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| Mini Laser 3D from Laser Models by Wayne Haycock |
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A fun fly with a difference... Its electric. |
 Wayne Haycock (author) |
 A fine day at Duxford... |
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Yes a fun fly type model yet again but it has to be said there is a market out there for this type of model and for somebody with some aileron experience these models are easy to fly and a lot of fun to boot! I know of and have seen people that have not yet taken there 'A' fly this type of model with no problem. I don't plan to do a blow by blow glue A to B account of this kit as the construction is very straight forward. So what do you get in the Mini laser 3D kit, well some of the best selected wood I have seen for a long time all very light and spot on for the job in hand. A full size plan, undercarriage, canopy and cowl that you have to cut out plus the full power system. Now this consists of the motor and gearbox pre built and wired and the prop to go with it. The instructions are of a pictorial type with some text, there is also a booklet telling you all about the company and how the parts are cut out all very interesting.
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Specs (I never wear them)... |
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On getting on with it... |
The first job to do is identify the parts on the sheets all of which are stamped with A, B, C and so on, I wrote the relevant letter and number on all the parts as I took them out of their sheets. I did have a small problem with one sheet that had not been cut completely through (A common problem a few years ago ED), now I am not going to go on about the cutting as this is obviously done with a lazer but it goes without saying that it is just spot on perfect in fact you have to be very careful once you start going though the sheets of wood as some of the parts will fall out with no help at all.
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Winging it... |
Once you have identified the relevant parts you start with the wing, now this model is only just over 31 inches in wing span , you have to build the wing in two halves, but that's no problem I laid all the parts out and then assembled each half in my hands. I then placed each half over the plan and using some small metal blocks I checked all was square then went over all the joints with thin CA, checking that you have put the ribs in the right order before hand! This is important as the aileron servos have their own mounts attached to ribs A4 and A5, You then have to assemble the centre section this includes the battery box and the main wing brace. Fitting the sub spars and making up the ailerons is next. These are chamfered on the bottom edge to be top hinged later, the undercarriage is then fitted to the front of the wing this was one area that was misleading as the instructions tell you that you need to fit part A8 but it is in fact B8 that you need, I didn't fit the front dowel at this stage I decided to fit it after covering the wing. The wing is then put to one side because the next job is the fuselage.
Wing centre section...
Tip construction supported by metal blocks...
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Oh No - It's the fuz... |
This starts with the two sides it took me longer to take all the scrape out of the sides than it did to build the main construction of the fuselage, you have to fit formers G9 and G10 to one side with G2 the top plate joining them together. Before I fitted the top plate I checked the fit of my servos, as it is easier to make them fit now as latter. You then fit the plate for the wing bolt and the other fuselage side pulling the back together and fitting some scrap 3mm as a spacer, this I held in place with a clothes peg. The instructions tell you not to glue the second side yet but you don't get told when to glue it! I glued it all after I had fitted the firewall and that was next with triangle gussets behind, all the other formers are fitted then the top strips and the bottom sheeting added, this is put to one side as you will now need all the tail parts to finish the fuselage off.
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The tail end... |
Not a lot to say about this as there isn't a lot to the construction, the wood selection as I said at the start is very good firm but light very nice. All this is very easy to put together the tailplane is made from three parts with a hard wood strip at the trailing edge and each elevator half made again from three parts, as for the fin and rudder the fin is made from two parts and the rudder is made from five. Going back to the fuselage for a minuet you fit the fin but don't glue it then you fit the small supports each side and remove the fin and sand to shape, you then fit the tailplane and glue in place followed by the fin. The next job is to hinge and shape the rudder. I fitted the two tubes that are used as guides for the closed loop control of the rudder. Making the elevator push rod is next this is just two wire rods, you have to cut the end off one and then bind and solder together. The elevator push rod was fitted at this stage but be warned if you decide to fit this after covering it would be almost impossible to do as you have to guide the push rod though two holes in former H4.
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Other bits... |
I then fitted my connectors to the motor wires, because of the way the gearbox works you must wire the motor to run in reverse, then greased the gears and put some oil down the prop shaft this assembly was then screwed to the firewall and I started with the covering. Now a model of this type calls out to be covered in transparent covering but because of its size and past experiences with models of this type!! I decided to go with solid colours, as I like to do a which way up colour scheme. After covering the servos where fitted before I fitted the aileron servos I extended the leads, the closed loop control is a length of what looks like fishing line this is tied to the rudder horn pushed down the tube to the servo then past though the outer holes in the servo arm back up the other tube and tied to the rudder horn (Phew). As for the other controls I was very dubious about using the clevises provided as they clip into the control horn and the wire push rod fits into a groove with a sleeve over it to lock it in place, once all the radio was installed I cut and fitted the cowl, this is an ABS moulding that is very easy to trim to size. I then glued the two halves together with some of the off cuts using CA, With this done I fitted the battery to check the CG and all was A OK. One other thing I did was to fit small pieces of ply to the front and back of the battery box cover, One nice thing about this model is having the battery under the wing you have very good access plus you can alter the balance with the battery.
A break from the norm...
Looking good...
