Mini Telemaster Kit

I built the Mini as my first venture into electric flying.Was flying a .40 powered trainer previously and have built many kits over the years.The mini t/master goes togather well,the wing is prone to warp and the fuselage longerons are flimsy.The cover should not be shrunk really tight..Mine flew really well right off the building board.I scratch built another one from the plans,more power,ailerions ,stiffer wing and fuselage,less dihedral,3/32 sheet stabilizer.It weighs 25 ounces with a 1500mah 3cell.Larger wheels.This version has been the most flown aircraft in my collection and when it is worn out I will build another.A great small airplane.

I have built 2 of these. Had a little trouble with the first because the horizontal stab is a bit weak. Never the less I wore the thing out. On the second build I doubled the H Stab leading edge. This really beefed up the tail and made the plane more stable and durable. I lost the plane when I let it fly so high I lost sight of it and it flew away.

I am starting on my third soon.

Great kit, I really enjoyed building it and it flies great.

I added ailerons and flaps to mimic the setup I have on my Telemaster 40 (my all-time favorite plane). It gave me something like the Telemaster 40 that I can fly in a fairly small field near the house which is cool. I added a battery hatch on the bottom, I think that's a must-have. Every now and then I strap a pair of floats to it and really have a blast, nothing like a Telemaster on floats doing touch-and-goes on water. I should have made the wings bolt-on, one day I'll modify it to eliminate the rubber bands which are taking their toll on the trailing edge. I used Nelsen Lightfilm for covering which worked great, it is light enough not to warp the structure.

I built mine back in 2003 and use a Mini-Olympus gear drive and speed 400 6V motor I had laying around. I originally used 8 cell NiCads and NiMH (1100mAh), but now I'm using 2-cell LiPolys (2000 mAh). It flies great for me with this set-up, although most people these days would probably want more power.

Thanks,
Steffen

Pleasant kit to build. Would make the following suggestions.
1. Break plans up into 2 or 3 sheets. The one large sheet is clumsy.
2. Provide a chart identifying the many abbreviations used.
3. An elevation view of the tail assemble would be helpful.

Just let me say that this is a very good balsa kit. But not for the first time builder,Just because the instructions lack any pictures to go by. But if you have building time in it should be easy to build.The other thing is the wing will warp if covered to tight. But if you have never built a kit you can download a pdf file for the mini telemaster arf from hobby - lobby web site. thanks & happy building HH.Mote