Has anyone tried the Lanier Slasher and/or Ripper? How are they built? How do they fly?
Are the wings foam with ripstop covering?
Thanks!

John,
Wayne Voyles and Larry Killingsworth jointly developed the Slasher and Ripper. Wayne is the Production Manager for Lanier RC and did all the part programming for both planes.

They are foam wings, HDPE fuselage, and coroplast tail feathers. There is an abundance of laser cut wood parts to back the control horns. The construction manual is very good time and the build time is minimal.

The only ones I have seen fly have been the prototypes.

Lou,
Do you know what weight foam is being used in the wings? And what is the spar material? The website uses their own marketoid terms, which may or may not translate to 1/8" fiberglass rods for the spars.

Hi,
I am from the UK and at our club we fly combat with gremlins, but I came across the lanier Slasher and Ripper.
Can anybody point me in the right direction as to who sells and ships these to the UK at a good price.
Thanks ,
Regards [email protected]

Hi guys,
i still am looking for more info on flying these crafts, i already love thm they look something oooooo. i would love to see a vedio.
and aaa yah in the pic there was a rod metal like thing in the front under the nose.
is it supposed to work as a landing gear ?

Kirk,
The wings are white beaded foam with Dave Brown pushrod shafts as spars.

I don't know about European distribution but would guess that the distributor in the UK handling Lanier products now would be your best source for the new Slasher/Ripper

The landing skeg is made out of piano wire and is not so much for landing as for protecting the exhaust system from damage.

I thought I'd revive this thread since I am interested in these kits as well. Anyone build one yet they have been out for a few months now?

The quality control of the LANIER ARFS that I have seen isn't very good. The covering jobs look pretty slick at first , but none that I have seen have passed the test of time. The air frames that I have looked at reeked of hasty, sweat shop construction. I don't know what kind of glue they use, but it repels CA. It looks like hot melt glue. Their planes fly respectably, but beware of what's inside!

The Lanier Slasher and Ripper are top quality kits with excellent components. The key word is "kits". You have to build them. Larry Killingsworth flew one to third place in Open B at the Georgia Holiday Classic this past weekend. He would have been in the top five in SSC but had to leave early for a family engagement.

The plane may or may not suit your style. It is new to the market and time will tell how well it does on the competition circuit. If you are looking for a quick to assemble plane that builds absolutely true then the Ripper or Slasher might be right for you. Similar planes that are contest proven include:

[ul][*]The Avenger from www.teamseaholm.com [*]The Panther and Predator from www.tufflight.com[*]The Piranha from www.downhomerc.com[*]The Choker from www.hattrickrc.com[*]The Bandit and Go Devil from [email protected]
[/ul]

Hope this helps!

combatpigg,

What do you compare the quality control to? Combat planes when put together, aren't pretty in general. Very few if any have any spit and polish on them, because their designed to be quick building and tough, not pretty. My designs aren't pretty, but their tough and will fly through just about anything out there, I value that over looks anytime!

Hey everyone...
Well I just finished building my lanier ripper. So far im really pleased with it.. The kit went together very easy and seems quite strong.
Just a week ago ive given it a test fly. To my surprise it handles very quite well.. The turn radius is very sharp with very little altitude loss. Still needs some tweaking in the deflection rates but, so far so good. If i might add a quick question, the use of dual rates. Do you use them very much? If so what settings do you suggest?

Ill take some pictures of my built ripper if you would like to see them.

No time to be flipping rate switches in combat. You could use them for landing and take-off I suppose, and maybe some guys do.

Personally, I disable all the switches on my TX in combat configuration, less things to knock in the wrong direction at the wrong time.

Instead, I use a lot of expo. This allows me to let the plane groove when I need to, and move quickly when I need to. However, this isn't universal at all.

Roll and pitch rates are very much person preferences. Some guys like lightening fast roll rates, others go for a slower roll rate to make it easier to get just the right angle to nail somene. Personally, my roll rate is slower than many I've seen, but it doesn't hurt my scoring any. Pitch, on the other hand, is as much as I can manage, turn radius, after all, is everything.

Pictures!, Pictures! Please!!!
Joe

Montague: What you say is very true about the dual rates. I just started into the combat scene and those pesky switches can get in the way. I don't know how many times Ive accidentally flipped the F and H switch on my futaba 8uaf.

Ill take some pictures of the plane tomorrow, since i have some free time. The plans had a lower vertical stab, but since I couldn't get it to fit right without some modification i decided to leave it off. So far i don't think it was really needed.

Hey, I just noticed you're in VA, not all that far from where I am. I guess we'll see each other at contests in the area? Are you planning on flying the Ripper in A class at all the events around here?

