Giant Telemaster Build
01-05-2005, 11:27 PM
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Giant Telemaster Build
I have always loved the giant telemaster for some reason. So I statred searching the net for a kit and sure enough there were none to be found except for a company in england and with the exchange rate the kit and shipping would be around $600. So I called hobby lobby and they said they had one set of plans left so the wife and I jumped in the car and made the 3 1/2 hour road trip to Brentwood Tn. and picked them up. We finally made it home and I rolled out the plans and realised just how big this plane is.
Wingspan 144 inches
Wing Chord 21 inches
Elevator span 48 inches
Elevator chord 15 inches
Rudder Heigth 18 inches
Rudder length 16 inches
Fuse length 7 feet 5 inches
Fuse heigth 12 inches
Fuse width 7 inches
It will be equipped with flaps, ailerons, elevator, rudder, throttle and a removeable candy drop box. The radio setup I plan on usuing will be 1/4 scale servos, a total of 7 of them, for all controll surfaces and standard on the throttle and candy drop and throttle kill switch. PCM reciever, 2 4400 mill li ion batteries, one as main power the other on a backup system and 2 voltage reducers.
The engine of choice will be gas but what size is up in the air. There are some changes that are going to made to the existing design which will result in a stronger frame but a slight weight gain. So here we go laying out everyting and the changes that are going to be made.
Fuse
The fuse is stick built. No light ply or formers to be found here. Yet ! The fuse is constructed mainly from 1\2 by 3/4 balsa which make up the upper, lower and a center longerons. All cross braces areare 1/2 by 1/4 and the only solid wood is at the nose which is 1/2 inch balsa sheeting which runs back roughly one foot. They do throw in a little 1\16 pyl in there. I will be usuing a lite ply doubler that will run from the nose to 4 inches behind the rear of the wing saddle. The fire wall will be 1/2 inck ply instead of 1/4 as stated per plans. There will be three ply formers between the firewall and the rear of the wing saddle. The remainder of the fuse will be framed with 1/2 by 3/4 longerons but all cross bracing will be 1/2 by 1/2 . Where all side frame bracing meet will be backed by 1/16 ply half rounds. Wing mounting hard points will be laminated 1/4 inch ply for a total 1/2 in thickness. I will be making the tail feathers removeable. I will be splitting the elevator and running a servo for each half and one for the rudder all of which will be mounted in the rear of the fuse. This should help a bit in the balance since the nose will be definately be gaining a bit of weight.
Wing
This part is a little more complicated. The wing per the plans is 2 peice. From what I can see from the drawing the wing tubes are only 3/8 diameter which slide into a box that is constructed between the main spars. The plane does have functional struts which is I guess why there is such a simple wing tube system. I do not plan on usuing struts so here we go. There are 2 main spars and 3, I guess, front spars if you would call them that all of which are balsa. No leading or trailing edge sheeting nor cap strips. The wing will be built as a 3 piece. The center section will be 72 inches and the 2 outer panels will be 36 inches each. This will make for easier transport. Aluminum joiners will be used on the outer pannels instead of wing tubes. Each panel will have 1/2 by 1/2 inch spruce spars as originally indicated but I will also add 2 rearward spars if you would call them that also 1/2 by 1/2 spruce. Then the usual shear webs, leading and trailing edge sheeting and cap strips. This should eliminate the need for struts.
Rudder
The rudder is constructed from 3/8 balsa with 3/8 by 1/4 bracing. The only change I can see her is usuing 3/8 bracing throughout the entire structure.
Elevator
The only change here is a minor one. Since the span of the elevator is 48 inches there is a top and bottom spar which is 1/2 by 1/8 balsa. It will be changed to spruce.
Tomorrow is step one of the process. Make the material list and order the wood. Once it arrives and all parts have been cut I will begin the fuse, rudder and elevator.
I am sure some of the things I described might make no sense at all. My goal is to have a big slow flying plane that if I get the whim and want to loop it or roll it I dont have to worry about a wing snapping and so forth. I will be posting pics as I go along for ano of these who are interested.
The plan is to cut a total of 4 planes. Once the first one is completed and flown and there are no problems with the changes that have been made. The other three will be built and probably be up for sale if anyone is interested.
Wingspan 144 inches
Wing Chord 21 inches
Elevator span 48 inches
Elevator chord 15 inches
Rudder Heigth 18 inches
Rudder length 16 inches
Fuse length 7 feet 5 inches
Fuse heigth 12 inches
Fuse width 7 inches
It will be equipped with flaps, ailerons, elevator, rudder, throttle and a removeable candy drop box. The radio setup I plan on usuing will be 1/4 scale servos, a total of 7 of them, for all controll surfaces and standard on the throttle and candy drop and throttle kill switch. PCM reciever, 2 4400 mill li ion batteries, one as main power the other on a backup system and 2 voltage reducers.
