Which engine size works best with the Telemaster 40?
Also, any building advice on the T-40 will be helpful since this will be my first kit. Thanks!

A .40 is the perfect engine for the Telemaster. Build it light and you'll have a very sweet airplane.

Which .40 is best, the O.S. 40FX or Evolution .40NT?

I don't know anything about the evolution. I love O.S. engines. You can't go wrong with any of their FX series.

dont buy a 40.......get a 46 or 61 that way you have somtthing for the next one you build.......just cut back the power, thats what the 4th servo is for

That is a good point, thanks for the insight.
Another question: since I am starting out with my first kit and want to avoid spending too much $$$ on tools and getting things I really don't need, what will I need get me through to the finished product?

A flat board, a sanding block, some t-pins, I suggest carpenter's glue because it gives you more time to work, a straightedge, a decent ruler, a hobby knife, a razor saw would be helpful with all the sticks in your telemaster.

This is from my website. Lots of stuff here that you do not need, but if you read through it you'll get a good idea of what's out there and what it's used for. Right now you just need the basics until you decide you're really going to stick with the hobby. Once you decide that you can get more and better stuff.

http://www.airfieldmodels.com/inform...ools/index.htm

Watch the power on the Telemaster, the wings WILL fold with a 46 installed, seen it happen on a well built Telemaster. Anything more than this is asking for trouble on this plane. They balance a fly fantastic with a 46 no need for anything more. If built with flaps it will land vertically in a 10 mph wind!

My Telemaster 40 was a bit under powered with a 40 sized engine. I would be good choice for someone just learning as it is just enough power to get it off of the ground and back. You do have to watch the climb rate or can approach a stall. On this plane that isn't much of a problem unless you have just lifted off as it will recover in about 20 ft altitude loss. I think a .46 would have been a better choice as I carried around a bunch of lead in the nose for proper balance anyway. I enjoyed mine as my first powered plane. Unfortunatly it was lost due to a 60 size pattern plane striking mine just under the wing while I was on approach for a landing. Being a light airplane and low I lost only the balsa. The radio and engine were fine. Looking for another plane as a Christmas present!!!! Happy flying Art.

with ref to a wing folding...theres a real ez way to stop that, befor you cover the wing run 1in packing tape under the wing one ea on l/t edges run this tape wing tip to wing tip, when you cover it you will not see the tape and that wing will NEVER fold, i have built 3 of these birds and fly them hard, flaps are great also for this kit and ez to build in.......

I think the Telemaster .40 is one of the most under-rated planes of all time. It's a great trainer and a great airplane to have even if you're well beyond the training stage. Personally, I think anything over a .45 is too much engine and if the plane is built according to the plan and well built then there should not be any problems with the wing folding.

The glass tape won't hurt and will add a lot of strength, but it really shouldn't be necessary. If it gives you peace of mind then go for it.

Thanks for the information. I am fearing this will be a complicated one to build for a beginner. I guess I will know sooner than later.

Epoxy123 - You'll do fine. Just take your time and be patient. Try to enjoy the building process.

Get yourself a small piece of 1/2 particle board or plywood. If plywood then sand it flat and then use spray glue to attach some sandpaper. Make a couple different size blocks. You can put two different grit papers on it by using both sides.

A tip for those stick joints. First, always cut the longest pieces first. Otherwise you'll end up with a bunch of too-short pieces. When you're cutting a cross brace, lay the stick in place over the plans and mark the cut line using a single edge razor. Just make a light mark.

Cut the piece slightly over size and with a small sanding block bring it close to its final shape. Fit, sand, fit, sand until it fits well. Again, patience is the key. If the piece ends up being too short, then use it for the next smaller piece and try again.

If you end up needing more sticks, then it's just a matter of heading to your local hobby shop to replace it.

Once you get this plane in the air you're going to love it. Any time you have questions, post them here at RCU. Or you can shoot me a PM or an e-mail and I'll help you any way I can.

A good 46 would be a great choice because you can use that motor on so many other planes later on, just use throttle control. A gentleman at or Field uses a OS70fs but is way over powered, I fly a SR Telmaster on a TT91FS and never go above 1/2 throttle,and can even do long slow takeoffs at 1/3 throttle.

