This kit was complete
just before the request was made for a review of the Telemaster 40. The
kit was 15 years old and a friend had completed building one
wing panel. To make it really strong, he used a full 2 ounce bottle of thin
CA to assemble one panel. Our flying club wanted a project plane to demonstrate
building and covering techniques at our monthly meetings so Jim donated
the Telemaster kit for that purpose. It sat around for several months,
still in the box, until one day my friend mentioned that we should get the kit back.
It all sounded fine, so construction of the Telemaster 40 began.
I started by
building the fuselage sides from balsa front parts and doublers, and sticks
at the rear. The relatively open framework would provide sufficient places
for the light form the illumination system to show through, especially when
covered with transparent covering. The built up balsa formers were Zapped
to the fuselage sides, everything was squared up and the fuselage was almost
complete. The plywood firewall and gear plate were added and the balsa sheet
top and bottom was installed. Take a little extra time when squaring up
the fuselage sides, especially where the back ends come together. We don't
want to be building any bananas here.
Next, the tail surfaces were
built, using die cut ribs and balsa stock for the stab and sheet stock for
the rudder, fin and elevator halves. The open structure on the stab will
also provide great illumination when the bulbs are installed.
Now, I started to build the
other wing panel. Actually, I had to do a little work on the first one.
The die cut ribs and balsa spars were easy to build up, and shear webbing
and full leading edge sheeting made the second panel really strong. The
first panel had been built without the center sheeting, so that had to be
added. The leading edge needs to be shaped and the wing tips added. Cap
stripping and center sheeting are added and the panels are ready to be joined.
There is no dihedral bracing
in the wing panels. The root ends are simply fitted together at the correct
dihedral angle and epoxied together. Next a wrap of 6 oz. fiberglass cloth
is installed with thin ZAP around the center joint. The plans show a 4"
wide piece, but I used a 6" section. I always do this outdoors so the fumes
from the ZAP are blown away all over the neighborhood. I use a plastic sandwich
bag on one hand with the ZAP container in the other. A couple of drops of
ZAP are added to the cloth at the trailing edge, then I pull it tight to
the leading edge and add a drop at the center there. Now, I drizzle more
ZAP over the cloth, wiping it into position with the plastic bag on my hand.
You can see where it is sticking the cloth to the balsa, but you really have
to keep rubbing the cloth until it is secure. When that side is done, turn
it over and do the other side the same way. Cut the excess off with a single
edge razor blade (I use lots of them in building my models) .
Here's how I fill and smooth
the fiberglass cloth. Take some 80 grit sandpaper and smooth out the edges
of the cloth, being careful not to sand into it or the balsa. Next, I take
some Dave Patrick's Model Magic Filler Balsa Tinted, and thin it SLIGHTLY
with a few drops of water. Using my hands again. I smear a goodly amount
of the Model Magic all over the cloth, rubbing it into the weave and especially
on the outer edges. Now, let it dry, REALLY DRY! Take it inside and let
it cure for a day or so, It has to be 100% dry before you can sandpaper
it smooth. I also sand all my planes outdoors to let the sanding dust mix
with those ZAP fumes. Using 80 grit paper again, begin to feather in the
edges and the surface of the wing. Work slowly because that 80 grit really
takes off the material, including the balsa! If there any low spots, fill
them again with Model Magic, let it dry and sand again with finer grit paper.
I chose not to use the aileron
bellcranks and pushrods as shown on the plans. I never mastered the technique
of elimination of all that control linkage slop. I built up a couple of
servo mounts out in each wing panel and made provisions for individual aileron
servos. Make sure you also add the holes for the aileron wires to pass through.
The ailerons are shaped balsa and need only to be cut to size. The plans
show details for adding optional flaps, but I chose not to build them in
to the Telemaster 40. But, it's going to be your kit, so you make up your
own mind.
Final sanding and fitting
was done in short order, and the Telemaster 40 was ready to cover. I used
transparent UltraCote, using red on the left wing and stab panel, green on
the right side and yellow for the fuselage. The tail surfaces were epoxied
in place after covering, and the lighting circuitry was soldered into place.
Final details like engine and fuel tank, servos, control surface hinging
and soldering the main landing gear (new kits have a formed aluminum gear)
completed the project.
Even with the lamps and extra
2000 maH battery pack, the Telemaster 40 weighed a little more than 6 lbs,
really light for a plane of this size.
First flights proved that
the Telemaster 40 would indeed be a really nice trainer airplane, with all
that dihedral providing the needed stability and the wing area allowing slow,
gentle maneuvers. I can't say the Telemaster 40 flew "right off the board
(even though the wing panel did get blown off my deck once). I noticed that
I had to add a lot of down elevator to fly level. After looking at the plans,
I noticed the flat bottom of the wing was parallel with the flat bottom of
the stab. I added a couple of balsa sticks under the trailing edge of the
wing, creating some negative wing incidence, which eliminated the need for
the down elevator. I suggest you build your fuselage so that the bottom
of the stab is higher in the front, maybe as much as 1/4" higher. This will
not only provide the negative incidence in the wing, it'll give you a little
more down engine thrust. On my plane, I added some tapered sticks to the
wing saddle area to raise the back of the wing. Either way will fix the
problem.
The Telemaster 40 flew really
well, and plenty of power was provided by the "older" OS .46 SF engine.
Something in the .50 size 4 cycle engine range might be better, but we didn't
happen to have one at the time. Takeoffs consisted of applying some power,
waiting for the tail to lift, steering straight with the rudder and adding
just a little up elevator to lift the plane off the ground. Turns are made
with a little aileron, using the rudder to keep the tail high. It'll loop
and roll fairly well, but remember this is supposed to be a trainer, not
an Extra 300! Low speed flight is stable with not a hint of stalling. But,
when it does stall, the nose simply drops, airspeed increases and it begins
to fly again. Landings are smooth and gentle, and can be made at little
more than walking speed. See, I really didn't need to add those flaps anyway.
The Telemaster 40 kit from
Hobby Lobby is a really nice kit, well worth the price and quite easy to
build. It's light and strong, easy to see in the air and easy to fly.
I feel it would make a really nice trainer, but for me, it'll probably be
used for just plain old havin' fun!
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