
 

OUTSTANDING!!! always love to hear of another maiden that went well. hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of the plane for years to come.

RE: Lanier Ultimate Pitts finished
 

Man.. I wish I had looked at your postings again... that's a beautiful plane.

I decided to recover my lanier over the winter and upgrade to a Saito 180... Here's a few rough pics of the finished product... took the pics with my cellphone, will upgrade those later....

I did fly the plane a few times this past season, but the Saito 150 on it was a bit worn out... it took off like an old shoe. Hopefully the 180 will help that out a bit.

This plane,with engine, is coming in at about 13 1/2 pounds.. what about yours?

RE: Lanier Ultimate Pitts finished
 

I switched from a Roto 35 to a Saito in mine to lighten the plane. The Saito really made that plane perform.

RE: Lanier Ultimate Pitts finished
 

Is yours a Lanier? Also, what prop size are you working with... I've tried (on the ground) everything from a 16x8 to a 18x6w... I like the 6W better, but it won't fit with my 120-cut spinner.. guess I'll have to order a wide cut. The 16x8 spins at over 11K RPM, so I'm afraid its too small. Everything seems to pull in the 15 - 16 pound range.