Fun plane, just see if you can get an experienced builder to help with the wing and take some of the dihedral out of the wing, I took half of it out of my second SR Telmaster, and it flys even better than the first. My first, after 15 years of flight was taken out in a Mid Air on landing approach.

Are you talking about the firberglass filled tape?

A .40 size plane is NEVER really underpowered with a .40 engine. Its a matter of flying the plane the way it was designed... not like an engiine with wings attached.

Sure... it won't do the full AMA Intermediate Pattern sequence with a .40... ITS NOT MEANT TO!

Had a 52 Mag FS on mine, a real delight , enough power for floats or anything else you could expect out of a plane like this.

I'm new as well and I built and flew the telemaster without any help. It is a very gentle and forgiving plane that will cruise around at 1/3 throttle with an OS .46 LA, which from what I've read around here is not a very popular engine. It has worked fine for me and I don't even use an electric starter. The plane builds very strong and will tolerate a beginners abuse...you should have seen some of my first landings! I fly off grass and I set it up as a taildragger with 3.5" wheels.

Some building tips: The plans and the actual pre-cut parts don't match up exactly. The plans should be used as a guide only- my wing, for example, built out a full 3 inches longer than the drawing. The instructions might mention this...I'm not sure. I also built mine with dual aileron servos rather than with all that linkage. It was easy- standard futaba servos will fit in with only the face of the servo exposed. The flaps are fun and I'd recommend building them in (another reason to put aileron servos out in the wing)-- they really slow the plane down for nice landings and this probably has a lot to do with my success without an instructor. I installed the flap servo with zip-ties and that has worked well. Soldering the flap linkage and getting 40 degrees of travel is tough without binding the servo, but it can be done. Test the flaps several times with plenty of altitude so that you can observe the effect.

I've had it through some high stress turns at full throttle and the wing is still in one piece. I did two complete raps of fiberglass cloth in the center section and about 8oz of epoxy to stick it all together. The wing is solid and not too heavy. With a weak .46 and flaps, weight on this plane doesn't seem to be a huge issue with all that wing area.

Good luck and I hope this helps!

I'f you'd like more info, I'd be happy to try and post some photos of what I've described.

What weight fibergalss cloth did you use? I used a light weight cloth and I am worried about the strength?

Lynn19531 - you should use at least 2 ounce, but I always use 4-6 ounce. If you bought fiberglass tape, then it is the right weight.

- Paul

I used 1.5 oz. I think I may another layer since I have not covered the wing yet.

Where do you get fiberglass cloth? Im worried about my superstar wings folding with my 51. By the way first day i was at the field a gentlmen had a telemaster. I was out standing by him and he looked at me and said. You wanna fly? How could i say no? I flew it around about 6 minutes and handed it back to him he said "hard?" And it wasnt. peace o cake nice flying plane!

Hobby shop should have it. or an online shop.

I used two packs of this:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXK256&P=0

I have had a Telemaster 40 for several years, and just dug it out to fly again. It seems like a plane your always pressing back into service, put away the Extra,s, Freestyle, and Pizazz here comes the Telemaster. These are great trainers and just super camera carrier, bomb drop or whatever. I am getting mine ready again to serve as a glider tug.
A note on wing folding, when I built mine it did not have a dihederal brace in the wing, I made one of light ply and installed it, anyway I felt better. I had read someplace that Hobby Lobby had several differant people kit this plane over the years and some versions had the brace and some did not. Also in mine they recommended if going to a larger engine, use shear webbing in the tail for strength[:-].
I have an old K&B .61 on mine and it makes a great combo, it isnt necessary to fly with that left stick forward all the time. Besides I have always found more power has gotten me out of trouble, more than it has into trouble. I tried a .40 on it once, and it will fly it fine, but it's much more useful and fun with the .61. If the .61 has a draw back it is only on landing, at idle that large prop will almost keep the TELE flying. So if you go a .61 you may want to try something in about a 5 pitch. Like 12X5.
Whatever you set it up with, the plane is a classic RC and you will always come back to it. Good flying.