Laser Engines - Technical questions

[Jon H]

53 minutes ago, Nick Cripps said:

That last video is very instructive, Jon.

A lot of people adjust the low needle to give the highest idle speed but this clearly shows the tuning is then too lean for clean acceleration.

 

Its all about the pickup performance. At least, it is on a glow engine

[Andy Stephenson]

Jon,

This is more historical than technical but was this plagiarism of was it licenced?

 

[Don Fry]

I knew a bloke who had one. Felt a quarter sorry for him. At least it put the rest of us on more sensible buying options.

[Scott Edwards 2]

Ahhh, the Flyte 150 saga ? This was when Jon was still in nappies and Neil Tidey was at the helm. 1992 I think ? It was very much plagiarism, by a chap I won't name (initials DH) who took a Laser 150 to the far east somewhere and said "copy this".

 

Neil thought it was hysterical !!! Somebody bought one thinking it was a Laser and sent it to Neil for servicing. He had great fun taking it apart, and brought the bits to the pub to show us for a giggle. It was basically made of aluminium coloured chocolate and the tolerances were a joke. It's supposed "Unique selling point" was that the exhaust came blocked, and you had to decide which end to drill out !

 

Only one batch was ever made, because surprisingly they didn't fool many people. Unsurprisingly they ran like a bag of old nails.

 

They still turn up occasionally, I saw one for sale at Wings & Wheels this year. It was unused ? Probably a good collectors item now actually !

 

 

[Jon H]

replacing the first two letters of the name with sh would probably give a more accurate name for the product. 

 

I have disappointed a fair few people over the years by telling them the engine they just paid top dollar for is actually not a laser and i cant help them with it. 

 

To me its clear what they are but many are lead astray. IF you arent sure, dont buy it. Any listing you see on ebay if you want to know what it actually is just email me the link and i will tell you and give a rough estimate of its age and how expensive it looks like it will be to fix. 

 

As i have said before, assume all 2nd engines need a service. Thats 100 quid straight out of the gate. Then assume they might need a carb or exhaust so set aside another 40 quid. Take the price of the engine as new, subtract what you think is reasonable to give you a price you would pay for a perfect 2nd hand example of that engine, then subtract the £140 for the service costs. Whatever is left is what you pay. 

 

So a laser 150 is 350 quid new, say 250 2nd hand but in good condition? 250 - 140 leaves £110. Any 150's on ebay, dont pay more than £110. This way you get a bargain if it runs perfect and needs no work, but arent stitched up if it needs a bunch of work as the work will bring you back to the fair 2nd had price you already came up with for a perfect working example (which it would be after service). 

 

Clearly this is a bit different if you can get the engine in hand and see how it feels, perhaps even run it before buying, but for ebay i would operate like this to protect yourself from buying scrap. 

[Engine Doctor]

On 20/11/2021 at 19:08, Scott Edwards 2 said:

Ahhh, the Flyte 150 saga ? This was when Jon was still in nappies and Neil Tidey was at the helm. 1992 I think ? It was very much plagiarism, by a chap I won't name (initials DH) who took a Laser 150 to the far east somewhere and said "copy this".

 

Neil thought it was hysterical !!! Somebody bought one thinking it was a Laser and sent it to Neil for servicing. He had great fun taking it apart, and brought the bits to the pub to show us for a giggle. It was basically made of aluminium coloured chocolate and the tolerances were a joke. It's supposed "Unique selling point" was that the exhaust came blocked, and you had to decide which end to drill out !

 

Only one batch was ever made, because surprisingly they didn't fool many people. Unsurprisingly they ran like a bag of old nails.

 

They still turn up occasionally, I saw one for sale at Wings & Wheels this year. It was unused ? Probably a good collectors item now actually !

 

 

Yes I knew (DH) , A thorough scoundrel who made Arthur Daley look like a Saint.  Consign any Flyte engines to the naughty cupboard as a reminder of some of our modelling cons. I never knew of anyone who actually bought one though . Anyone remember any others ? The "Flash 35 " was another stinker .

The unused one you saw should be placed in the naughty cupboard next to the chocolate teapot and glass nails  ?

[Outrunner]

The magazine article reproduced above gave a good review to the Flyte 150 apart from the cam followers that were made from cheese. 

[J D 8]

  That may be so but who was/is Dave Ridgeway. Not an engine reviewer I have heard of.

[Martin McIntosh]

The WOO gave a glowing report for the NGH 38. That had cheesy cams too. When manufacturers submit a product for review they do not want any bad points raised since they are paying for ads. When I took up the hobby after a long layoff, MDS motors were supposedly the best things since sliced bread so I bought a 48. Luckily I got mine to function well after a file job on the carb.

[Andy J]

Jon what are the correct size of the two grub screws that hold the inlet pipe onto a laser 75 cylinder head?

[Jon H]

10 minutes ago, Andy Joyce said:

Jon what are the correct size of the two grub screws that hold the inlet pipe onto a laser 75 cylinder head?

 

All the screws on a 75 are 4ba 

[Andy J]

Thanks Jon.

[maurice northcott]

Hi Jon

Would you please advise the length of the 240 vee from the rear of the engine mount to the front of the prop driver and the diameter of the engine mount. No dimensions shown on your website for the 240 vee. Many thanks in anticipation.

Cheers

maurice 

[Jon H]

Mount is 96mm assuming you have the round one. Earlier engines had the 4 point lug mount and that was a different size entirely. Again assuming you have the radial mount the dimension drawing below should be accurate. 

