I am assumeing this spot will be ok to talk about Telelmaster planes. I am still new at this sport and littler older than most but love it and the fellowship that goes with it. I am getting better and crash my simulator everyday. What I have found with my plane, trainer, is hard to see sometimes. The longer I fly the better I will be able to keep it closer. Lot of the guys say get a bigger plane. I can see the advantage of that and was really looking at the Telemaster series , especially the newer one now being offered. I think it is electric. How much harder is it to utillize a electric over a gas or glow? With the price of glow fuel ,, wow.. Regular gas is going up but still way cheaper than glow fue. I like the convenience of no fuel mess etc. I am going to make a decision real soon but a bigger plane is in the future. Like your thoughts on this and any other planes out there. Some of the larger planes look like barn doors with wings. Ok running out of knowledge, think I saw one plane offered, telemaster, that came with choice of engines, one was gas. Thanks for putting up with this drawn out nothing. I will be watching. gphil

Sorry but I don't keep up with what is offered in ARFs but I have built and flown several masters of different sizes. Wonderful plane in any size but I do like the big Sr. Telemaster best of all. Very easy to fly and build. Last one I built I used an OS .60 glow engine. Any electric power system of about that size will work grreat on the master. When I have questions on electric stuff I go to the bottom of the header bar and go to the Wattflyer forum. Good people and a lot of info. Going eletric could be a great way to go. When I was flying the masters we didn't have the battery systems that we have today so I never gave electric any thought back then. Things have changed a lot these days.

I agree the Telemaster is a great flying plane, just got my Sr Tele with a .60 on it. I plan to use it as a backup trainer, and you can see it very well.

Three of us have them and fly them together , seems to fly very well in wind.

sticks

The senior Telemaster is a great flying plane. Ihave had mine since right after the article appeared in RC Modeler magazine and Hobbie Lobby started offering the kit over 40 years ago. What what I have read on these forums, the smaller Telemasters are not as forgiving. Ido not think you can go wrong with a Senior Telemaster

As far as which type of motor to select, it is mostly up to your personal preference. Electrics offer a lot as you do not run into issues getting them to start and no noise issues and no issue in obtaining fuel but you will need multiple batteries and ways to charge them safely at home and on the field. I also gather that flight time is less than it would be with typical glow fuel tanks. Battery technology has greatly improved.

I do not yet own any electrics but do want to start as they seem to have a lot to offer but some people prefer the smell of burnt glow fuel and the sound of a glow motor. In short, pick the type of motor that you like but be aware of the short comings of both types.

The senior Telemaster is a great flying plane. Ihave had mine since right after the article appeared in RC Modeler magazine and Hobbie Lobby started offering the kit over 40 years ago. What what I have read on these forums, the smaller Telemasters are not as forgiving. Ido not think you can go wrong with a Senior Telemaster

As far as which type of motor to select, it is mostly up to your personal preference. Electrics offer a lot as you do not run into issues getting them to start and no noise issues and no issue in obtaining fuel but you will need multiple batteries and ways to charge them safely at home and on the field. I also gather that flight time is less than it would be with typical glow fuel tanks. Battery technology has greatly improved.

I do not yet own any electrics but do want to start as they seem to have a lot to offer but some people prefer the smell of burnt glow fuel and the sound of a glow motor. In short, pick the type of motor that you like but be aware of the short comings of both types.

Electric is not any harder to get going with. The learning curve is actually a bit easier once you choose the right components because it's just plug it in and turn it on. The only real drawback to electric is cost. You'll need at least 3 batteries to get in a decent day of flying along with a lipo charger and power supply. I haven't ever outfitted an electric that big, but I'd expect around $100 each for batteries and another $175-$200 for a charger and power supply that can put out the watts needed to do a 30 minute charge on those batteries. Add probably $150 more for the motor and speed control and you're over $600 invested in your power system. When you compare that to around $100 for a .60 glow engine and another $80-$100 for your starting equipment it takes a lot of gallons of glow fuel to break even, and that's assuming you don't have a battery to go bad before you get to that point.

If one wants to go electric thats fine however to start with such a large and heavy one such as the Senior telly then that is a real bad idea and Jester's estimates are actually quite low.

I just recently solo'ed a gentleman who just had to have a large trainer and it had to be electric and he was willing to pay for it. He ended up with a Cadet Senior that one of the fellows helped him convert and only name brand and good stuff was used. Now don,t ask me about those details since I,ve no interest especially large electric, I only flew and taught him in that ship.

