Another Rescue Plane; A Custom Sr Telemaster

[roversgonemad]

I recently posted a want ad for a 4 stroke, .90 size glow engine for a Sr Telemaster I am building. I got a response from some brothers that were selling a few of RC items their father had accumulated over the years. Both brothers are avid flyers, but have developed enough maturity to know that you can't keep everything. They responded that they had several OS .91 and Magnum .91 engines. They also indicated they had a few planes for sale as well. I paid a very reasonable price for a Magnum .91 and also looked at a Sr. Telemaster they had. They offered a very good price for the Telemaster and I couldn't resist buying it. It has a custom dual rudder setup from the days when it was used to piggyback gliders. There was no engine or any electronics installed, but overall the airframe is in decent shape. Being a bit of a hoarder, I had almost everything I needed to start getting it airworthy again.

It's novel, with the twin rudders, and has some neat history. I have already glued the damaged ribs in the wing. Fortunately, the hobby shop had the transparent metallic blue for flying surfaces and I happened to have a roll of the same red Monokote on the fuselage. I am taking some time off this week to get it ready to fly since they are forecasting good weather for this weekend.

The only catch, now I need to go back and buy one of the OS four strokes for my other Telemaster build!

 

[NewZee]

Nice plane! any idea on the vintage? I love the idea of resurrecting these old models, and letting them take to the air again! I was in an antique store in St. Petersburg two weeks ago and found a 60" "Cessna" had to be from the 60's or 70's with an old gas engine. if I had room in the car It would have gone home to NY with me anybody else flying "old wood" I figure the engine alone would have been worth more than the $35 I could have picked it up for!

 

[Foam Addict]

You've got to love those twin rudders! Telemasters are excellent airplanes for just about anything you can throw at them, and fly soooo well. Have fun, and keep posting pics please!

 

[roversgonemad]

I think it's at least 20 year old, maybe more. It's an old school build for sure.

The Magnum I got runs well. I put it on the test stand last weekend and even a bit rich, it really spooled up.

The Magnum on the test stand:

The wing has some servo extensions with plugs I have never seen before... I am going cut and solder in some standard extensions. The wires are built into the ribs, so it would be difficult to pull new wires, so soldering on new ends makes sense to me.

The mystery plug:

Here it is with all the servos, fuel tank, etc, loaded up for an estimate of CG and AUW. At this point, it's just under 9 lbs fully loaded, with a few more bits sorted and added I figure I'll be around 9.5 ready to fly.

The flaps:

It should slow down nicely with flaps that big, especially if I can keep it under 10 lbs!

I am hoping to get it mostly sorted soon. The weather is supposed to be nice here this week, so with any luck, I'll get it airborne before the weather turns. I've got the covering. The bulk of the wood repairs are complete. I need to sort out the servo mounting, but that's not too big of a deal. I'll have to check all the control horns and that sort of thing. I have crashed a rescue plane before from a control horn failing (should have caught it on an inspection), so I am more careful now about a more thorough A&P inspection and pre-flight.

 

[Foam Addict]

Those plugs are micro deans 3 pin connectors. one of my friends loves them and solders them to everything.
Looks awesome, I really love the Telemasters.

 

[xuzme720]

Looks great! I wish I had more local flyers so I could get something like this. I should get my Alpha back to flight ready status before I start looking for a way to spend more money!

Haven't seen those Deans for awhile!

 

[roversgonemad]

The Telemaster is coming along. I have most of the covering on the fuselage patched up. I had to cut a notch to clear the mixture screw, and I think it turned out pretty well. I picked up a Top Flite trim iron and this little sucker is great for sealing up the seams in the tight spots. The mixture screw notch was a bit tricky. I still need to do a little sanding in the engine compartment. I don't think I am going back with the black. I'll just finish it up with a few good coats of fuel proof dope. I had to CA the covering in the bottom of the engine compartment since the wood had enough fuel in it that the covering wouldn't stick. Even with the wood as clean as I could get it, once I put the iron on it, the covering wouldn't stick, so a little CA and it's done. I also covered the inside of the engine compartment cheeks (at least that's what I call them). All the covering seams are covered with dope to keep them fuel tight. I just wish I could cut the edges a little straighter. The servos almost look lost in this fuselage. I would have moved them forward, but the control rods were in good shape, so instead of creating more work, I put the servos back where they were. It does leave the front open for a drop box.

Some black windows on it to replace the stick on chrome window that came on it.

I still have to get the wing patched up, but all the servos are mounted and tested. I just missed a good weather window, so we'll see what this next weekend brings for opportunities to fly this plane. I am very curious to see how the twin rudders work.

 

[roversgonemad]

It's alive!! Just like I have always heard, Telemasters are floaters! The jury is still out on the twin rudders, but it's a good flying plane overall.

 

[NewZee]

Very Nice!!! thanks for posting a video.

 

[Rcgary24]

Love the way telemasters fly , I had one a few years back when they had the original yellow ARF , I had a Magnum 91fs on it as well , plenty of power for this plane. I fly all electric now but tossing the idea around for getting another telemaster and trying out gas engines , ive seen a few 20cc's that would go well on this airplane , thinking of maybe building a kit this time.

 

[roversgonemad]

I think the Telemaster would probably be just fine with a 20cc gasser. I know with the Magnum 91 on there, it took a brass prop nut to get it balanced out right.

Unfortunately, between work and other life commitments, I haven't had the time I would like to build planes. Fortunately, I keep coming across some good deals on used planes!

 

[roversgonemad]

Why I Love Telemasters!

It was a bit breezy today, but I went to fly anyway. Get a load of this lifting tail!

This was in the pits (no one else was there). I wish I would have taken my GoPro, with the headwind, full flaps, and full throttle, I had some sweet STOL take-offs. I really believe this plane would fly with a .40 size two stroke. A .91 four stroke is amazing power on this plane!! Plus it will fly so SLOW!! I am practicing one wheel touch and goes with it, and it's a hoot!!

 

[Foam Addict]

Very nice! Congrats on another rescue!

 

[Joker 53150]

I'm not sure how I missed this thread for over 3 years! The Telemaster design is a true classic. I've done the Mini Telemaster in electric and eventually I'll build the Senior. This past winter I was lucky enough to have won an auction for a new-in-box original Senior Telemaster, and Willsonman works about 1,000 miles closer to the auction site than I do, and was kind enough to pick up the winnings which will be delivered to me at Flite Fest '17 next month. I've already got the engine for it, a Zenoah 20cc gasser, which should be more than enough power.

Nice work on your rescue!

 

[roversgonemad]

I have another Sr Telemaster short kit in a box. I can't see not having a big telemaster in the hangar. I still fly this one. It needs a new rx battery, just to be safe. I've lost way too many planes to weak rx batteries.