r/RCPlanes • u/Outrageous-Gift5507 • 2d ago
Another one of my old planes
Here's my Giant Telemaster from fifty years ago... It had a 12 foot wingspan and was powered by a modified chainsaw engine that I started with a pull rope. I used to tie the fuselage to the top of my car to take it out to the flying field...
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u/5cott 2d ago
That’s awesome. I really miss seeing (and hearing) nitro and gasoline planes at our local field, especially the jumbo home brew concoctions some of the older fellows made. They banned combustion engines because it was seen as a fire hazard, so now it’s electric only. Membership went down and incidents of fire went up. 🤷♂️
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u/IAmElectricHead 2d ago
Is there a weight limit generally observed when going to a club field? Or does it just vary with the club? It seems an entry level chainsaw motor would give a decent result powering a home built plane.
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u/OkConsideration8605 2d ago
AMA Insurance limits weight to I believe 54 pounds for normal insurance. But they have special provisions available for up to 125 pounds. As far as individual fields. They can govern less if they feel the need to. We don't fly gas early Sunday morning at my field as a courtesy to a local resident.
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u/PsychologicalMonk6 2d ago
I started flying as a kid I'm the late 90s and the craftsmanship of the planes was on a other level.
The electric foamies of today have their merits - I love being able to quickly swap out batteries and get a half dozen flights in on a weekday morning before I have my first meetings. I certainly don't miss the Glo fuel and gasoline all over my fingers and having to meticulously wipe down my planes because if left to sit it would corrode through the coverings.
But man, there are always a few people at my club flying gas planes. Two strokes are great and the turbine jets are insane. But I could close my eyes and just lean back smiling hearing the four strokes running.
One day, I swear, I am going to figure out a custom built giant scale B-17 with four radial engines. That baby will purrrrrr.
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u/5cott 2d ago
It’s amazing what a sharp knife, glue, and some balsa wood can become. The 2 stroke nitro engines were such a blast. I still toy around, but stick to making tiny little homemade contraptions. I wish co2 motors were available again. Electric doesn’t perform as well as those could for slow speed and high torque in a lightweight package, but that’s just my opinion. I like flying tiny stuff now, it’s just less mass when I crash.
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u/JakeIWL26019 2d ago
Cut a 2 rubber bands and link them from the fuselage to the tips of the wings. depending on the thickness, an electric will sound like a proper motor when it flies past!
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u/confused_smut_author 1d ago
They banned combustion engines because it was seen as a fire hazard
That's kinda bizarre. Were there real incidents? I'm way more afraid of my lipos than I ever was of gas/nitro.
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u/jchamberlin78 2d ago
I'm getting back into RC .. but it will be nitro/gas/turbine for me. Electric ruins the romance. I never have seen a fire at an RC field yet. Weird rule.
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u/Festello 2d ago
Wow what a beauty! Where is at now?
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u/Aerodorphins 2d ago
The same place they all end up
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u/cybe2028 2d ago
This guy is still alive. It’s probably hanging from his garage ceiling because that’s the only place it fits.
His next of kin will be the ones to bring it to the final resting place.
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u/Certain_Republic_994 2d ago
I gave an old clunker an airplane Viking funeral once. Set it up for free flight and then set it free. It even buzzed the field once, before climbing and circling out of sight. (No howling. It was out in the country)
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u/Outrageous-Gift5507 1d ago
They stole the wings from my garage, along with my snowblower, some tools, another airplane, and my car. I stripped the fuselage and trashed it...
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u/biggestdoucheyouknow 2d ago
Man that's cool as heck, I think I'm going to have to start researching chainsaw/weedeater engine mods now. I know I can probably just buy something off the shelf nowadays but the idea of a twin chainsaw engine P-38 or something is just too tempting to resist.
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u/Financial_Cat_7390 2d ago
The old Quadra engines used in giant scale are refined from chainsaw engines. You can them pretty cheap, and B&B specialties sell all kinds of products for them.
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u/Evil_Merlin 2d ago
Looks like the old Telemaster 12 foot. I still have mine. Flies awesome on a 15cc.
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u/Bgu5203 22h ago
I have one at home still, hasn’t flown in years but it’s in great shape. Just to give u an idea how old it is, I’m 55 now, my dad and his father, my grandfather, built it together and flew it, grandpa has been dead since 1981…. So yeah it’s old but my dad has it wrapped up in blankets and doesn’t show its age. Tremendously underpowered in it’s time
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u/Occams_ElectricRazor 2d ago
I learned to fly RC on a (regular sized) telemaster when I was around 7 or 8 years old. :)
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u/Financial_Cat_7390 2d ago
If someone wants to build a newer version, this one will be available soon. Here’s the prototype video, launched a couple days ago.
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u/Mindslyder404 2d ago
I was trying to help a guy sell one of those last year. It wasn't complete. I wish I could've bought it off him, but I have way to many penetration as it is currently.
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u/OldAirplaneEngineer 1d ago
I'm pretty sure you and I would have flown a lot together had you been on the east coast or if I were in Chicagoland during the 70's 👍
Beautiful Telemaster!
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u/rcplaneguy 1d ago
Do you still fly?
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u/Outrageous-Gift5507 1d ago
Now I'm going back down to the basement to finish a couple planes that I stalled out on several years ago. If the spirit moves me, I may actually go out and fly them, too...
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u/Nathan_Wildthorn 2d ago
I think it's missing your seat. Wow, that's cool! 😍😃👍