Nothing has happened on the Senior Telemaster this week. I have been busy at work and the temperature much to cold in the garage in the evenings to work out there. If I could spend a couple of full days on it, I could get to the point of final assembly and finish sanding. The only parts that are still totally raw are the wings. I bought myself a cheap .60 sized ARF to get my thumbs back with. I intended to learn to fly again on the ST, but after putting a couple of months into building and it will probably take another month to do the covering and finishing, I wanted something I was not emotionally invested in for renewing my skills. I couldn't believe I found one for $45.00 + shipping. The total bill to my doorstep was $66.00. No emotional investment there. I drug out my old Enya 60X from the early 80s, dropped a little oil in the glow plug hole before turning it over. After spending about 5 minutes getting it loosened up, I strapped it in the test stand, added fuel and glow ignitor and fired it up with a few finger flips. I love Enya engines. I'm going to use it on the ARF trainer when it arrives next week. It will do me good to get a little air time in before spring comes around. It's too cold to paint anyway so as soon as the covering is done, I'll be waiting for warmer temps before painting the ST. It's been a week since I posted and just wanted to let everyone know I was still alive and kicking...just been to busy to hobby this week...well, except for ordering a plane that is.

We've had a week of beautiful weather (in the 60s) and if I had not been busy building a new queen sized bed and assembling my ARF trainer, I might have gotten some work done on the ST. I'm really getting an itch to get back to it. Last I worked on it, I was installing Robart Hinge Points on the ailerons (5 per) and starting to sand the panels to final shape. I can't wait to get to the covering and start making this plane look like something. Maybe after this weekend, I'll have more time. I'll be using my can of polycrylic to finish the bed instead of sticking down fabric...sigh!

Keep up the good work.

I might have missed it, but you might consider enlarging that rudder. I added about 150% to mine....much better

I did enlarge the rudder, although I went up with mine instead of back. I'll post pics soon. I just finished up building a new bed for my wife and will have time to get back to airplanes now. Thanks for the input and pictures. I think I like the look of what you've done better than what I did.

Hey jdgt2,

How's the progress going on finishing up that ST? I've been following along and it look like you are on track to be ready for spring flying. You are doing a great job on the build thread. Keep it coming.

Here are a few of pics of the mods done on my ST during a restoration project last summer.

Wacked off the cheeks and double up the firewall
Installed an OS 160 twin (keep reading you will see why)
Installed a Sullivan twin on-board glow driver
Sheeted the fusaluge (no more twist here!)
Added more area to the rudder and elevator
Moved the servos for R and E to the rear (needed the weight)
Built a hatch and moved the battery to the rear (needed the weight)

Wing mods (done by Mike See, a good friend of mine)
Sheeted the center section
Cap stripped the ribs
Sheeted the wing from the last spar to the leading edge. (no more warp here!)

The modifications really stiffened up the fuselage and wing. The added weight did take a lot of the float out of the ST. The purpose for the mods were to haul RC Skydiver. Below you see the finished product in action at the Muncie IN RC Skydiver Rally 2008.

Dad Roman! You need to get yourself some John Deere graphics for that model! I love it. Now I'm going to have to do myself a yellow and green model. Somehow, a STM sort of looks like it's from the John Deere family even. Sort of a tractor of planes.

That's a beautiful plane! I like what you did with the wings. I'm thinking about doing the same to mine. It would never be easier than now. I've been working on home projects lately so no work on the ST. I built a queen sized bed for the wife out of some old reclaimed cedar fencing and now am replacing cheapo doors with knotty pine and making my own casings and trim. I'm almost done with my projects so will be back on the ST soon. Thanks for the interest and keep checking back. I'll be posting again soon.
Jack