rryman

My Feedback: (2)

I guess I should consider myself lucky. I caught the crack in the strut attach piece as I was putting the plane together. At the time, I thought that it was good that I caught it, but later kind of shuddered at the thought that it had to be like that the last time I flew it!!
I replaced mine with brass straps last year. And, for what it's worth, I used CA for almost everything except the real stress points-center section, strut attach plates, firewall, landing gear plate, etc.
As much as it takes to put this plane together at the field, I made a checklist and follow it faithfully when assembling and pre-flighting. So far, it has saved me several times. Easy to forget something when there's 16 bolts and 5 servo connections to deal with, not to mention other distractions. There's always a Q & A period going on while putting the thing together. Fine with me, but also easy to get distracted from the task at hand.
Randy

Don41

Brings back memories. I recently maidened my Senior and after the early flights I found the aileron linkage did not have the keepers in place (no explanation other than carelessness). I used wing mounted servos so I guess the slot I cut for the linkage was just narrow enough to keep them in the control horn. Like you, I take my time at set up now (:-).

mothy1946

Thanks Bob,
Somewhere on the site ( so much information is available that it is hard to pin things down ) the comment has been made that 6 inch wheels looked a bit small. I started looking for bigger but without much luck. CB Associate 7 inch smooth tread are currently available or 6.5 inch treaded. I'm flying off a grass strip and for a slow flying ( take off and landing ) model like this I doubt whether smooth or treaded matters. Might matter on concrete with a fast model particularly if wet.
All other tips are appreciated and welcome. As the kit is on backorder at least until 8/2/08 (or as they say in the U.S.A 2/8/08) I still have lots of time to plan the build.
Regards,
Tim

mothy1946

Hi Don 41,
In Australia models weighing 7 Kg or more (without fuel ) which is about 15.5 lbs, have to be inspected and given a "heavy model" certificate before they can fly. This is mainly for insurance purposes. The inspection is done by a trained heavy model inspector . Not only does the model have to pass this process but the owner /pilot has to be certified as being capable of handling the model even down to the sort of flight manoeuvres that he/she can perform. This is done by flight testing with the inspector observing the process. This certification which only applies to the individual model ( in other words if you own a number of heavy models each one has to be certified ) has to be renewed every 3 years. To a large degree this process all but eliminates oversights like your aileron linkage keepers. As I'm sure is the case in your part of the world, big and complex models are now very common so this process is also very common.
Regards,
Tim

Flight Risk

My Feedback: (1)

Tim, I find that really interesting about the heavy model certification in Australia. Usually here in the U.S. we feel over-regulated, especially when it comes to safety. Are you guy's down there required to wear seatbelts or motorcycle helmets? I think many Americans see Australia as wild and free. I would say that half the models that fly at our field on a weekend are over 15 lbs. with many over 30 lbs.. We are starting to pay more attention to our noise levels since we have a new housing development about a half mile away and the big planes with 20+ inch props are the big concern.

Rod S

mothy1946

Hi Rod,
Yes we do have to wear seat belts and motor cycle helmets. Both have been compulsory for many years (probably 25+)and non compliance is rare but also attracts extremely high finds both in money terms but also in demerit points. If you lose 12 points in any 3 year period you automatically lose your drivers licence for periods of 3 months or more. To give you an example not wearing a seat belt would result in at lest 3 points lost . Driving under the influence of drugs (we have random roadside saliva tests ) results in immediate loss of licence as does speeding more that 30k/hr over the limit. DUA for alcohol depends on your reading . .05 is the max.
Australia is not much different to the U.S. Physically about the same size most of the population living in major cities around the coast as the centre of the continent is vaste deserts and plains but extremely rich in mineral deposits. the North is tropical and the southern parts cold and wet (Seattle like)
Apart form the Australian accent I would suggest if you visited here you would feel very much at home. Despite the stereo type image of Australians being like Crocodile Dundee, I've never seen anyone like this any more that Americans are like Wyatt Earp or John McLane ( of Die hard fame). I've travelled extensively through the U.S. over the years and find our cultures very similar. I suppose that's one reason for our countries being strong allies and good friends for so long.

