AJ Aircraft Laser 230z User manual
56” AJ Laser 230z
Assembly Instructions
Congratulations
AJ Aircra thanks you for the purchase of this airplane. Top grade materials and precision assembly has gone
into this to make this a top quality aircra. Following the direcons closely, will assure you many hours of
thrilling ight. 2 years of design, development and tesng has gone into this airframe. We hope you’re as
happy with it as we are!
WARNING!
AJ Aircra’s extensive tesng ensures a high quality kit that has gone through many stages to provide you
with a safe, reliable, airframe. Poor assembly will lead to an unsafe model and therefore the instrucons
must be followed closely. Should you have any quesons, please do not hesitate to contact us. The safe op-
eraon of this model is your responsibility and yours alone. If you are a beginner or have never own a model
of this size and power, you should aempt with the help of an experienced pilot. This product should not be
considered a toy, but rather a sophiscated, working model that funcons much like a full-scale airplane. Be-
cause of its performance capabilies, this product, if not assembled and operated correctly, could cause inju-
ry to you or spectators and damage to property.
Components
I. Hacker A40-10S Motor or equivalent
II. Castle Talon 90 Amp ESC or equivalent
III. 4 mini metal geared servos
(Hitec 85MG, 5085 or 5087 are recommended)
IV. X Heavy Duty Servo Arms
V. 4-6s 2650-3300mah lipo
VI. Xoar 14x7 or 15x6 Prop
VII. Servo Extensions:
VIII.1x 18”
IX. 2x 6”
X. 2” / 50mm Spinner
Tools
I. Masking Tape
II. Denatured Alcohol
III. Blue Locte
IV. Metric & Standard Allen Wrenches
V. Hobby Knife
VI. Thirty Minute Epoxy
VII. Fieen Minute Epoxy
VIII.Thin C/A
VI. Electric Drill w/ Assorted Small Bits
VII. Small Flat & Phillips Screwdrivers
VIII.Sanding Block & Sandpaper
IX. Needle Nose Pliers
X. Measuring Tape & Ruler
XI. Fine-p Sharpie Marker
Recommended Items
For Completion
Tips for Success
Before starng, read through the enre set of instrucons to familiarize yourself with the process.
Take a few minutes to go over all of the covering, especially the seams and decals, with a covering iron on
low to medium heat.
Apply a couple drops of thin CA to all accessible fuselage interior joints, wing an-rotaon pins, landing
gear mount areas, servo trays and motor box areas.
Pre-center your servos before installing using a servo tester, or by plugging them into your powered re-
ceiver.
All bolts should get a drop of blue Lockte, even when using nylon lock-nuts.
Do your best to mechanically center all ying surfaces, so lile to no sub-trim will be required in the radio
setup. Use a piece of tape to hold your surfaces level and thread the ball links in or out unl it’s perfect.
Take the me to properly balance and trim your aircra.
Use the suggested throws at the end of this manual as your starng point, and then ne tune to your y-
ing preferences aer your rst few ights.
Tail Gear
1) Remove tail gear from its package.
2) Center the tail gear mount on the boom of the fuselage and mark the holes. Pre-drill the marked holes with a small bit.
Section 1
Fuselage — Landing Gear
Tip: It is a good idea to put a drop of thin CA in the holes aer inserng and removing
wood screws to harden the wood & threads.
3) Insert screws with washers and ghten securely.
Main Landing Gear
4) The bolts to mount the landing gear to the fuselage are pre-screwed into the blind nuts on the fuselage. Remove these bolts.
5) Slide on a washer and place a drop of blue Locte on the bolt. Pass it through the pre-drilled hole in the landing gear, aligning
it with the screw holes in the fuselage and secure.
6) Slide the wood ller block between the landing gear and the underside of the fuselage, using clear tape to hold in place.
7) Remove the axles, wheels, wheel collars, wrench and lock nuts from the bag. Slide the wheel on the axle and secure with a
wheel collar.
8) To install wheel pants, slide over re and align horizontally to t in the wheel pant recess. Using the provided wrench, secure
Tip: Install set screws in wheel collar and ghten on axle. Remove the set screws, wheel, and wheel col-
lar and use a le to create a at for the set screw to rest on. Place a drop of Locte on them prior to in-
the axle to the landing gear with a washer and lock nut.
Section 2
Fuselage — Elevator/Rudder
9) Remove the fuselage and using a sharp knife, remove the covering from the areas to allow the an-
rotaon pins, wing tube, aileron extensions and wing capture bolt to pass through.
