SEAGULL MODELS LASER 200

Model Airplane News, Jun 2005 by Thompson, Jet

A sporty ARF with performance plus!

IN THE LATE 1970S AND EARLY '80S, WORLD AEROBATIC COMPETITION was dominated by Leo Loudenslager and his highly modified Stephens Akro, which he dubbed the "Laser 200." With his Laser, Loudenslager won an unprecedented seven U.S. national aerobatic championships-to date, a feat not duplicated-and one world championship. The Laser's design and success paved the way for the current generation of aerobatic aircraft such as the ever-popular Extra. The original Loudenslager Laser 200 resides in the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center, and Seagull Models has designed this faithful re-creation of that historic plane but changed its color scheme from blue to yellow.

WHAT YOU GET

The box comes loaded with all of the bits and pieces that you expect to get with a premium ARF. The airplane features traditional built-up balsa and lite-ply construction, and the wood is all laser-cut. There are some decals to apply to complete the trim scheme so you can personalize your plane.

I rather like the control horns that come with the kit. Instead of having four or five attachment points for the clevis, there are threaded rods that allow very fine hornlength adjustment. The rudder servo and dual elevator servos for slop-free control linkage are mounted in the tail.

I used high-torque digital servos all the way around, but to fly this airplane as it's intended to be flown, there's probably no need for anything bigger than standard servos, with the possible exception of the rudder. To do this beautiful plane justice, though, I recommend that you use servos with good centering, e.g., Hitec 525MGs and perhaps a 625MG on the rudder. The servos I used are extreme overkill for torque, but hey; too much torque is better than too little.

WING

The model has plug-in wing panels with a wing tube that slides through the fuselage. The tube mates with each panel and keeps the structure rigid. Four wing bolts prevent the wing from rotating. Assembling the two wing panels is exceedingly simple. First, install the CA-type hinges and ailerons. Push a straight pin through the center of every hinge to prevent them from shifting when you fit the aileron into place. Flex the aileron to its maximum deflection, and wick four drops of thin CA into each hinge slot; then flex the aileron in the other direction, and repeat with a couple more drops on the other side of the hinge.

The aileron servos are attached to the wing hatches, and the servo arms protrude from the wing. I used 12-inch servo extensions on the servo leads to make sure that they would reach the receiver with some slack. I used shrink-wrap to secure the connectors. Included with the kit are some really nice control horns. Be sure to adjust the aileron horns so that they are the same length. With my setup, 18mm seemed to work out just right.

FITTING OUT THE FUSELAGE

A metal engine mount is included, and blind nuts come installed in the firewall. They are positioned to allow the use of a wide range of engines; I would have preferred to mount my engine inverted to help preserve lateral balance. The side-mounted engine does, however, preserve the plane's scale outline, and it still performs very nicely. Since I used an engine that is on the larger side of the recommended range, I chose heavier control-linkage hardware for the tail group. I don't believe that heavyduty hardware is necessary for the plane's safety or performance; I simply wanted to offset the extra weight under the cowl with something functional. And I think that the heavy-duty hardware looks cool.

The supplied fuel tank fits nicely just behind the firewall and comes with instructions to install a third line to fill and empty the tank. When I trial-fit everything together with the tank in place, the fuel fittings protruded about 3/4 inch beyond the firewall. When I installed the YS 1.40FZ in the recommended position, the back of the engine interfered with the fuel lines. Because the YS engine pressurizes the fuel-delivery system, I was able to move the fuel tank back and out of the way. I extended the fueltank floor backward with two pieces of balsa and CA, and I built a stopper to prevent the tank from moving forward.

The engine cowl is massive and provides plenty of cooling air. This cowl is so big that it easily fits over the engine (without muffler) without your having to make any kind of cutout. Since the air inlet is so big, I could not go with the rule of three times the exit area for proper airflow. I decided to cut a semicircle out of the bottom rear of the cowl and remove material just above the valve cover. I also made a cutout for the stock YS muffler and a hole to allow access to the mixture-adjustment screws. The cowl is held on by four screws, but after the first flight, I added two more screws for extra security.

TAIL GROUP

The horizontal and vertical stabilizers are attached next, but not before the elevators have been hinged into place. Attach the rudder after you've glued on the vertical stab. The elevator halves are independent, so there's no need to worry about a joiner wire, and the tailwheel is a separate assembly. 1 really like having the tailwheel assembly separate from the rudder because it eases installation and reduces the stress on the rudder hinges. It also looks great.