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

I casually know the actor that plays John McLane (Bruce Willis). He really is like that (in his own mind). <G>

But we know what you mean. I used to kid Europeans about believing that we Americans were like Starsky & Hutch. They always looked sadder after that, so I stopped telling them the truth. I guess I popped their bubble.

There is only one problem with building/owning/flying a 12' Telemaster - what do you do with it after you have flown it a couple of times? Few want to buy it because of the transport and storage problems that accompany such a large model. I guess a trailer hitch and a metal shed might cure those problems. Ever assemble a metal storage shed? Never again.


Ed Cregger

jbarnes

You gotta use the Giant as a sky diver dump as well as bomb bay for fun flys. For me its just a relaxing flyer. Although its not the plane you just throw in the car for a relaxing Sunday fly. You keep it in your trailer along with your socket set so you can put all those bolts on in a hurry. Guys in the club say thats the only plane they have seen a guy use a socket set on. Jerry

tsekoa

My Feedback: (2)

I use socket cap bolts ( Allen bolts ) on mine all around. I install 8 socket cap bolts to set up the plane. I use a small electric Skill screwdriver for installing them. I only have two servo leads to plug into the wings. One for each wing panel. I never remove the tail. I made a wing rack out of pvc pipe that hangs neatly in my Chrysler Town and Country minivan, I fold down all of the rear seats into the floor and have a large cargo area for the fuslage and all of my field equipment. When I get to the flying field it only takes a few minutes to set up. When I get home it only takes a few minutes to unload it, hang it from the ceiling in my garage, flip the seats back up in the van and I'm off to pick up the grandkids. Works for me.

mothy1946

Hi Ed,
As I get older, I forget things quicker so the every flight will be a new one!
Interesting to hear about Bruce Willis. Have just returned Die Hard 4 to my local video store after overnight hire. Next time you see him could you ask him how he manages to fall form great heights, jump out of speeding cars, ride on the fuselage of flying jet fighters. and survive a fire fight with multiple bad guys armed with machine guns and at the end of the day only have a few superficial cuts and scratches? I tripped over the dog this morning and nearly broke my ankle! Must be doing something wrong. Could be diet!
Tim

NM2K

My Feedback: (14)

I moved away from my home town some ten years ago, so the odds of running into Bruce again and pretty slim. But if I do bump into him, I'll ask him fer ye.

I hope everyone enjoys their 12' Telemasters this year. I have all of the small Telemasters and I keep threatening to buy the kit from Hobby Lobby for the giant one. Who knows? I've done stranger things than that before.


Ed Cregger

jbarnes

Well I finished my second Giant after losing the first one to a broken strut last Fall. Thought I'd post some pics. I modified the kit based on what I learned on the first one. Fuse is sheeted front to back. Additional longerons for added strength. Improved the strut mount plate in the wing by using ply ribs on either side of the plate. Replaced all tapped holes with blind nuts and used 1/4" cap head bolts for all connections. Added a bomb bay behind the fuse strut plate back to the first former behind the wing. Replaced all the strut straps with 1/8" thick T6 aluminum. G62 power like my last one, great combo! Hitec 5645's all the way around with twin 1400 sub c nicad packs in the front along with 2lbs of ballast. I'm going to die at least six months earlier from balsa dust inhalation sanding this thing!

Flight Risk

My Feedback: (1)

Is it just me, or did the photos in that last post all come in full size? They span the width of about eight monitors.[X(]
BTW. your plane looks great, but I have to do a lot of scrolling.

Rod S

mothy1946

Jbarnes, Thanks for the tips and the pictures. Your giant looks great. I've just been notified by Hobby Lobby that mine has just been sent so any and all tips are welcome before construction starts. I noticed from your photographs that you have made some other modifications particularly to the undercarriage. Aluminium legs and wheel spats. Both look considerably better that the original wire and bare wheels. Did you make up the u/carriage legs yourself or have them done and if so who did them. Are the spats yours or from another source?
I was tempted to use a DA 50 as a power plant because they are lighter and more powerful than the Zenoah equivalent ( Zenoah is tried and true but is also old technology now) but from the 2 lb ballast you had to add the heavier Zenoah may be a better choice.
Finally you say you sheeted the fuse from front to back. Was this on all 4 sides - top , bottom and sides?

vmsguy

No, it isn't just you. I've posted pictures a couple times, and the "full-size" thing happened to me too. I fixed it though. I went back and edited the post, deleted the pictures, resubmitted, re-edited and added the pictures back in. That seemed to do the trick. I do know that if a post is too old, the software won't let the original poster edit it.