I maintain a calendar of all the combat contests in the Mid-Atlantic region at
www.MidAtlanticCombat.com

Right now, there are only a few contests listed for 2004, but you can see from the 2003 schedule that there are lots of A class contests in this area, but so far there haven't been any SSC contests. (nearest SSC contest was in Ohio).

I will probally attend a couple of events. PWCRCF club hosts a few combat events i may partipate in them in the 04 season. But, its quite hard to juggle college and this wonderful hobby. And i need to purchace a few more wings just in case.

everyone else!!! here are some pics like i said eariler. Granted they probally could a little better. New camera too many buttons.

Cool looking plane, I look forward to removing the streamer from it's tail

Seriously, nice looking plane. I'm curious about a couple of things. It's hard to tell from the picture, is the wing tapered much? What is the wing chord at the root at tip? How much does it weigh, and what are you using for an engine?

I don't know if you saw it or not, but I just got preliminary information from Chris at PWC on their contests, and it's posted on the MidAtlanticCombat.com calendar.

btw, it's about a 1hr drive from VA up to my field here in Laurel, so it's not hard to pop up for a contest if you're interested.

Thanks, yeah i really like the design. The wing tips give it that mean look, well a little. <lol>
Well im using a OS CV-A .15 for a motor spinning a MAS 7x4 prop
The taper on the wing is not that much but you can defantly see it. The chord at the root is 7 1/2 inches and at the tip is at 5 3/16th inches. Not including the 1 1/2 inch alerions.
During building i didn't include the leading edge plastic protective sleeves, and used mini servos which brings it just under 2.5 pounds.

Sweet looking plane, I have a Smack 2 that's almost done, covering is done with Zagi Tape, Magnum .15 XL, Hitec Micro 555 RX and 4 HWS Micro Servos, I'll post pictures when completed.
Joe

Thanks for the info. I'm looking forward to flying against it. Should be fun.

Btw, here's a quick picture of my current A/SSC class ride, the Rapier MkI. (same fuse in both, longer wing for SSC, shorter for A class). The MkII is coming along, and I'm kitting a handful of MkII's for guys around here. MkIII is in the "thinking about it" stage:

Thats a nice looking plane also. But i only have one of everything. If i would come even close of being competitive i will need at least a couple more wings probally with an extra fuse.
What did you use to cover your wings? I used econocote, but something tells me that it wasn't a good idea.

I used colored packing tape. I like the tape's strength and field repairability. There are guys around here who use covering like econokote and have have done well with it, so I don't think it was a mistake on your part. Besides, you can always bring a roll of tape for quick field repairs if necessary.

Those plastic fuses are very tough, it's amazing how much they can go though and still be flyable with a little work. Just bring spare parts with you to the contest if you can. Spare sevo gears, pushrods, bits and pieces, that sort of thing. Chances are, your plane won't be destroyed, most damage is field-fixable in both A and SSC classes.

If you can afford it, getting a second kit or at least a second wing is a good idea. You wouldn't need a spare RX or even a full set of servos, or second engine right yet, since those things are usually not damaged badly.

Also, fwiw, I tend to take less chances around a beginner's plane than around someone more expereinced, so I mid-air far more often with the other experienced pilots than with the newer guys.

What you say is true, what ive seen. Ive aattended a few combat meets as a spectator and learning the tricks from chris. What was a good selling point was the durabilty of these planes. Some of these people have chunks taken out on a wing and still beable to fly. I do need to stock up is the tail stabilizers. the vertical stab is usually the first to go after a mild mid-air or a hard landing.

The econocote did cover very well, i thought differant after i saw how thin it is. i allready ripped a small section of it trying secure the wing servo.

Ive finished trimming the plane today. Ive added a little bit more throw in the ailerons and that just made a world of differance. I also had to put a little bit more throw in the elevator since it wasn't very responsive due to cg being a little too forward. But, I thought ill keep it there till i get a little bit more experience with this fast plane.

Ive got a slasher and I fly it with a 25LA and it bores me to tears Im gonna have to get a different engine for it! But my question is when you put your battery pack in the wing did you use a flat battery pack... Cause my flat pack is in my other spads wing and I really dont wanna take it out but I also dont wanna go and chop a hole through my wing trying to fit the wrong kind of battery pack

Wow, return of the 3-yr old thread.

Combat planes in general are usually pretty stable, and not the fastest things in the world. Set up correctly, they can turn amazingly tightly, and the durability means you can goof around doing knee-high passes, fly around behind trees, and other things you wouldn't risk an easily damaged plane doing.

But they are the most fun when flown against other planes, which is the point after all.

The Slasher is the .25 size version, right? The .25LA really isn't a very powerful motor, you'll want something like a .25FX and a mousse can would help. If you aren't going to fly in competition, an .32 can be a lot of fun, though you have to make sure you don't over-stress things.