The engine of choice will be gas but what size is up in the air. There are some changes that are going to made to the existing design which will result in a stronger frame but a slight weight gain. So here we go laying out everyting and the changes that are going to be made.
Fuse
The fuse is stick built. No light ply or formers to be found here. Yet ! The fuse is constructed mainly from 1\2 by 3/4 balsa which make up the upper, lower and a center longerons. All cross braces areare 1/2 by 1/4 and the only solid wood is at the nose which is 1/2 inch balsa sheeting which runs back roughly one foot. They do throw in a little 1\16 pyl in there. I will be usuing a lite ply doubler that will run from the nose to 4 inches behind the rear of the wing saddle. The fire wall will be 1/2 inck ply instead of 1/4 as stated per plans. There will be three ply formers between the firewall and the rear of the wing saddle. The remainder of the fuse will be framed with 1/2 by 3/4 longerons but all cross bracing will be 1/2 by 1/2 . Where all side frame bracing meet will be backed by 1/16 ply half rounds. Wing mounting hard points will be laminated 1/4 inch ply for a total 1/2 in thickness. I will be making the tail feathers removeable. I will be splitting the elevator and running a servo for each half and one for the rudder all of which will be mounted in the rear of the fuse. This should help a bit in the balance since the nose will be definately be gaining a bit of weight.
Wing
This part is a little more complicated. The wing per the plans is 2 peice. From what I can see from the drawing the wing tubes are only 3/8 diameter which slide into a box that is constructed between the main spars. The plane does have functional struts which is I guess why there is such a simple wing tube system. I do not plan on usuing struts so here we go. There are 2 main spars and 3, I guess, front spars if you would call them that all of which are balsa. No leading or trailing edge sheeting nor cap strips. The wing will be built as a 3 piece. The center section will be 72 inches and the 2 outer panels will be 36 inches each. This will make for easier transport. Aluminum joiners will be used on the outer pannels instead of wing tubes. Each panel will have 1/2 by 1/2 inch spruce spars as originally indicated but I will also add 2 rearward spars if you would call them that also 1/2 by 1/2 spruce. Then the usual shear webs, leading and trailing edge sheeting and cap strips. This should eliminate the need for struts.
Rudder
The rudder is constructed from 3/8 balsa with 3/8 by 1/4 bracing. The only change I can see her is usuing 3/8 bracing throughout the entire structure.
Elevator
The only change here is a minor one. Since the span of the elevator is 48 inches there is a top and bottom spar which is 1/2 by 1/8 balsa. It will be changed to spruce.
Tomorrow is step one of the process. Make the material list and order the wood. Once it arrives and all parts have been cut I will begin the fuse, rudder and elevator.
I am sure some of the things I described might make no sense at all. My goal is to have a big slow flying plane that if I get the whim and want to loop it or roll it I dont have to worry about a wing snapping and so forth. I will be posting pics as I go along for ano of these who are interested.
The plan is to cut a total of 4 planes. Once the first one is completed and flown and there are no problems with the changes that have been made. The other three will be built and probably be up for sale if anyone is interested.
01-09-2005, 06:12 PM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
I finally was able to get started on the telemonster as my wife calls it. Construction started with the elevator. The tail grouping is removeable so I wanted to keep this option but beef it up a little. The original elevator calls for an 3/8 by 3/8 balsa upper and lower spar and also a spar between the upper main spar and the leading edge. The main spars are now 3/8 spruce and the front spar will be balsa as originally indicated. The span of the elevator is 48 inches and the plans show 1/16 balsa shear webs on the front of the spars only. There are a total of 10 ribs for the elevator which gives 4 bays per side. I have changed the shear webs of the three inner bays each side to 3/32 ply and the last bay is 3/32 balsa. The rear shear webs are 3/32 balsa.
I spoke in the first post of wanting to be able to loop or roll the plane without any worries so I did a little experiment earlier this evening. I have a senior telemaster the I am going to use to teach the wife to fly with. I finally recovered it and finished the radio installation this morning and then it was off to the flying field. The only changes that I made to the plane was to set it up for an aileron servo per wing, other than that is is bone stock. It has a supertigre 60 for power and standard servos for everything but the elevator which has an 80 oz servo.
The engine was a little reluctant since it had been sitting for over a year and a half but it finally fired up everything checked over and ready to go. The first flight consisted of just routine patterns around the field making sure the engine wasny goint to give me any problems and to get reacquainted with the plane. The wind was about 10 mph at times which turns it into a big weather vane but all went well. The second was the test. Structurally the planes are designed the same so we tested the structural integrity of the senior telemaster. Every manuver was done at half throttle. The rolls required rudder input but there was still about an 8 foot loss of altitude. Inverted flight required alot of down elevator which is to be expected of a flat bottom airfoil. Stall turns were accomplished with a little coaxing but overall uneventful and loops were big and the plane tracked better than I thought it would. Finally we finished everything of with an attempt at a rolling circle. I completed one half of the circle and then a big gust of wind pushed the plane way out of shape so I settled for a few passes over the field and a landing. To be honest I figured the plane wouldnt survive what I put it through but It held up great. Hats of to hobby lobby on a good design but I am still going make the changes to the telemonster.