I don't know if I'll build the Giant. I'm building a Senior now, and that's pretty darn big.

jbarnes

Mothy,
Wow, those pictures did turn out large, well it is a big plane you know! I"ll have to edit the post when I get home tonight. Not sure what I did wrong. The landing gear that comes with the kit is not strong enough in my opinion. Plus it is rather narrow for a wing span of 12'. I used T6 aluminum (1/4") and had new gear made that is 36" wide running Dubro 6" tires. The wheel pants come from Fiberglass Specialties, I added 1/4" ply plate to the inside of the pant and installed blind nuts to bolt the pants to the gear.

I sheeted the top and bottom of the fuse all the way to the tail with 1/4" balsa. On the sides I added two additional longerons. Again in my opinion the per plan build leaves you with a fuse that has a fair amount of twist available but also much lighter than my alterations. I also added a 1/4" ply plate to the rear for the tail wheel and put a robust tail wheel in the back. I also placed the rudder servo in the tail similar to what Randy did on his bird. I probably should have moved the rudder servo to the main part of the fuse and done a pull/pull setup to reduce tail weight. I never remove the tail so a removable tail was not a high priority for me.

The struts are built per plan for the most part except that I used trailing edge stock to sheet the ply struts to reduce the amount of sanding and shaping that was required. One key enhancement to the struts was the use of 1/8" thick aluminum strap instead of the 1/16" strap supplied in the kit. Don't use those thin straps, as you see in the thread several of us have had cracks show up in those straps. The strut plate in the fuse is per plan except that I added a 1/8" thick strap across the bottom to bring the attachment point out past the side of the fuse. Moving the attachment point out allows me to simply fold the struts back after removing the wings and leave the struts attached to the fuse during storage and trailering.

Regarding power. As you can see in this thread a variety of motors have been used. It doesn't take much horse power to get this big bird in the air. On my first Tele I used a Fugi 43cc and it flew fine but had no extra power if you got into a bad spot. Now remember, this is after all my mods and ballast which brings the plane into the 28 pound range instead of the 23 lbs per the plan. I swapped out the 43 for the G62 mid season and the change was dramatic, it would lift off in 50' and basically go straight up. Windy conditions etc. where you might get in a bad spot and need power was no longer an issue. I also fly at 5k feet so if you are at sea level I'd say the DA50 would give you similar performance as my G62 does at this altitude. As you noted, you may want to lighten up the tail to avoid so much ballast in the nose.

If there is any other questions you have don't hesitate to ask. I know I spend alot of time bugging Randy when I first built mine. Jerry.

mothy1946

Jerry, Once again for all the tips. It certainly makes it easier to learn by other people's experience.
I mentioned to one of the guys at our flying field today that ( and you probably knew this ) the Telemaster was originally designed to fly line across valleys in Europe for power line companies. Apparently light line was flown across and heavier and heavier line pulled across until cable finally. My source also said that the original telemaster was !44 inch span and was powered with a webra 61! Would that be marginal ?
Tim

rryman

My Feedback: (2)

Well, my money would be on the side that a .61 would fly it, given enough runway,although marginally!!!
Randy

jbarnes

Try loading these pictures again.

