LASER AEROBATICS AKRO Model Z

If you wish to purchase a set of drawings email for the address to send the attached contract and a bank draft for US$500.

The drawings offered for sale describe the construction of one of the best aerobatic aircraft in the world. Already five aircraft have been built in Australia and over eleven completed worldwide, with many more under active construction.
The first of these aircraft was completed in late 1981 and was flown in the 1982 and 1984 World Aerobatic Championships

The AKRO Z is a mid wing aerobatic monoplane whose ancestry can be traced back to other homebuilt monoplanes developed in the USA. The first AKRO Z was VH-AUZ, which flew in December 1981, after much design and engineering work. The wing spars are of spruce construction while the ribs are spruce and ply and wing skin is plywood. The fuselage is welded steel tubing covered with sheet metal aluminium forward of the cockpit and fabric aft. The tail feathers are also built of steel tubing and are covered with fabric. The aircraft has great structural strength and is intended for advanced aerobatics. The fixed landing gear is of tail wheel configuration. Construction should only be undertaken by experience builders and may take approximately 3500 manhours.

The "LASER" Name and the AKRO Z.
The name "Laser" has become a generic term for this family of aircraft, although it strictly relates to Leo Loudenslager's original re-work of the Stephens Akro. A number of aircraft constructed from modified Stephens plans, our own plans or specialist manufacturers own plans have at times been called "Lasers", "Laser 200's" and "Laser Z's". Due to the parallel but independent development of these various designs our aircraft is officially known as the Akro Z to avoid any confusion with other aircraft within the "Laser" family.

The Aircraft Design Background
The AKRO Z can trace its general evolution in concept back to the Stephens Akro, designed by Ed Allenbaugh and built by Clayton Stephens. Using a Formula one air racer layout of monoplane & mid-wing was a significant departure from the biplane layout immortalised by Curtis Pitts, but the Stephens Akro's most interesting departure from aerobatic standards was the use of airfoil NACA 23012, with asymmetric lift. The success of the Stephens Akro led to great interest in the general layout, with the design being extended by people such as Leo Loudenslager custom building their own aircraft for world championship competition - the Laser. This lead to a series of "homebuilt" aircraft which were collectively known and often erroneously known as "Lasers", although no formal design relationship actually existed between them, other than the "Stephens" inspiration. One such "Laser" aircraft was designed by Ray Parker & Gerry Zimmerman, who redesigned the wing using the NACA 21012 aerofoil section and by increased main spar depth at the root section. This wing has no dihedral, zero incidence, and no sweepback at the quarter chord line, providing excellent performance in outside manoeuvres. The most instantly recognisable difference between the Stevens Akro & the "Laser" series is the bubble canopy versus raised rear decking. The Laser Aerobatics AKRO Z is itself based on the Zimmerman/Parker design concept, with the wing and structure developed by Ray & Gerry being formalised by David Pilkington, twice Australian Advanced Aerobatic Champion and holder of Bachelor & Master degrees in Aeronautical Engineering. David further developed the design with a number of local modifications to improve aerobatic flight performance and ruggedness. The aircraft also differs significantly from the Stephens Akro in the fuselage and tail structure as well as having an elevator control system similar to that used in the Pitts.

This aircraft was approved during the 1980's by the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority - Amateur Built Aircraft Approval Number 54 - and these plans are the only source for home builders to build a "Laser" type aircraft. The AKRO Z has been built and used by a number of successful international champion pilots including Frank Fry of Australia and Mark Jefferies of the UK.
The current CASA approval in Australia refers to drawings initially submitted in the late 1980s. The current drawing set incorporates later improvements and may be used as the basis for an Experimental aircraft.
The package also contains: a Flight Manual & Operations Manual, a set of photos of one airplane under construction, a comprehensive set of over 40 drawings covering all aspects of the aircraft construction other than the instrument panel, engine cowl and fairings, as these tend to be hand fitted by the constructor to ensure snug fit to the airframe, or to match appropriate panel cutout to instruments & layout selected.