AS soon as I can make it our of the house later to pick up batteries for the camera I will post pics of the work completed so far.
I spoke in the first post of wanting to be able to loop or roll the plane without any worries so I did a little experiment earlier this evening. I have a senior telemaster the I am going to use to teach the wife to fly with. I finally recovered it and finished the radio installation this morning and then it was off to the flying field. The only changes that I made to the plane was to set it up for an aileron servo per wing, other than that is is bone stock. It has a supertigre 60 for power and standard servos for everything but the elevator which has an 80 oz servo.
The engine was a little reluctant since it had been sitting for over a year and a half but it finally fired up everything checked over and ready to go. The first flight consisted of just routine patterns around the field making sure the engine wasny goint to give me any problems and to get reacquainted with the plane. The wind was about 10 mph at times which turns it into a big weather vane but all went well. The second was the test. Structurally the planes are designed the same so we tested the structural integrity of the senior telemaster. Every manuver was done at half throttle. The rolls required rudder input but there was still about an 8 foot loss of altitude. Inverted flight required alot of down elevator which is to be expected of a flat bottom airfoil. Stall turns were accomplished with a little coaxing but overall uneventful and loops were big and the plane tracked better than I thought it would. Finally we finished everything of with an attempt at a rolling circle. I completed one half of the circle and then a big gust of wind pushed the plane way out of shape so I settled for a few passes over the field and a landing. To be honest I figured the plane wouldnt survive what I put it through but It held up great. Hats of to hobby lobby on a good design but I am still going make the changes to the telemonster.
AS soon as I can make it our of the house later to pick up batteries for the camera I will post pics of the work completed so far.
01-11-2005, 10:38 PM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
The elevator is about 3/4 complete. This is the second build on the elevator. I started the elevator and noticed that the spars were off so I used a straight edge to make sure the spars were rite pinned the bottom one in place started adding the ribs and then the top spars then cut the cap strips only to realize the the rib spacing on the left half of the elevator was incorrect. So everything was unpinned from the building board cut apart and remade if necessary. A closer look at the plans revealed that there was a problem with the elevator plan. Looks like it was slightly folded when the copy was made. Not so noticible to the eye but major diffrence on shear webs. So I drew another elevator plan with the correct spacing and set to work again. I added the ply shear webs as stated in the first postand added triangle braces to the controll surface. Tomorrow I plan on finishing the left controll surface and getting the whole assembly and the rudder to the point of final sanding.
I have been giving more thought to the wing construction and have decided to go with a 2 piece wing instead of a three piece. I plan on usuing the box and spar method as apposed to a wing tube. This will mean the use of wing struts but hey, wing struts are cool. How it will work will be the first 2 feet of each wing panel will be made into a box by adding a full heigth 1/8 inch ply piece on both sides of the spars. Imagine a 2 foot shear web instead of individual webs between the wing ribs. This box will be wrapped with 1/4 inch carbon fiber and the inner ribs will run to the box instead of the spars.
I made a trip to the LHS today to pick up the wood for the fuse and a few other items and started thinking about the landing gear. I dont want to use wire gear as shown in the plans so any info on where to buy landing gear for this thing would be appreciated. Measurements from the plans sho the original dimensions to be 25 inches wide 7 inches high. Hoping to be able to start on the fuse thursday and would like to get some ideas on how big to make the lg mount.
I have been giving more thought to the wing construction and have decided to go with a 2 piece wing instead of a three piece. I plan on usuing the box and spar method as apposed to a wing tube. This will mean the use of wing struts but hey, wing struts are cool. How it will work will be the first 2 feet of each wing panel will be made into a box by adding a full heigth 1/8 inch ply piece on both sides of the spars. Imagine a 2 foot shear web instead of individual webs between the wing ribs. This box will be wrapped with 1/4 inch carbon fiber and the inner ribs will run to the box instead of the spars.
I made a trip to the LHS today to pick up the wood for the fuse and a few other items and started thinking about the landing gear. I dont want to use wire gear as shown in the plans so any info on where to buy landing gear for this thing would be appreciated. Measurements from the plans sho the original dimensions to be 25 inches wide 7 inches high. Hoping to be able to start on the fuse thursday and would like to get some ideas on how big to make the lg mount.