10) Also remove the covering exposing the horizontal stabilizer slot on both sides, and the hole for the ele-
vator servo on the LEFT side of the fuselage.
11) Test t the horizontal stabilizer making sure it is centered and aligned to the fuselage. Use a 12” ruler to
get it centered in the fuselage. Slide the wing tube in and look at the plane from the back forward to make
sure that the horizontal stabilizer is parallel with the wing. If not, sand or shim the fuselage unl level.
12) Loop a string to a measuring tape over the hatch latch. Adjust the stab unl you get equal measurements
to both the le and right corners. Extra me spent here will go a long way to improve the ight character-
iscs of this airplane.
13) Once the stab is centered and squared up, secure it with thin CA on both sides, top and boom. You can
go back and apply an extra llet of medium CA along the joints for extra strength if desired.
Install the Elevator
14) Carefully cut the covering with a sharp blade from the slot on the boom of the le elevator half for the
control horn. Shine a ashlight through from the other side to help locate the slot.
15) Roughen the boom poron of the control horn, test the t, tape around the opening, and epoxy it in.
16) Slide the joiner into the other elevator half and mark the edge of the le elevator. Remove all covering
that will be inside the slot.
17) Test t all hinges into elevator and horizontal stabilizer to make sure alignment and posion is correct.
Make sure there is enough clearance between the elevator joiner so as not to rub on the fuselage. Should
there be clearance issues, you may touch it up with a Dremel and a sanding drum.
18) Hold or tape one half of the elevator to the leading edge of the stab and ensure the opposite elevator half
is also level with the stab. If both halves are not level, sand or shim the elevator joiner unl aligned.
19) Place some 30 minute epoxy into the slot for the elevator joiner on the elevator control surface. Remem-
ber to glue the elevator halves together going through the hole in the fuselage! Slip the hinges in tempo-
rarily to help hold it in place. Clean up excess epoxy with an alcohol rag. You can use boards and clamps
to hold the halves level.
Tip: To save some me and glue, you can glue both ailerons, elevator and rudder control
horns at the same me. Be sure to read ahead and DOUBLE CHECK what side you’re cung
for each piece (the rudder gets cut on both sides). Test t all of the horns and glue all at
once.
It is highly recommended that you ulize a method to prevent the servo from disconnecng
from the extension. One recommendaon is to place heat shrink tubing over the juncon be-
tween the servo and extension and then shrink it to keep the connecon secure.
20) Aer the joiner is cured, insert the elevator hinges into their precut slots and test t the elevator to the
horizontal stabilizer. Set your hinge gap by inserng a pin on each side, or exing the elevator up & down
unl the bevels touch. Once sased, secure by applying 2-3 drops of thin CA to each of the hinges. Re-
peat on the boom side.
21) Aach a 18” servo extension to your elevator servo and secure the connecon with shrink tube or tape.
22) Install the servo with the screws that came with it. The output sha should face rewards. Use a 1” or 1
1/4” heavy duty servo arm.
23) Locate the threaded pushrods, 2 ball links, 2 1mm bolts, 2 washers and 2 nylon lock nuts. Thread the ball
links equally onto each end of the pushrod. Adjust the ball-links in unl the ends on each end match up
with the outer servo arm hole and the control horn hole. Slide a washer onto the bolt, then the bolt
Tip: Drill pilot holes for the screws and then install the screws. Remove the screws and
the ulizing thin CA, place the CA in the screw holes and around the screw holes and let
dry. This will harden the threads and provide a more secure mount.
through the ball link, into the hole on the control horn or servo arm, and secure with a nylon lock nut.
Install the Rudder
24. Carefully cut the covering from both sides of the rudder exposing the slot for the control horn.
25. Tape around the opening on both sides of the rudder to prevent excess epoxy from adhering to the cov-
ering.
26. Lightly sand the middle of the control horn on both sides and test t it into the slot. You may need to
round the outside middle corners.
27. Parally remove the horn to one side, and apply epoxy to the half nearest the rudder on top and boom.
Only apply it to half, so that when you pull it back into the rudder, it will spread the glue to the other half.
28. Measure the horn on each side and adjust unl centered. Also look at it from the top or boom to make
sure both ends are even with the hinge line of the rudder.