mothy1946

Jerry, a few questions. I've had a look at Fiberglass Specialists website regarding the wheel pants. It appears that their model number 44, 77, or 64 fit 6 inch or greater wheels but I can't tell from the profile pictures which you've chosen. I like yours because there is a fair bit of wheel exposed which would be good on our grass strip.
Next query. What brand of tail wheel did you use? Regarding the 1/4 inch sheeting on the fuselage do you think that 3/16 or even 1/8 would do the same job i.e to decrease the tortional tendency. The reason for asking is merely to reduce weight behind the c of g to reduce the amount of ballast needed up front. Last question ( for now) you installed 2 additional longerons in the fuselage. Was this one per side or 2 per side i.e a total of 2 or 4. I wasn't clear about this from your post.
Regards,
Tim

jbarnes

Hey Mothy,
I used the 64 wheel pant because I wanted something longer rather than taller. The wheel pants are just shells, you have to cut them to allow the axles to got through them. Therefore you can adjust the amount of wheel that his exposed. In my case I fly off pavement so I set them up for 1.5" of wheel below the pant. If you are flying off grass you may want to just forget the wheel pants?
I used the Ohio products tailwheel for 35 pound planes. Its probably not necessary for something that strong but what the heck.
I sheeted with 1/4" because it was easy. When you get the plans you will see that the front half of the fuse (top, bottom) is sheeted with 1/4" and then the back half has 1/4 x 1/2 stringers. The easiest thing to do was take the 1/4" all the way back. If you use something thinner you will need to put adequated stringers to get you to the 1/4" thickness so you match up with the front sheeting. Hopefully I'm making this somewhat clear.
Again, once you get the plans you will see the fuse is built with a longeron on the top and bottom and one down the center, the center one goes through the firewall clear out to the nose. I added a additional longeron on either side of this center one. So I have the one between the top and center and bottom and center. These longerons go to the 1/2" triangle blocks in the mid section. Take a look at Randy's pics on page 2 or 3 of this thread and you can visualize what I'm saying by looking at his fuse that is build per plans.
You could lighten the tail some by moving the rudder servo to the main fuse and using pull pull. You could also not sheet the fuse and instead use cross supports in 1/4 x 1/2 sticks to stop the twist. But, I'm lazy and decided to just sheet the entire thing. You also need to remember this isn't a Extra. Its a slow flying trainer basically. A bunch of ballast is not even noticed in this bird with its massive lifting capacity. I have even a better idea though, why not just put a G80 twin gasser in the nose? If you gotta add ballast why not put in some more power!
Keep us posted on your progress, Jerry.

tsekoa

My Feedback: (2)

Nice job jb. What did you use for covering?

tsekoa

My Feedback: (2)

Jerry,

Can you post some pictures of the drop door and mechanism? Also explain how it works if you would. Did you make the landing gear or who did? I can view the pictures fine on my computer.

Thanks
Bob

jbarnes

Hey Bob, The bird is covered with several miles of Ultracote (4" red checker, red, white) with vinyl graphics by BadBrad Graphics. Several folks have PM'ed me about the bomb bay. I should have taken some pictures of that build but I didn't. Hopefully I can explain it well enough that you can visualize the solution. In this case I had a area roughly 7" x 6" x 6"(tall) to work with. I built a box 6 x 6 x 6 with the bottom open. I then took the box and inserted into the fuse and attached it to the back bulkhead of the main cabin with the open end of the box flush with the bottom of the fuse. Remember, this bottom of the fuse in this area has not been sheeted. If you look at the bottom of the fuse you have the 3/4" fuse sidewalls with the box between them. I then built two 7" doors out of 1/4" lite ply hinged to two strips 3/4" wide such that the door was as wide as the fuse. I did two doors that open in the middle.

The doors are one inch longer than the bomb bay box that you installed. This extra one inch in length is where you mount your control horn on the door. You need one control horn on each door and you want them the same distance from the hinge line on each side so they open the same distance.

Now you grab a retract servo and mount it on top of the box so the servo arm overhangs the lip of the box at the end where your control horns are mounted to the doors. Make sure you have the servo shaft in the center of the box so that the travel you get is proportional. Now measure the distance the door moves from the close position to the open position. Find a servo arm equal to half that distance. Turn the retract servo on and mount the servo arm so it points straight up, run two 4/40 rods from the servo arm to the control horns on the doors. Flip the retract switch and bingo, the doors open. When you connect the 4/40 rods use a threaded connnection on one end of the other so you can make slight adjustments in each door.

I'll take some pictures tonight for you to help you visualize this a little bette. Jerry.

jbarnes

Here are some pics of the bomb bay, hopefully the pics along with my explanation will make it clear.