01-13-2005, 10:06 PM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
Finally able to do a little more work on the tail feathers. The left controll surface was framed up and all that is lacked on the controll surfaces is drilling and installing the 3/8 inch wooden dowel rod for elevator horn mounting. Im still debating on wether or not to add the tips to the elevator They are balsa blocks cut at a 45 degree angle and shaped to match the tip ribs. I will probably cap each end with 1/4 inch balsa and be done with it. I had the opportunity to weigh the assembly this afternoon and it weighed out at 1 lb 11 oz which is heavier that the original design but has far more structural integrity which is what I was looking for. But with the light wing loading the extra weight is not going to be a concern.
I was also able to start work on the rudder. One of the changes that was made was to lengthen the rudder 1 1/2 inches. The second was to make all bracing 3/8 square instead of 3/8 by 1/4. All that Lack on the rudder is installing the ply plates for mounting the controll horns.
I am start to break things up a bit and working on diffrent parts of the plane instead of starting something and finishing it. Doing it that way is also letting still make progress if I run into problems with another part.
The fuse was next up. I was able to get the 3/8 fuse sides togther get everything cut to shape and sanded down to be an excellent match. The longerons are 3/8 by 3/4 and all braces are1/2 by 3/8 which has made for a very strong structure. I still have to work out the mounting for the elevator servos and rudder servo. I will be placing the rudder servo un the bottom of the fuse and running pull pull cables. I am very seriously considering running 1/4 ply sideplates to mount the elevator servos. This will help beef up the rear of the plane and will give me piece of mind in knowing that the 1/4 scale servo isnt going anywhere .
I made a call to a club member and he just happened to have a set of landing gear the size I needed. Now to order the 5 inch main wheels and I am considering getting a set of wheel pants just for ****s and giggles.
I have been giving some thought to the radio setup. Seven 1/4 scale servos are going to draw some power so what I have in mind is running an isolator board with dual 4400 mill ion batteries then a 2700 mill nimh reciever pack. This should work out pretty good.
I have also been giving the engine choice alot of thought and have decided to go with a Fuji 50cc with an onboard starter. Againg not really worried about the weight issue due to the wing loading although a friend of mine swears that I am building a tank instead of a plane.
Overall construction so far hasnt been that bad at all even with the changes but what is going to be slow is the remainder of the fuse and the wing but i'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
This is going to be it for a few days. Going out of town to take a break a few days then back at home for a few days then work is taking out of state for a few weeks. Hopefully I will get a little more time in on it before going out of state.
I was also able to start work on the rudder. One of the changes that was made was to lengthen the rudder 1 1/2 inches. The second was to make all bracing 3/8 square instead of 3/8 by 1/4. All that Lack on the rudder is installing the ply plates for mounting the controll horns.
I am start to break things up a bit and working on diffrent parts of the plane instead of starting something and finishing it. Doing it that way is also letting still make progress if I run into problems with another part.
The fuse was next up. I was able to get the 3/8 fuse sides togther get everything cut to shape and sanded down to be an excellent match. The longerons are 3/8 by 3/4 and all braces are1/2 by 3/8 which has made for a very strong structure. I still have to work out the mounting for the elevator servos and rudder servo. I will be placing the rudder servo un the bottom of the fuse and running pull pull cables. I am very seriously considering running 1/4 ply sideplates to mount the elevator servos. This will help beef up the rear of the plane and will give me piece of mind in knowing that the 1/4 scale servo isnt going anywhere .
I made a call to a club member and he just happened to have a set of landing gear the size I needed. Now to order the 5 inch main wheels and I am considering getting a set of wheel pants just for ****s and giggles.
I have been giving some thought to the radio setup. Seven 1/4 scale servos are going to draw some power so what I have in mind is running an isolator board with dual 4400 mill ion batteries then a 2700 mill nimh reciever pack. This should work out pretty good.
I have also been giving the engine choice alot of thought and have decided to go with a Fuji 50cc with an onboard starter. Againg not really worried about the weight issue due to the wing loading although a friend of mine swears that I am building a tank instead of a plane.
Overall construction so far hasnt been that bad at all even with the changes but what is going to be slow is the remainder of the fuse and the wing but i'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
This is going to be it for a few days. Going out of town to take a break a few days then back at home for a few days then work is taking out of state for a few weeks. Hopefully I will get a little more time in on it before going out of state.
01-14-2005, 08:15 AM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
My 11 month old son decided that no one should sleep past 5:30 this morning so it was time to get up with him and then do some research in the electronics situation. I priced everything out and this is what I came up with pricewise except for the servo extensions.
I just hope my wife doesnt read this post[X(].
I4c isolator board $80
ion batteries x 2 $108
7 Servos $210.00
2 voltage regulators $80
4 super switches $53
pcm reciever $159
2 2700 mill nicad $50
grand total $739
Again probably a bit overkill but this will give me piece of mind.
