I bought it because it told me to.

 

According to the chap in the club this particular version of the Telemaster 2000 is the only one in the world. Because of this I was prepared to pay a premium. This premium was along the lines that “you promised you wouldn’t buy another one and where on earth is that going to go?” Sometimes us chaps find that out heart rules our head. This would explain why I have had to build a workshop in the garden, trade the car in for something bigger, and promise all the housework will get completed this side of the next millennium. Still, there is something magical about this particular beast, although after carrying the b****y thing half a mile to the patch magical is the last word I would use.

 

Why did I buy her? Initially when it appeared at one of the meetings I was interested but didn’t have a suitable four stroke to fit in her. This was remedied when an ASP 70 four stroke was purchased for a bargain price along with two other motors (I say bargain as my wife may well be reading this). So the deal was done, servos installed and tested, and last but not least the motor was “crafted” into place. ASP engines are clones of the OS range and suffice to say it fitted with no modification required whatsoever. This particular ASP is a 70 four-stroke turning an APC 13x7 prop. Now run in she is a beauty and will almost allow the 8lb monster to prop hang.

 

I’ve been flying a year or so after a gap of almost twenty and I can honestly say that this is my favourite model. She’s no acrobat but has fantastic presence, a gorgeous engine note, and with flaps deployed can almost hover in a fair headwind. At some point the digital camera will be installed so that I can fly past and see myself grinning Cheshire cat style.

 

Also available in blue / white.

 

After a couple of flights I couldn’t believe how quickly the fuel was being burnt and I naturally assumed that the rich running in mixture was to blame. Not quite. It transpired that the flight trolley whilst being pulled at an angle was causing the fuel to spill from the vent in the cap. So now that the fuel is the other way around in the flight box I don’t expect to see this happen again. On a positive note if we ever get fog bound at the patch all I need do is light the blue touch paper and retire, the trail home will become evident.

 

Indoor model

 

During a regular trawl of the web and spurred on by someone telling me they’d bought one when they hadn’t, I came across a model called the Kyosho Minium.

 

No it’s not a giant hand.

 

To be honest on first inspection I wasn’t too keen on it. The transmitter is very cheaply made and the servo travel isn’t what I’d call fully proportional. But once in the air (or should I say hall) my initial doubt turned to adulation. This little beauty was so graceful and almost “poetic” that I couldn’t wait to recharge the tiny Lipo. For those of you interested the Minium comes ready to fly as an all in package consisting of: -

 

 

All ready to go – just add eight AA batteries, charge and go. Four batteries live in the transmitter, four in the charger / base unit.  The tiny Lipo push fits into a slot to be charged. Once the LED goes out she’s charged.

 

No shoes to be shined here. Lipo is on the right complete with tag to allow retrieval.

 

As mentioned earlier the transmitter really lets the package down. I know it’s 2.4 GHz but considering you can buy Silverlit X twins for under £20 and their transmitter feels a little better I think Kyosho should either drop the price (which no doubt they will) or upgrade the TX. What’s the problem with it? The plastic feels cheap, the throttle stick has no ratchet and is free to travel across all axis, and as it’s centrally sprung it only allows a controllable range from centre position to top. Still most of us don’t look too often at the TX whilst flying so I suppose we can live with it.  At the end of the day the whole package currently costs around £80 although this is already being discounted. I’ll leave you to decide whether you like it or not.