Those who attended probably saw Laine's Planes at FTFF 16. They had a nice booth set up showing their balsa kits, and their 'Cuda caught my attention. It's got great potential to be wicked fast (as those who saw him fly at FTFF will know), something that may get me in trouble, but it's an itch that needs to be scratched! So I contacted Laine prior to FTFF, paid in advance, and had him bring the kit to Ohio where I'd pick it up and save a couple bucks in shipping costs.
I was hoping to start and finish the 'Cuda while at FTFF, but the Telemaster I built with my dad took longer than expected and we were getting burned out on building after two solid days of it, so the 'Cuda was left in it's box until today. Most of the work on my 1/4 scale Pietenpol is done, other than a few detail items, so the workbench is temporarily empty. Well, "WAS" empty...!
I'll document the build here for those interested.
My first impressions:
Here's a pic of a finished 'Cuda I found online, along with a "naked" picture of one, these are NOT my plane. I'll get my pics posted when I have a few minutes.
I was hoping to start and finish the 'Cuda while at FTFF, but the Telemaster I built with my dad took longer than expected and we were getting burned out on building after two solid days of it, so the 'Cuda was left in it's box until today. Most of the work on my 1/4 scale Pietenpol is done, other than a few detail items, so the workbench is temporarily empty. Well, "WAS" empty...!
I'll document the build here for those interested.
My first impressions:
- The manual is pretty damn good, and compared to the garbage other companies offer it's downright fantastic. Pictures that show detail, text where needed, and it's actually accurate! All companies should strive for this kind of manual.
- The quality of the balsa laser cutting is extremely good, possibly the best cutting I've ever seen. From my experience, Mountain Models and then the Telemaster have held that distinction, but this is simply great cutting. Maybe it's because Laine is a builder and knows what works best. So far, a few steps into the build and I've only used the knife a few times just to clean up the "bridge" that held the part in the tree. A little 200 grit sandpaper would have worked equally as well. So far the fit of the parts is also extremely good, and it's obvious Laine spent plenty of time to get this right.
- Assembly is easy enough so far that this could be a first balsa build for somebody with flying skill. I say that because this is FAR from being a flight trainer, but it could be a good build trainer. If that makes sense.
- Construction is fast, or at least could be fast if I weren't using Titebond II for most of it so far. Since the early steps of the build use a lot of light ply I'm using it to give it time to soak in better than CA glue would do. It also gives me more time to line up the parts before the adhesive sets. Laine includes a page full of recommended "assemblies" that could be done early to help speed up the entire build, so you're not constantly waiting for glue to dry. Again, he's done his homework and helped the builder.
Here's a pic of a finished 'Cuda I found online, along with a "naked" picture of one, these are NOT my plane. I'll get my pics posted when I have a few minutes.