I stated in the previous post about usuing the fuji 50 with an onboard starter. I also found the prices on the on the engine and starter this morning and after I got over the case of sticker shock after looking at the price of the onboard starter we have ruled it out. The price of the engine is $479 which is not bad for a EI 50 cc engine. The price of the onboard starter for the fuji 50 is $280 [X(] which is over half the price of the engine.
We have found a solution to our sons early morning adventures. He swears the dog pushed him in and closed the door behind him.
I just hope my wife doesnt read this post[X(].
I4c isolator board $80
ion batteries x 2 $108
7 Servos $210.00
2 voltage regulators $80
4 super switches $53
pcm reciever $159
2 2700 mill nicad $50
grand total $739
Again probably a bit overkill but this will give me piece of mind.
I stated in the previous post about usuing the fuji 50 with an onboard starter. I also found the prices on the on the engine and starter this morning and after I got over the case of sticker shock after looking at the price of the onboard starter we have ruled it out. The price of the engine is $479 which is not bad for a EI 50 cc engine. The price of the onboard starter for the fuji 50 is $280 [X(] which is over half the price of the engine.
We have found a solution to our sons early morning adventures. He swears the dog pushed him in and closed the door behind him.
01-16-2005, 12:46 PM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
Neat project! I have a senior Telemaster that needs fabric but it does not compare to the giant! Could you place a beer or pop can next to the parts in future pictures to give reference to how big it is? What are you going to use for fabric?
Regards,
Phil
Regards,
Phil
01-16-2005, 09:00 PM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
A short break was just what the doctor ordered. We left florida this morning headed home and it was sunny and 66 degrees there, we get back to north alabama and its 28 degrees. We were tempted to turn around and go back.
Phil, thanks for the reply. I will be back at work tomorrow on the telemonster and will gladly post pics of everything against the senior telemaster for a size referance.
I am going to use monokote on the telemonster. My wifes senior telemaster was covered in fabric when we first got it and I couldnt get it to reshrink. So long story short you could grab the tail section and het a good 3/4 inch twist out of it. I stripped it down checked all the glue joints set it up for 2 aileron servos and recovered it with yellow monokote. Now there is twist in the tail section.
I have to make a trip to the LHS tomorrow to pick up a few more items, mainly enough 3/8 to finish the other fuse side, a tail wheel assembly and such and then work continues. Hopefully I can get the fuse togther tomorrow.
Phil, thanks for the reply. I will be back at work tomorrow on the telemonster and will gladly post pics of everything against the senior telemaster for a size referance.
I am going to use monokote on the telemonster. My wifes senior telemaster was covered in fabric when we first got it and I couldnt get it to reshrink. So long story short you could grab the tail section and het a good 3/4 inch twist out of it. I stripped it down checked all the glue joints set it up for 2 aileron servos and recovered it with yellow monokote. Now there is twist in the tail section.
I have to make a trip to the LHS tomorrow to pick up a few more items, mainly enough 3/8 to finish the other fuse side, a tail wheel assembly and such and then work continues. Hopefully I can get the fuse togther tomorrow.
01-17-2005, 10:29 AM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
Nice work. I've got the plans for the Giant Telemaster, and maybe when I retire 25yrs from now, I will build one.
Seriously though, I am keeping my Mac Minarelli 70 twin just for a big floater like this.
About your battery setup, I would think with that much wing, the Giant Tele can carry a lawn mower Lead Acid 6V battery and not notice the weight. Maybe several 5cell 2400mAh NiMH packs placed near each servo group would be plenty suffcient?
Seriously though, I am keeping my Mac Minarelli 70 twin just for a big floater like this.About your battery setup, I would think with that much wing, the Giant Tele can carry a lawn mower Lead Acid 6V battery and not notice the weight.
Maybe several 5cell 2400mAh NiMH packs placed near each servo group would be plenty suffcient?
01-17-2005, 01:02 PM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
I have not covered the Senior yet and was considering using Sig Coverall (polyester dress lining) with nitrate dope and polyurethane topcoat. Sagging fabric is not very desireable though! Is this a common problem with Coverall/dope??
How many ribs are there on that plane? What thickness of balsa is required for them? You will sure be sick of cutting ribs once you finish with them! It would be nice to find somebody who could lazar cut them for a reasonable price?
It has been -22 F with wind chills down to -40 all last week. We are supposed to have a heat wave today and get up to +40!!
How many ribs are there on that plane? What thickness of balsa is required for them? You will sure be sick of cutting ribs once you finish with them! It would be nice to find somebody who could lazar cut them for a reasonable price?
It has been -22 F with wind chills down to -40 all last week. We are supposed to have a heat wave today and get up to +40!!
