Finally finished my first build, a Laser Arts Sovereign!

[WEB01]

Well it took a lot longer than I thought it would (surprise surprise), but I finally finished my first build. It is a Laser Arts Sovereign and I incorporated a few mods. The spar is wrapped with Kevlar tow through the centre section and at the polyhederal joints. I replaced the central rib with a bolt beam made of hard balsa with liteply laminated on either side. I also added spoilers that are mechanically activated by individual HS55 servos. I extended the tail surfaces by about 1 inch as well. I must say that this is an excellant kit and the build went very well. The only real problem that I had was finding uninterrupted building time.

The build was completed two Saturdays ago at about 8:30 at night. A clubmate gave her a quick maiden early the next morning at the club field and pronounced her a proven airframe. My first flight with her was a very short time later in the club contest that we had that day.

No balance adjustments necessary. No trim adjustments necessary. She flew just great right off the board and I was able to finish the contest in 4th place... my best finish at a contest yet. Needless to say I was thrilled!

[WEB01]

Here are some pictures of the naked airframe.

[WEB01]

Here are some pictures of the freshly skinned airframe prior to her maiden

[kwmtrubrit]

Great looking plane, congratulations!! Is the rear skid part of the kit, or was that your idea? I need to do that on my Art Hobby Thermik "when" i get around to building it.

Keith

[WEB01]

Thanks for the compliment Keith... I'm definately a proud papa.

The rear skid is part of the kit. It is just some thin ply shaped to insert into the rear of the boom and under the V-tail assembly to help hold it all in place.

[Chuck Glider]

Now that is drop dead gorgeous! It is a very attractive glider and your rendition is the prettiest I've seen. As a FF chuckie afficianado, I appreciate the plain balsa finish too.

What did you cover it with and how did you get that beautiful sweeping white trim? Also, what was her overall weight?

I ordered one a while back and will pick it up from the US in a couple of weeks. Can't wait! I reckon uninterrupted build time will be a problem for me too...

[WEB01]

Thanks! I think she's gorgeous too but then I can't claim to be unbiased. A clubmate of mine sprayed the exposed wood with a water based laquer and the wing is covered in transparent red and white ultracote lite. I cut the sweeping white trim by hand with a fresh #11 Xacto knife and inset a black pin stripe to give it some definition.

I don't have a scale so I don't know what she weighs but a clubmate has another Sovereign that weighs just over 30 ounces once he adds about 3 ounces of ballast and my Sovereign definately feels lighter in comparison. I'm extremely happy with that as I assumed I would come in heavy with the mods and the fact that it was my first build.

Your gonna' love this kit! It really does go together beautifully and only makes you happier when you fly it.

Ward

[aeajr]

Do you winch it? If so how does it handle the winch. I presume it has to be tapped up somewhat gently.

[WEB01]

I have not put this one on a winch as our club only rarely has a winch out at the field but what I found when researching the design is that lots of other people have winched it and nobody has reported having a failure that I know of. The wing has a flat centre section and it is a one piece wing so it is very strong as it is.

Maybe some others that have used a winch to launch the Sovereign can chime in and advise how it handles it.

[ScottLister]

Aeajr, I have a sovereign and use it on the winch quite often. The wing spar is "box-stock" without any carbon and I have no problems with it. That being said I am not launching full pedal into a 20mph headwind either. This plane will withstand a good winch launch.

Scott