Over the years since the I.M.A.A. began we have seen many giant aircraft designs come and sometimes go! Often times the models that are most interesting to us are one of a kind or original designs that are the end results of their builder's dreams. But what appears to be the "backbone" of our type of flying are the aircraft that have stood the "test of time." Examples of Giant R/C aircraft that appear year after year would be the Extra 230's, Cubs, Robinhoods and probably most familiar, the Senior and Giant Telemasters.
The large Telemasters from Hobby Lobby, in Brentwood, Tennessee, produce some of the most unusual pictures that appear within the covers of High-Flight. Most recently, the lead picture in the Oshkosh Rally coverage was that of a Senior Telemaster towing a 60' banner welcoming I.M.A.A. members to the Festival. And who hasn't seen an air-to-ground picture taken from a large Telemaster's airborne mounted camera? Yet at the other end of the spectrum were the two "Senior" members, who were brothers from Texas.
They made the trip to Oshkosh bringing both of their Senior Telemasters. What is most unique about Steve and Carl Thomas is that Steve is the "little" brother at 79 years old! Carl is 83 and they find the Giant models fit best into their lifestyle.
The large silhouette and slow speeds, of the Senior Telemaster, allow these brothers to continue flying and enjoying their sport ... R/C flying.
We made a call to Leo Rick, IMAA #5497, Beaumont, Texas, a friend who is building giant aircraft as a full time occupation. Leo has the reputation of building more aircraft than just about anybody (how about 45 in the past 5 years!) and we knew he had built several Senior Telemasters. Leo felt that the Senior Telemaster was a great flying model and "very relaxing." With his assistance we built and flew a new Senior Telemaster and now know why it is so highly regarded.
A call was made to Hobby Lobby and within 4 days the $129.00 kit arrived. With the experienced hands of Leo at the helm our box of wood soon began to take shape with the help of their 23 page instruction booklet. You get the idea of just what the Senior Telemaster was designed for when you read the first paragraph of the instructions. "Want to take your kid's pet mouse for a ride? How about trying some air-to-ground photography with either a still camera or a small motion picture camera'? The Senior Telemaster will do the job. Or how about some low and slow; flying around the field on a late Sunday afternoon just before sundown?"
During construction we found some changes from the
original Senior Telemasters that were made to simplify the
construction. The "barn door" ailerons were changed to strip
ailerons which are easier to build and set up. Also, the wing has
been strengthened with full length 1/2" x 3/16" strips running
along the front of the wing. Hobby Lobby says the improvements
in the wing have made it "almost strong enough to make
a diving board for the local swimming hole."
The construction starts with the wing and using the plans you build both of them at the same time. The wing has a flat bottom and can be built right over top of the plans on a flat bench or door that can be obtained from a lumber yard. The wing assembly is classic in design and has you start with pinning down the spars, trailing and leading edge pieces then slipping the ribs in place. Once completed, the wing is a 95" one piece unit.
The instructions swing you into the stab and elevator
construction next and they too are built up on top of the plans as
the wing panels were. The lines on the plans for the fin were
extended beyond the leading and trailing edge of the stab. That
allows you to find the lines and align the stab and fin when the
stab bottom sheeting is in place ... a touch that will be
appreciated by future builders.
The fuselage sides are assembled with one fuselage side built directly on top of the other side. This is an old free flight construction technique and using extended lines, drawn previously on the plans, construction goes quickly. We were pleased with the fit of all our balsa stock and fit pieces. Hobby Lobby has obviously sorted out any problems during their long history with this model.
Leo Rick described Senior Telemaster construction best; "The Senior Telemaster is a great way to get into giant scale flying. There are no surprises and no "Boo-Boo's" in this kit. The 23 page instruction booklet holds your hand all the way to take off. If you can't follow the detailed full size plans, with both wing halves drawn, then you need another hobby! This is the 5th Telemaster that I have built. One of these belongs to Bob Wilkerson IMAA #6220. Bob keeps a log book of all his flights and time in the air. To date, he has logged 181 flights with 55.28 hours on his aircraft."
Because High-Flight plans on using our Senior Telemaster for some extended, both video and still, photography we opted for a larger than recommended power plant. While the aircraft could be powered by a .60 two cycle to 1.20 four stroke, we installed an O.S. 1.60 twin with C & H ignition from Bill Carpenter. This was done for both power and reliability because a Senior Telemaster loaded with camera gear is too valuable to loose due to an engine out. A Tru-Turn spinner topped of the engine installation and the ignition system was easily hid inside of the front fuselage compartment.
Monokote was used to cover the modcl with white on the
wing and red on the fuselage. Leo installed aluminum strips on
both the leading and trailing wing edge to prevent the rubber
bands from digging into the wood frame. While we try to build
all of our review aircraft just as indicated in the plans, we would
strongly suggest you install a wing bolt system for installing it
to the fuselage. Rubber bands are a "pain" and you have to be
careful not to damage the covering or airframe when you install
and remove them. Wing bolts are easy to install with the
accessory kits (pre-drilled wood blocks) currently available. Plan on
doing this during wing construction.
The radio installation was ultra-simple due to the huge open box area inside the fuselage. We installed JR's new 347 PCM with NES 4021 servos and a SR 1200 mah battery pack was added. This is the newest radio in the JR line and we were duly impressed. The radio is built around the concept of one radio handling 3 types of aircraft (aerobatic, glider & helicopter) with a memory that allows for several model's specifications being stored at one time! It performed flawlessly throughout the flying sessions, even in highly congested Detroit flying fields.
Several members flew the Senior Telemaster during our
three day review period and it is just a beautiful flying Giant. At
times we had 22 mph cross winds but they would do no more
than lift the closest wing slightly. The aircraft would pull
through these winds, right itself about 20 feet out and go on with
it's "task." That is a good word to describe the Senior
Telemaster ... it is a "task" oriented large model.
As a trainer it is superb... that is certainly not a secret after all of these years. When used as a platform for either still or moving camera work, it is stable enough to produce pictures that can be reproduced in various publications. As a club plane that tows banners, it is an invaluable tool for public relations. Truly a task-oriented Giant model. It will be in the High-Flight "stable" for years to come because there are times when nothing else will do quite as well as a large stable model ... the Senior Telemaster from Hobby Lobby fits that category perfectly.
For further information contact:
Hobby Lobby International - Senior Telemaster 5614 Franklin Pike Circle Brentwood, TN 37027 P hone 615-373-1444 Leo Rick - Custom built R/C aircraft 5640 Calder Rd., Beaumont, TX 77706 Phone 409-892-0755 C.H. Electronics - Ignition systems for R/C engines Box 1732 Riverton, WY 82501 Phone 307-S57-6S97 Tru-Turn Spinners - Bar stock machined spinners P.O. Box 836 South IIouston, TX 77587 Phone 713-943-1867 SR Batteries - Custom battery packs Box 287 Bellport, N Y 11713 Phone 516-286-0079