He already had a resonable transmitter and the cost to him including the airplane and everything in it along with equipment for proper charging and one spare set of batteries was just over one thousand dollars!

Now this ship flew pretty good and since I got quite a bit of time in on it I can say its performance is about parallel with my my own Kaydet that I keep for training which is powered with an OS .35AX.

Its it worth it? well certainly not in my book but perhaps some

John

OK the idea of a new flyer having an easier time seeing a larger airplane and therefore less trouble maintaining orientation is actually quite true in theory however it seldom works out that way in the real world.

You see what happens is the fellows will simply fly the bigger airplane further out and still loose control anyway.

This is very common in training and one of the biggest mistakes new flyers do is the tendency to fly too far out regardless of the airplanes size and failure to learn what your box is as well as learning to fly within that box.

So just understand just using a larger airplane to help you from losing control from orientation problems will not help, it will only increase the distance away that you lose control. What will help is talking with your mentor about flying in the box and how to start thinking in terms of your personal box.

John

Thanks for all that input.   My monies are not abundant as probably the same with most guys.  That said, the last comment about flying far out just because of the larger plane makes sense to me.   Personally I hate to make the turn due to messing up.  The worst turn is from a left downwind to base then final.  That is where the screaming dive seems to happen.   

Here is another question.  My flying site is on a very nice landfill but there is two relay towers spaced around the field.  Now they are probably various things on them, cell relays , radio,,,,,who knows.   I know enough about radios that freqs should not interfere with one another.  There in two geographical spots I have seen high time pilots loose  their planes.   They just go into a dive with no recovery.     Is there something there messing with the signals?   I would say no but then when you see your IP destroy a long time plane.    Ok, enough before the site king fusses at me.    

Oh and really like the SIG models too.     gphil     

If you're flying 2.4ghz there is no chance of those towers messing with your signal. If it's 72mhz, possibly but not likely. If your plane is diving hard on the final turn then you are over banking it at too low a speed causing a side slip. I'll wager that you have some adverse yaw which makes the plane not want to turn when you do a shallow bank, which then prompts you to roll it more. If you'll use your rudder to tighten up your turn and maintain no more than a 20 degree bank angle you'll find that nose dropping tendency goes away.

Johnbuckner- I may be a bit low on my estimates for most pilots. I was figuring it on not buying the best components and using the simplest chargers.

Jester I wanted to illustrate this one case that did reach such amazing proportions and support that point you were making. So many these days want to do all these wonderful conversions without ever giving it a thought about costs.

gphil the final turn from base to final is also another area where many folks have trouble and it usually is caused by confusion and loss of orientation. Its the old airplane is coming toward you thing and you don,t know which way to move the airleron stick to recover from that last turn.

The technique is very simple and will work every time (heck even if you are flying inverted), do not try to turn your body in the direction the airplane is going. Instead simply put the stick (aileron) under the low wing. Its as simple as that! just pretend you want to move the stick to the side that the wing is low to prop it up. There is no need to think in terms of right and left just "prop up the low wing with the aileron stick". This of course is only when the airplane is coming toward you or a base to final turn and you get confused.

One last point and that is get help. Find a mentor and do not go this alone, if that means networking and finding a club then great, do it. The folks around you can and will be key to your success, thats a fact.

Enjoy, This can become a lifetime passion if you let it.

John

If you like Telemasters have a look at the Bridi Loadstar. They are like a Telemaster 40 and the only real difference is the Loadstar does not have a lifting stab. I have built two of these in the past and both were powered by plain bearing 40 motors. A Tower 40 and a TT GP42. I bashed one to look like a cub.

Joe Bridi redesigned the Telemaster for Hobby Lobby and the Loadstar shares some of the struture design. Plus they are cheaper to buy. I have a kit in my attic right now waiting for its turn on the building board.

http://www.bridiairplanes.com/hangar/loadstar40.html

Here are a couple of pictures. They aren't too good because they are a picture of a picture but you will see what they look like.

I am sure you could electrify this plane if you are willing to spend the scratch. I built a Bridi Aircruiser and checked out going electric. For a motor, two battery packs, charger and ESC the set up would have cost $450. And this was for a 25 sized outrunner motor.