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The best bit... |
If you are like me and you have started here well your not going to be disappointed with the performance of this little machine, The CG range is only 10mm being 65 to 75 mm from the leading edge of the wing, I set mine by moving the battery at 70 mm. The instructions give you two movement settings one is FUN the other is EXPERT, now I don't class myself as a expert but I do like a lot of movement on my controls so on low rate I set all controls as per expert then on high rate I gave them some more!! All this I set up one Saturday afternoon so by late afternoon I had the model ready with a freshly charged 7 cell pack of 600AE's. So I was off to the field to test fly thinking that I would be on my own I was surprised to find two other members up and flying so I asked one of them to give my a launch as we fly from grass and I didn't want to try a take off on the first flight. Now I know a lot of people say it flew straight off the board but this did there was no trim change on any control, the mini lazer climes very well so after 3 small circuits of the field I had gained plenty of height to first try the stall this is as you may expect a non event with the lazer just nodding it's head so the speak. Next a loop which it dose in it's own length, or you can drag it out and make it a nice size the roll was blink and you miss it the one thing I was not very impressed with was the rudder because of the way you have to set it up. You cant get the recommended movement, but this is only a problem when you try knife edge or stall turns, inverted is no problem. As for flick rolls and spinning it will not do these very well but I think this is because of the lack of rudder movement. After 4 min's I landed and that was made with hardly any forward movement, no need to reset the movements on my high rate settings as I am more than happy with the 'expert' settings, I made two more flights both with freshly charged battery's getting 5 min's per flight this was mixed flying with only a small amount of throttle use.
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Conclusion... |
A very well thought out design. As for the cutting of the parts this was a mixed bag as I have said before some of the part's fell out others needed cutting to get them out. I was not very impressed with the links provided in the kit but once in place they look like they are more than fit for the job, I have been told that some people have had the motor burn out but I think this may be because of them going with 8 cells as the motor is only a '300' size job. Construction is very fast I had all the airframe built and ready to cover after just 3 nights work working for about three and half hours a night, it would be nice to try a geared 400 set up in this but you would then have an increase in weight the next step would I think then be to go brushless and that I know has been tried. As to the flying I have now tried a 7 cell pack of 800 NiMh and I get 7 min's of mixed flying with very little use of the throttle, the only weak link that has raised it's head is taking off from grass. It doesn't but a model of this size is so easy to hand launch you don't have to worry. The early concern about the linkage's is now a non event I am totally pleased with them and they are well up to the job, I have been informed that some people have extended the rudder horn to get the recommended movement, this is because the item in the kit is very close to the fin post, I got over this problem by filing small groves in the fin post but I still don't have the recommended movement. All in all a very nice well mannered model that with the use of rates would make a good follow on model for anybody learning.
If anybody would like to contact me with their thoughts or ask me any questions, I can be contacted by phone on 01785 212158 or by e-mail at wot4wayne@bumpygreen.co.uk
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The worst bit... |
Ok then, down to the crash of the mini lazer, I had had two flights with the mini lazer on the day it crashed and had never thought that the battery box cover was very good but also I had never had a problem with it!! The battery was and is a tight fit but it is held in with velcro so I thought no problem with that as this holds the battery's in to all my electric models, the only thing with the mini lazer is the battery hangs from under the centre section of the wing so if the cover isn't a good fit you only have the velcro to hold it in, and that is what happened as I say I was flying doing loops, rolls both normal and flick, inverted and so on then the cover came off this came as no surprise because of the above but on the next pass I last all control because the battery came out. I was lucky as it was in level flight at the time so when it hit the ground it hit nose first, this bent the shaft in the gearbox but not the prop and it smashed all the front of the fuz back to the LE of the wing and that is no surprise because of the very light construction. I do plan to rebuild the nose and I will have a go at trying to straighten the shaft but I will also be on the look out for a new shaft at the first show I go to in the new year.
Almost one for the Graveyard...
And from another angle...
Article by Wayne Haycock for Bumpy Green Model Aerodrome
3nd January 2001
| Comments left by others... |
Comment by Sam on 00000000000000. Rating 5
I enjoyed the review concerning the Mini Laser. A good job. I have been into fuel type RC since 1965 but am beginning to look into electric flight.I have scratch built a "Cumulus" Texaco Old timer and am looking for another plane.
Comment by Sam on 00000000000000. Rating 5
I enjoyed the review concerning the Mini Laser. A good job. I have been into fuel type RC since 1965 but am beginning to look into electric flight.I have scratch built a "Cumulus" Texaco Old timer and am looking for another plane. I'm impressed with your website. Sam
Comment by Stripes on 00000000000000. Rating 5
Meow.
Comment by zeeshan gauher on 00000000000000. Rating 5
very nice review.Iwas wondering if you are selling this plane
Comment by Jim McDonald on 00000000000000. Rating none
i liked your review, however i was curious what type of covering you used.
Comment by Gazza on 00000000000000. Rating 3
Good review. I was wondering how it compares to the "Mini Jazz" (RCM&E mini fun fly plan 1997 and supplied as a kit by "Weston UK" until quite recently) Could one fit an I.C.engin .10 or .15 perhaps? Love electrickery! but still need a Castor & Nitro fix now and again. Smashing reviews, keep um coming. Ta Ta.
Comment by Emannoble on 20040519231907. Rating 5
I lthink the reveiw is good. I bought a mini Lazer from the York show, it was an ARTF. When i got it i thoughtit was great.....till i started putting it together! The build is fine , but whoever covered it made a right pigs ear of it. it was warped to high heaven, and this sort of dulled my enthusiasem for it. if any one is going to get one, go for the kit, cause even if you can't cover, you could probably do better than the person who did mine!
Comment by Jem on 20051006140106. Rating 5
Like Emannoble i bought the electric ARTF version and found the tail and ailerons seriously warped. Both ailerons needed strippping and recovering and the bevelled hinge line re-sanding with a permagrit bar as the original looked like it had been done by hand with a bit of sandpaper! Clearly a quality control problem at the factory. Not surprisingly I still haven't finished this 'artf' yet but Wayne's review will hopefully re-start the project.
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