Ron Gray

At long last, another chapter, this is no6 and is a short one so that you know I'm still alive and its about the flap / aileron conversion I've done on the wings - enjoy.

Superb!

Yes, a very poor copy of a Laser, poor materials and bad machining.

They were beaten at their own game by Far Eastern products that were / are arguably better than their own (with the exception of 'tex and Clear Coat). Regarding taking it on, I did enquire about the rights to produce Clear Coat but was told that I couldn't afford it! Not necessarily, the sub 50cc market wants 4 strokes due to noise restraints and Laser offered an excellent range to suit that (dwindling) market and as for mess, what mess, the latest Laser engines running low oil produce no more mess than a petrol jobbie. Various options here, as a cottage industry you would seek out precision engineering companies who would produce parts in their 'down time' so it would be a limited supply but still a supply. Alternatively, there are precision engineering companies in India who could produce small runs of the parts. The assembly of the parts would then be done here, in the UK by a one man band type setup. Over simplifying I know but..........

Being able to perform well executed circuits and fig 8’s will get you flying solo long before low passes and touch and goes will and those skills are the bedrock for everything else.

I was thinking more on the lines of a 'cottage industry', as a full blown business it just doesn't stack up.

IMO that is not the correct way to progress! Consolidation of what you have been doing with particular emphasis on level flight control and neatly executed rectangular flying circuits (downwind parallel to take off leg and consistent height) together with figure of 8’s (same size circles irrespective of wind direction) should be your aim!

And we mere punters who have put thousands into their coffers (possibly only covering their costs or maybe not even that) are entitled to query the, on the face of it, very selfish attitude of taking the Laser name to the grave with them rather than allow an opportunity for others to step in to continue it (much as Neil did when he retired). Of course there may well be no takers but at least keep the door open.

I fly mine with a Jumper T-lite Tx and find that it’s far better to fly it with stab on!

Yep, carefully!

Ah, sorry Eric, I misunderstood. For my dolly I made it so that the foam support pads are removable so a new set of larger ones would raise the model up enough to clear the intake. In fact I’ve made some other parts for it so that it can be used for ‘bacon slicer’ pushers too! Prototype shown here

Personally I would use a dolly and keep the belly intake on as it's such an iconic part of the Hurri. I would then reinforce it so that belly landings can use it as a skid! Funnily enough, my 82" Laser 200 inline powered Hurricane has had to do a couple of belly landings due to landing gear failures but the (reinforced) rad intake has stood up to them without issue!

Go for it Geoff much easier, reliable and cheaper than retracts.

Interesting, DaVinci Resolve is free and gives Ultra HD exporting plus loads of others.

I'll see your bunker and raise you a T2 hanger

And even an authentic crater by the looks of it!

I’m up for building anything, simple complex etc but if part of the aim is to take new builders through the stages from simple to complex builds then I think it needs to be a bit simpler that the Macchi. We’ve started with the simple FW190 then progressing with a slightly more ‘complex’ Tempest so another one slightly easier than the Macchiato.

Says it all really

Yes it’s been very wet this year, according to my weather station we’ve had 3 times the amount of rain this year than in any of the past 5 years (or more), so I do sympathise. Fortunately our patch is on a gravel bed so the green stuff drains very well but we do get puddles on the tarmac runway 🥴

TBH we enjoy cutting the grass and there is a team, the Cutting Crew, of volunteers so I can rotate the duties. We also have ‘heavy machinery’ to do the job, who doesn’t like driving a tractor 🚜? 😎😎

It is a lovely strip Murat and very well drained too. It does take between 2 and 3 hours to cut the grass though!

Our grass is looking rather good, your maintenance team are slipping!

Yes, love it but has to be the razor back not the bubble top one for me.

Yep, Laser ran through his veins, shame his bosses didn’t give him the support he deserved, absolutely disgraceful.

Yes, Murat, it’s looking really good.