29. Clean up any excess epoxy with alcohol and let cure before connuing.
30. Slide the tailwheel ller wire arm into the holder on the rudder boom.
31. Glue the rudder hinges the same as you did the elevator, with a few drops of thin ca on each hinge. Be
sure to check the full throw of the rudder before gluing so you get the correct hinge gap.
32. Install the rudder servo into the tray in the fuselage. A 2 1/4” - 2 1/2” Heavy Duty servo arm will be re-
quired.
33. Insert the ez keepers into each side of the servo arm and secure with the notched nuts. A small drop of
Locte here is advised. Do not over ghten the nut, as the ez keeper needs to rotate freely.
34. Insert the pull-pull ng into the ez keeper and secure by ghtening the screw on the ez keeper. Adding
a nylon nut to the ng adds extra insurance that it won’t move.
The pull-pull wires should cross in the fuselage. If you started with the le side of the servo,
the other end should aach to the right side of the rudder. If you crimped the wrong wire,
simply move the linkage to the other side of the servo before connuing.
35. Slide an aluminum crimp tube onto the end of one of the wires, and then loop the wire through the pull-
pull ng, through the crimp tube the other way, and then loop it into the crimp tube a second me.
Crimp at least twice with a crimper tool or side cuers. Be careful not to actually cut the tube or wire by
using too much force with side cuers!
36. Thread another pull-pull ng into a ball-link and temporarily bolt it to the rudder control horn.
37. Slide an aluminum crimp tube onto the other end of the wire and thread it into the keeper and back
around exactly as you did for the servo end. Do not crimp yet!
38. Secure the rudder by lightly taping it to the vercal stab.
39. Make sure your servo is electronically centered. You’ll want to have the servo powered via a servo tester
or the receiver unl the pull-pull assemblies are completed to ensure accuracy.
40. Pull on the pull-pull wire before the crimp tube to take up any slack, and adjust the loops through the
ng and crimp unl most of the slack is removed. Crimp the tube and cut o any excess wire.
41. Remove the bolt holding the ball-link and twist the pull-pull ng in a few turns at a me and re-mount it
to the horn. Adjust in or out unl the wire becomes taut. Guitar string ghtness is not required, just
enough to remove any slack. Secure the ball-link with washers and a nylon lock-nut and Lockte.
42. Repeat with the other side. Remove the tape from the rudder and check operaon.
Section 3 — Wings
43) Ulizing a hot knife or fresh #11 blade, carefully cut and remove the covering exposing the servo pocket
located on the underside of each wing panel.
44) Carefully locate and cut the aileron control horn slot on the underside of each aileron. Shine a ashlight
through the opposite side if you have trouble locang the slot. Be sure not to cut through to the top side!
45) Using low tack masking tape, tape around the edges of the aileron control horn slot leaving slot exposed.
46) Test t the control horn in the slot. The t should be snug. If it feels like the boom corners are digging
into the wood, you may want to round the corners.
47) Slightly roughen the surface of the horn that will be glued into the aileron on both sides with sandpaper
to assure good adhesion.
48) Using 15 minute epoxy, apply epoxy to the control horn on both sides as well as inside the slot in the ai-
leron, and then insert the horn in the slot paying close aenon to orientaon.
49) Clean any excess epoxy using a paper towel soaked with denatured alcohol and remove tape. Let the
epoxy cure before proceeding.
50) Insert the aileron’s hinges in their pre-cut slots and test t each aileron to its’ wing panel. Make sure the
edge of the aileron is ush or slightly inside the wing p. Set your hinge gap by inserng a pin on each
side, or exing the aileron up & down unl the bevels touch. Slowly apply 2-3 drops on each hinge, allow-
ing the CA to wick into the hinge between drops. Use a ne glue p for best results. Clean any extra glue
o with alcohol. Once all hinges have been glued, ip the wing over and glue the hinges on the other side.
51) Aach 6 inch servo extensions onto the servo leads and using the string inside the wing tape the exten-
sion to the string and pull the extension through the wing.
52) Install servo into the wing, with the output sha forwards, ulizing the hardware that came with the ser-
vos. Then install a 1” servo arm so it is roughly perpendicular to the servo case.
53) Locate the 2 short threaded pushrods, 4 ball links, 4 1mm bolts, 4 washers and 4 nylon lock nuts. Thread
the ball links equally onto each end of the pushrod. Adjust the ball-links in unl the ends on each end
match up with the outer servo arm hole and the control horn hole. Slide a washer onto the bolt, then the
bolt through the ball link, into the hole on the control horn or servo arm, and secure with a nylon lock
nut.
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