01-17-2005, 02:00 PM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
Hey Culver, there are a total of 42 ribs for the entire wing. FRom the plans the appear to be 1/8 thickness. I am going to cut mine from 3/32 and yes all cut by hand. Everytime I price someone cutting something for this plane the price is always high. I understand this is what these people do for a living but one quote I got on cutting a kit for this was $500. You can but a super flying king from bruce for that. Also the plane has changed quite a bit from the original design and i'm sure there would be an extra charge tacked on for that. Mainly I enjoy doing it is what it boils down to. The wing will be leading and trailing edge sheeted and cap stripped so I have to make a few changes from the original but thats no problem.
I dont have any experience with fabric covering so dont really know what to tell you on that. One word of advice on flying it in windy conditions would be to add a pound of weight over the cg. When we first flew ours after the recover I had the throws set high, mainly because I never called hobby hobby and found out what they were supposed to be, roughly
7\8 inch travel per surface is what i had. The 10 mph wind it was blowing around like a kite which was fun and it made cross wind landings interesting. Even crabbing it in with full rudder and aileron it would still get blown around a bit.
I talked with Rod of i4c today and explained my situation and he said he had been following the thread here recently and agreed that alot of what I was doing to the plane was a bit extreme mainly servo wise but assured me that thier isolator board would power all 7 quarter scale servos without and problems even with the long servo extensions that will have to be used and that running the 2 Fromeco 4400 mill ion batteries would be more that enough juice.
Thanks again for your time Rod I really appreciate it.
Well I recieved a phonecall saying that I have to be out of town work wise thursday instead of sunday soI have 1 1/2 days to do a little more work on the plane. I will post new pics tonight.
I dont have any experience with fabric covering so dont really know what to tell you on that. One word of advice on flying it in windy conditions would be to add a pound of weight over the cg. When we first flew ours after the recover I had the throws set high, mainly because I never called hobby hobby and found out what they were supposed to be, roughly
7\8 inch travel per surface is what i had. The 10 mph wind it was blowing around like a kite which was fun and it made cross wind landings interesting. Even crabbing it in with full rudder and aileron it would still get blown around a bit.
I talked with Rod of i4c today and explained my situation and he said he had been following the thread here recently and agreed that alot of what I was doing to the plane was a bit extreme mainly servo wise but assured me that thier isolator board would power all 7 quarter scale servos without and problems even with the long servo extensions that will have to be used and that running the 2 Fromeco 4400 mill ion batteries would be more that enough juice.
Thanks again for your time Rod I really appreciate it.
Well I recieved a phonecall saying that I have to be out of town work wise thursday instead of sunday soI have 1 1/2 days to do a little more work on the plane. I will post new pics tonight.
01-18-2005, 10:31 AM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
I burned the midnight oil on the other fuse side so I didnt get any pics till just a bit a go. Both sides are framed up and elevator servo mounts located in the rear of the fuse. I had to locate the right side servo a bit farther forward due to the size of the servo. With the removeable tail they bolt to a plate on top of the fuse which is epoxied to balsa. I changed this to where the plate will be be epoxied to 1/4 ply instead of balsa. I will also drill and pin the lower mounting plate. O.K. maybe I am building a tank but again with the light wing loading its not going to make much diffrence. Today I plan on installing the fuse doublers and getting the fuse togther.
I just tacked the sides togther for photo purposes. I took pics of the telemonster against my wifes senior telemaster and also by itself. To get an idea of the size the area of brown tile in the pic measures 11 feet long and 7 feet wide. And yes I had to move most of the furniture out of the living room.
I ordered the 5 inch main wheels and the tail wheel assembly from the LHS yesterday which will be in thursday. I also called Greg Garrison of GL Hobbies and he has a set of wheel pants that will work well so they will be on the way shortly. We also talked of another project that I will probably tackle after the telemonster is finished. He has a 13 foot wingspan Cessna Skylane that I have been interested in and talking with him about for a while now and the wife finally gave me the ok to go ahead and pick. I see a DA 100 in the future
.
I just tacked the sides togther for photo purposes. I took pics of the telemonster against my wifes senior telemaster and also by itself. To get an idea of the size the area of brown tile in the pic measures 11 feet long and 7 feet wide. And yes I had to move most of the furniture out of the living room.
I ordered the 5 inch main wheels and the tail wheel assembly from the LHS yesterday which will be in thursday. I also called Greg Garrison of GL Hobbies and he has a set of wheel pants that will work well so they will be on the way shortly. We also talked of another project that I will probably tackle after the telemonster is finished. He has a 13 foot wingspan Cessna Skylane that I have been interested in and talking with him about for a while now and the wife finally gave me the ok to go ahead and pick. I see a DA 100 in the future
.
01-20-2005, 08:58 AM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
The fuse is finally togther! Now I have to install the LG mounts and such. Seems like the more I complete on the plane the more I realize just how big it is but its going to be a blast to fly. Several club members have donated small items for it in expectation of seeing the finished and in the air which will hopefully be mid march.