 

As the 240 is out of production i pulled it off the website but by that logic i should pull everything off so i might put it back. 

[maurice northcott]

Thanks Jon, that's great. Yes I have the round mount.

Cheers

maurice

[aidan mcatamney]

On 23/03/2021 at 06:41, David Davis said:

I am in the process of rebuilding the fuselage of my Big Guff vintage model to replace the one which was burnt in a LiPo fire. I will be using a Laser 70 in it. I have reached the stage of planning the tank and radio installation. I would like flights of 10-15 minutes with this model.

 

Like most traditional aeromodellers, I have a good selelection of serviceable fuel tanks!

 

What size fuel tank would you recommend in this installation?

 

 

Thats a nice looking plane David.  Is the Laser 70 a nice running engine?   I was thinking of buying either a 70 or 80.   Never owned a Laser , only Saito and OS.  

[David Davis]

4 hours ago, aidan mcatamney said:

Thats a nice looking plane David.  Is the Laser 70 a nice running engine?   I was thinking of buying either a 70 or 80.   Never owned a Laser , only Saito and OS.  

 

Thank you for your remarks about the Big Guff Aidan. It was initially fitted with a Laser 70 but now it has an older Laser 62 fitted to it. Both are too powerful for the airframe, indeed I cannot detect much practical difference between the power of two engines in the model. Something like an OS 52 would certainly fly it. 

 

I am keen on Lasers. They are very well-made and reliable engines though they are probably heavier, size for size, than their Japanese counterparts; the Laser 80 in particular being a bit of a porker in this regard.  I have a Laser 70 in an ARTF Acro Wot which suits it very well and I'm building a Galaxy Models Mystic for a Laser 155.

[Ron Gray]

How’s the Mystic build coming along DD?

[Jon H]

2 hours ago, David Davis said:

 

They are very well-made and reliable engines though they are probably heavier, size for size, than their Japanese counterparts; the Laser 80 in particular being a bit of a porker in this regard.

 

 

 

This question of weight keeps cropping up but it is a bit out of date in many respects. Our older engines were much heavier than the current range as they had solid cranks and either a steel or brass cylinder liner. The old 75 was heavier as a bare engine than the current 80  in ready to run configuration. 

 

While our 80 is the heaviest of the 80's on the market it is within 80g of OS's 81 alpha and lighter than the OS 91 surpass which it competes with well in terms of performance. The 91 is more powerful, but not but much. 

 

In any case, its a compromise in many respects as people want to have a strong and solid engine that will resist crashes and is generally very robust. The problem is, and engine like that will be heavier. Given that i dont think i have ever had a model that was nose heavy when fitted with one of our engines i dont really consider the weight to be a big issue. My Little Hurricane has an older and more obese version of the laser 80 fitted and it still needed big chunks of lead in the cowl so i am not sure what all the fuss is about 

[alan p]

Nothing wrong with the engines?, perhaps they should build lighter at the tail end?

[David Davis]

3 hours ago, Ron Gray said:

How’s the Mystic build coming along DD?

 

Life and a 2015 Pommerol are getting in the way Ron!

 

I have reached the stage of sanding down and joining the wing. Photos to follow on my build blog when I've got something interesting to put up.

[Scott Edwards 2]

10 hours ago, aidan mcatamney said:

Thats a nice looking plane David.  Is the Laser 70 a nice running engine?   I was thinking of buying either a 70 or 80.   Never owned a Laser , only Saito

 

Just hold a Laser in your hands and you will instantly be a member of the Laser Appreciation Society. They are all exquisitely engineered and finished, it's an exceptionally high quality British product with over 35 years of pedigree and evolution. Spares, servicing and support is second to none. 

 

Here's the thing - they are made in the UK and sold directly from the factory. You're not paying for import duty, distribution costs or retailer overheads. Every single last penny you spend is invested in that engine, and it will outlive you.

[Ron Gray]

You are so right Scott and that’s exactly what happened to me!

[aidan mcatamney]

5 hours ago, Scott Edwards 2 said:

 

Just hold a Laser in your hands and you will instantly be a member of the Laser Appreciation Society. They are all exquisitely engineered and finished, it's an exceptionally high quality British product with over 35 years of pedigree and evolution. Spares, servicing and support is second to none. 

 

Here's the thing - they are made in the UK and sold directly from the factory. You're not paying for import duty, distribution costs or retailer overheads. Every single last penny you spend is invested in that engine, and it will outlive you.

Thats good enough for me Scott.  I've been flying for 36 years, but never had a Laser engine, but that's about to change.  I don't have any particular plane in mind, but my heart is set on either a Laser 70 or 80.  Whatever engine I buy, the the plane will come next.   Will my Optifuel 12 be substantial for the running of my Laser when I get it?  I have 12 gallon of this stuff.  

[Jon H]

6 hours ago, aidan mcatamney said:

Thats good enough for me Scott.  I've been flying for 36 years, but never had a Laser engine, but that's about to change.  I don't have any particular plane in mind, but my heart is set on either a Laser 70 or 80.  Whatever engine I buy, the the plane will come next.   Will my Optifuel 12 be substantial for the running of my Laser when I get it?  I have 12 gallon of this stuff.  

 

The fuel will be ok. It wont cause damage, but its more oil and more nitro than you need. As a result its more expensive to run the engine for no performance advantage. Opti are bring out their laser specific fuels soon following the model technics hand over.  

 

On the engine choice, pick the model first. That way you can pick the right engine for the job and i will also do my best to make sure it will fit. Some models need mods to make it all happen and i will look up the blurb on the intended model to make sure its going to work.