dkf1979

Well, a few months back I bought a Nexstar off Ebay. I joined my local flying club. Met with a few people from the club adjusting the control surfaces, attended a couple meetings. I then met with an instructor and took my Nexstar for its maiden flight.
Well, the past few months my plane has been sitting in the closet. I haven't had the time to make appointments to meet with the instructors and learn to fly. So today I decided to take into my own hands. DURRR.
You all know what happens next. I took it up to a local school yard. No one is around. The place looks huge. This has got to be a safe place to fly. I start it up. Taxi around the field a few times. And its time to take to the air. You know what? That school yard isn't nearly as big when you get that giant Nexstar up in the air. I flew it around safely in the air. Was doing barrel rolls and figure eights. (thanks to the simulator) Landing is another story though. Coming into land looks good, about 20 feet off the ground i kill the engine. This plane doesn't want to land. It's built to fly. Anyways next thing I know I'm out of room heading straight for the swingset. So I pull up lose all my inersia, and have a hard, but ok landing. No damage anyways. Time for flight number 2. Gas her up, check the battery, everything looks good. Take off, flying the barrel rolls, loops, even inverted flight. Landing is another story again. Coming in, same senerio as before, kill the engine about 20 feet of the ground. Plane just don't want to land. Next thing I know I'm headed right for a tree, turn to the left, theres the chain link fence. My nexstar is now out of commision. Not to serious I don't think anyways. Basically I broke the engine bracket, and cracked the front a little. So it's gonna be a while before my next flight. And you know what? I might just FIND the time to go with an instructor to the flying field. []

Flightfreak777

dont kill the engine! lol if ya see something go around and try again, but definetley dont kill the engine.

~Matt

Righty

what flight freak said!

and what kills me is after your first landing blunder you go up again! that kills me!

dkf1979

I hear ya. The engine looks to be ok. It still turns over the same. Such as compression and just overall feel. Thank god!
Official damage report. Well I'll see what you all think. Here are some pictures. I did a range check after the crash, and all the electronics appear fine. It looks like the only hardware that was broken was the antivibe mounts for the engine. That cracked and allowed the engine to give when it impacted. The front part of the fuselage is cracked as you can see in the picture. Looks as though some epoxy will do the trick. And part of the fuselage that cradles the rear stabilizer is cracked also. Again, I don't believe that will be to hard to fix.
Let me know what you all think as far as the damage. Any tricks or advice on repairing it?

ZimboRaider

Thats going to leave a bruise!

Tough luck, but at least it is repairable
I know what it feels like, I pranged my instructors 3-channel trainer before I got my own. Luckily not much damage. Just keep at it[8D]
Zimbo

Campy

My Feedback: (1)

Make sure the firewall is securely attached. In fact, this is a good time to go in and add 3/8" BASSWOOD or other HARDWOOD TRI STOCK to reenforce the firewall. If the firewall is loose, pull the fuel tank and make sure it isn't damaged. If the tank is not wrapped in foam, now would be a good time to do that. (It reduces/eliminates foaming of the fuel caused by the engine vibration)

The nose doesn't look too bad. You should be able to CA that together. Make sure you peel back the covering somewhat so you can see any additional damage, same with areas on the horizontal stab and rear fuselage area. I would add some 1/4" balsa or basswood tri stock to reenforce the nose pieces also. Make sure the horizontal stab (Elevator) has equal distance from the main wing, is level and is level with the main wing. If you have gotten fuel on the wood, K2R will remove it. If the covering is MonoKote, you should be able to buy self adhesive trim strips (4"x36" ) in the same colors.

After all the repairs are done, MAKE SURE YOU REBALANCE THE PLANE.

dkf1979

Thanks. Some good advice. I'll look into everything you guys have spoke of. Looking at my pushrod for the throttle. The pin that is on the connector broke. I'm looking on tower hobbies and think I found the right thing. Anyone know if Great Planes Nylon Clevis 2-56 would be the right connector for the pushrod? Fortunately it looks like it's only gonna cost me about $10 to fix it. Shew!!! Better luck next time?

bobbykokinos

Hey, I dont mean to hijack your thread, but it is possible you could do me a favor?? Take a picture of your front landing gear from under the plane looking up at an angle?? So I can see the cream colored plastic mount it goes into with the screw?? If you could show as much as possible, from the coil in the strut all the way up, I would REALLY appreciate it.

I got the Nexstar ARF (crashed the first one) and I am having trouble with the front gear.. Just want to make sure I have it on right.

BAMAFLY

Yep! Whatever you do, find a proper flying field and an instructor. You really can`t imagine how much room these things really take. Get a good idle, practice enough to get a good mental picture of what a good approach looks like and then if you`re not comfortable with what you see on approach, power up and go around. That engine`s on there for a reason!

dkf1979

No problem. I actually had this view. Hope this does it for you. She's a little dirty from mowing the grass. Haven't had a chance to clean it up real good.

bobbykokinos

Thats what I need!! THANKS!!!