I bought a NIB FP 25 off Ebay for $35. A gallon of fuel for $14 and a couple of props for $6. A glow started and spare glow plugs for $30 and I was in business. That was about $85 and I was powered up. For the other $365 difference I can buy a lot of glow fuel. Electric is cool but I like hearing the engine run.

Once again thanks for infromation.    Think the next motor (eng) will be gas sort of like in between.     I like the plane pictured above.    I like the   AMR  Trainer 20 too.   I see that it is being built step by step on this site.   That looks like a good one .   Do these kits tell what size and kind of servos needed?  I know the reciever needs to match the trans but the servos  can be any type??? considering the size of the plane , correct?  Hate asking so many questions but what the heck,,,,,,,tell me to shut it.    Thanks fellas.  gphil

Ratshooter, I just looked at that site and are the kits complete and cut good?  You know what I mean.      I bought a Berkly  T-28 control line kit way back in the 50's and I sanded balsa forever.   Good kit but one really had to work.    Thanks guy           gphil

If you built Berekley kits from the 50s you will find most current production kits a snap!

Glow fuel is not cheap, but if you consider all the costs for the alternatives, then it's not so bad.
With a .60 size trainer, you could get a .90 four stroke, Hobby People sells a Magnum .91 for $ 159.
They have a great sound and use a lot less fuel then an equivalent 2 stroke engine.
If you want gasoline, check this out : http://www.maxfordusa.com/mentor-g26cctrainer.aspx

A bigger plane has a better handling, you can see it better and it can take some wind better then a smaller one.

Gassers generally cost more up front, need better servos and better batteries, and the bigger planes seem to be more fragile and are definitely more expensive to repair. Fuel cost is only one part of the equation. It's hard to make a case to leave the traditional .40-.60 size planes for sheer economy.

gphil these planes are cut very well with close fitting parts. Plus they have some of the nicest wood I have seen. I have the Loadstar and a Krafty 60 in my attic now. Joe Bridi planes fly like magic carpets and are simple, well thought out designs that go together fast. My buddy started on his Aircruiser 25 last night. He had one wing panel set together in about 15 minutes.

My kits have very stout aluminum main gears and great planes adjustableengine mounts. They did not skimp on the hardware. The Loadstar has a 72" wingspan and can be seen a long way off. It flies better than the Hanger 9 cub I used to have.

I don't think you would be disappointed with the plane.

my dad has a Telemaster Sr. (8ft ws) on a very calm day the Telemaster is a great flying plane and will slow down to a crawl.... his had a 61 2 stroke then i upgraded it to a 91 four stroke... maybe because it's so big and light, i felt like it was harder to fly than a standard 40 sized trainer on a windy day.. turning on a windy day requires a lot of rudder aileron coordination to efficiently turn... similar to a cub

My 8ft Tele has a DLE20 up front, great on calm days but a bugger to bring down as just wants to keep on flying. Not very aerobatic but then Teles were never designed for it and it suits me being such a docile relaxing flyer and theres nothing like a large plane.

I've got one of the 12' Telemaster kits under construction. Interesting design.

Anyway, what I mainly wanted to post is an exercise that helped me greatly.

One of the experienced friends who was helping me out suggested getting up several mistakes high and flying big figure eights.

Once you can keep them semetrical and level, tighten them up. Start to feed in rudder and work on nice coordinated turns. As you tighten up further, you may find yourself holding opposite aileron partway into the turn. Also practice at various speeds, and in light wind.

This really cured the coming at you/going away thing, it got me comfortable with really hacking the plane around when I wanted, and I got much better at setting up on our narrow runway. I think it also helped me recognize what the plane's attitude was.

Gphil, asking questions is what this forum is all about. If anyone tells you to stop, they are the one with the problem.
Getting back to your servo question, most planes, up to a sport 60, can be flown with standard servos. When you go larger than the sport 60, the servos may need to be more powerful to prevent overloading and the subsequent failure. As far as using mixed systems with one brand receiver to another brand of servo, this is done all the time. Some servos will require the connectors to be modified to fit or pins reordered but in can be done. Never try to modify a receiver to work with a servo. Changing anything inside of the receiver or transmitter case is a violation of FCC rules and, if you're caught, can cost you some cash due to fines and/or having to replace radio gear.

I have had my Sr Telemaster for many of years and like it very much. What ever you power it with you should be happy with it. It's not so good on a windy day I use something else to instruct with on windy days. A friend of mine has a gas engine on his that works very well.