This will be the last post for a week or so since work is calling me down to Florida. Atleast it will be warmer that here.[8D]
Now I have to install the LG mounts and such. Seems like the more I complete on the plane the more I realize just how big it is but its going to be a blast to fly. Several club members have donated small items for it in expectation of seeing the finished and in the air which will hopefully be mid march. This will be the last post for a week or so since work is calling me down to Florida. Atleast it will be warmer that here.[8D]
01-20-2005, 06:14 PM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
i didnt know they made a giant telemaster, i thought you were talking about the senior. great job on the plane. wow 144 inches thats twice as big as my biggest plane, and i thought it was big.
01-31-2005, 07:14 PM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
When I got home today from my trip my wife had a good suprise waiting for me. There were main wheels, tail wheel, axles and several other goodies. I ordered a fuji 50 with electronic ignition which should be in the first of next week so everything is slowly starting to come togther.
When I aligned the fuse I took great pains in making sure that everything was as it should be. I then took a 6 foot straight edge and started rechecking everything and then found that some of the longerons had dips in them between the cross braces. The braces were cut to the correct angle and everything was straight but the dips are still there . I called a flying buddy and he agreed to come over tomorrow afternoon and look things over and see if he could help make heads or tails of it . So the plan for tomorrow is to recheck the fuse and then install lg and tail wheel plates and such. Hopefully I can have it on the gear by late tomorrow. As always pics will be posted of the progress.
When I aligned the fuse I took great pains in making sure that everything was as it should be. I then took a 6 foot straight edge and started rechecking everything and then found that some of the longerons had dips in them between the cross braces. The braces were cut to the correct angle and everything was straight but the dips are still there . I called a flying buddy and he agreed to come over tomorrow afternoon and look things over and see if he could help make heads or tails of it . So the plan for tomorrow is to recheck the fuse and then install lg and tail wheel plates and such. Hopefully I can have it on the gear by late tomorrow. As always pics will be posted of the progress.
02-01-2005, 08:58 PM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
Its finally on the gear!!!!!!!! This is one part of construction that I have been looking forward to. John came over this afternoon and helped me with the fuse. I figured it might be a tad misaligned so we started checking and remeasuring things and the fuse was over an inch out of alignment at the tail. Mind you all this has been built over the plans and I had already found flaws in the elevator print. But any way John showed me how to build a simple jig and now its straight as an arrow. The overall length from nose to tail is 8 feet 1/2 inch and it stands 22 inches tall. Here are a couple of pics of the fuse and one with the wifes senior telemaster as a size reference.
Now will be all the little finish work on the fuse , rudder and elevator. Hopefully i can get this in the next couple of days.
Now will be all the little finish work on the fuse , rudder and elevator. Hopefully i can get this in the next couple of days.
02-07-2005, 10:01 PM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
Finally got off my butt and did some more work to the telemonster today. The new Fuji 50 EI arrived late this afternoon so I had to get the firewall installed and temp mount the engine just to see how it was going to work out. First problem the engine is 8 inches wide and the fuse inner width is 5 7/8 inches. So I left the firewall in the original position and chopped of the front of the fuse a total of 7 inches back to the firewall. With the engine mounted flat against the firewall the outer edge of the muffler is about 1/16 inch from the right side of the fuse so I plan on usuing 1/2 inch standoffs to remedy this problem.
I used ca to frame the fuse I wont mention the brand but it wasnt zap and noticed the fuse was rather fragile so last night I went over the glue joints with gorilla glue and boy what a diffrence so I will go over the rest of the joints on the rudder and elevator with it. I was concerned with the cg usuing the fuji which weighs in a 4 lbs 10 oz but with the beefing up that I did on the tail surfaces and having three 1/4 scale servos in the tail I dont think it is going to be an issue.
I do have a question of where the fuel tank needs to be located. If it needs to be on the cg or behind the the firewall.
Next on the list is to completely finish the fuse and tail feathers this week and start planning the wing out next week.
I used ca to frame the fuse I wont mention the brand but it wasnt zap and noticed the fuse was rather fragile so last night I went over the glue joints with gorilla glue and boy what a diffrence so I will go over the rest of the joints on the rudder and elevator with it. I was concerned with the cg usuing the fuji which weighs in a 4 lbs 10 oz but with the beefing up that I did on the tail surfaces and having three 1/4 scale servos in the tail I dont think it is going to be an issue.
I do have a question of where the fuel tank needs to be located. If it needs to be on the cg or behind the the firewall.
Next on the list is to completely finish the fuse and tail feathers this week and start planning the wing out next week.
02-08-2005, 05:48 PM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
I loaded everything up this afternoon and took it over to Bob's house and we weighed everything out. His digital scales, which according to him never lie, showed a weight of 14 lbs 6 oz. This includes the fuse, tailfeathers, tailwheel assembly, maingear, wheels, engine, ignition unit and battery. So It should come close to the 22 to 25 lb completed weight. Probably more to the upper end of the scale.
I really think gp needs to go by bobs scales. They claim the fuji 50 ei comes in at 4 lbs 7 oz with ignition and muffler. Actually it comes to 5 lbs 3 oz. We plan on firing it up for the first time thursday afternoon.
I really think gp needs to go by bobs scales. They claim the fuji 50 ei comes in at 4 lbs 7 oz with ignition and muffler. Actually it comes to 5 lbs 3 oz. We plan on firing it up for the first time thursday afternoon.
02-09-2005, 10:48 AM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
I started back to work on the fuse this morning and was getting ready to install the mounting plate for the tail feathers. I Blocked the tail up and leveled the to of the fuse where the wing will mount and checked where the plate will mount and it shows 3 deg positive incidence. This does not seem like alot but when you measure it out over the full width of the elevator it equals 5/8 inch diffrence. Now the firewall has 3 1/2 deg down thrust so it seems to me that the elevator should be set at zero. So I took the wifes senior telemaster blocked it up with the wing saddle level and checked the tail on it and it is set at zero degrees and there is 3 1/2 degrees down thrust in the firewall. In my way of thinking it should be the same on the giant telemaster since it is an enlarged version of the senior.
I kave a call into the head technician at hobby lobby and hopefully he will call later today and let me know what the correct incidence is. Till the I can install the wing mount plates and such.
I kave a call into the head technician at hobby lobby and hopefully he will call later today and let me know what the correct incidence is. Till the I can install the wing mount plates and such.
02-10-2005, 06:15 PM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
I went and picked up bob's test stand last night and today I recruited my dad to help me fire up the fuji for the first time. We bolted the test stand to a small steel work table hooked everything up and crossed our fingers. A few flips of the prop and the fuel was to the carb, turn the ignition on and a few more flips and we finally heard a pop. Open the choke and about 20 flips later it finally fired up. We ran most of a tank of fuel through it cut it off let it cool a bit and fired it up again. About 10 flips this time till it finally came to life. We finished off that tank and called it a day. I am very impressed with this engine. The only thing is that I dont have a tach to check the rpm's. but at the end of the first run you could tell there was a slight increase in power. Made the drive home and had to fire it up again. I bolted the stand to an outside table got fuel to the carb closed the choke and on the fourth flip it popped. Three flips later it fired up and was idling like a dream transition is great through the rpm range.
Hopefully tonight I can get the rear plate on the fuse and start some of the finish work on what I have completed so far.
Hopefully tonight I can get the rear plate on the fuse and start some of the finish work on what I have completed so far.
02-10-2005, 10:14 PM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
Just alot of mental work on the plane tonight. I have decided to go with foam core wings. The reason being simply I wont have 42 wing ribs to cut and deal with. I spoke with Greg Garrison of g&l hobbies this afternoon and he gave me a real good price on cutting the wings for me. I plan on usuing a blade spar as opposed to a standard tube. The spar will 3/16 aluminum 2 inches high and 6 feet in length. This will slide into a box that will be strengthened by carbon fiber strips wrapped around the box every 3 inches. Then the box will be glued into the cores before sheeting. And yes jneesy I plan on usuing struts. This will add a little more weight overall but it will be easier to me than the built up wing and the cost will be pretty close.
Bob and I did a little figuring tonight on the wing loading. The wing area is roughly 3000 sq.
and we figured a worst case scenario on the weight and fugured it at 29 lbs which would give a wing loading of 20 oz. A bit higher that the original design but it should still be a floater.
I have started to also think about a color scheme for the plane. Im thinking about orange, white and purple. It may sound odd but it looks good and the plane is real easy to see. Not that it it will be hard to see due to the size. Three 25 ft rolls of monokote should do it . Im putting off looking at what I have spent on the plane so far. Probably figure it up when its finished and hope my wife doesnt see the total.
Bob and I did a little figuring tonight on the wing loading. The wing area is roughly 3000 sq.
and we figured a worst case scenario on the weight and fugured it at 29 lbs which would give a wing loading of 20 oz. A bit higher that the original design but it should still be a floater.
I have started to also think about a color scheme for the plane. Im thinking about orange, white and purple. It may sound odd but it looks good and the plane is real easy to see. Not that it it will be hard to see due to the size. Three 25 ft rolls of monokote should do it . Im putting off looking at what I have spent on the plane so far. Probably figure it up when its finished and hope my wife doesnt see the total.
02-16-2005, 12:25 PM
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RE: Giant Telemaster Build
Cutting all of those ribs did not sound very fun. Plus for the size of the wing that would have been a truck load of balsa! I totally agree with the foam wing! What was the original design for the main spar/s?