stormexplorer

Hi All,

Yesterday I flew my Nexstar for the first time after removing both the "air brakes" and the "wing droops". All I can say is let your instructor fly the plane first after this major modification. I live in Colorado so maybe the thin air at a mile high was the difference but the plane wanted to dive, dive, dive.

I took off expecting minor if any change (That's what everbody said would be the case). I took off with a normal takeoff straight down the runway and climbed and banked to the left to a reasonable height out in front of the runway. As soon as I let the position of the joy stick go to neutral for the elevator after the turn and takeoff climb out the plane took a big dive. I recovered from the dive and released the elevator to neutral again and the plane dived again. I was still trying to understand what the heck was going on! I thought darn I'm going to have to trim this thing. Thank goodness the ailerons were still ok. With the wing droops gone though the plane now responded quickly and dramatically to any aileron movement and was flying fast. I was all over the sky as I fumbled to trim my first airplane. I will make a long story short, I got the plane on the ground and didn't break anything. I've had to change the elevator probably 7 to 10 degrees up elevator to trim the plane (This is just my experience, yours maybe different).

For an experienced pilot (I only have 27 flights, 15 solo) this situation is probably no big deal. I have a Super Stunt 40 for a second plane and have flown it twice and thought I was ready for the change to the NexStar. But for a novice or newbie like me this scared the tar out of me. In the next two flights I did get the plane trimmed out. The plane definitely fly's faster. Aerobatics were not in my mind after the scare so I can't comment on that performance change. The plane definitely rolls more quickly however (don't bang the joy sticks as the instructor say). Also so I found I needed to get off the throttle well ahead of my final turn to line up with the runway for landing, the brakes must really work.

The NexStar is probably more high performance than we know with the training aids removed. I would recommend not to be in a hurry to pull the the "air brakes" and "wing droops" off unless you air just totally board. When you do be ready for a step change in speed and roll rate i.e. snap turns and performance.

Thanks Brad

Dewalt17

Brad,

Thanks for the 411. I removed my speed brakes a long time ago but have left on the wing extensions. Now, the manual and alot of people here on RCU have said if you removed both they cancel each other out. I found this hard to believe, but what do I know im just a new guy. Mine wanted to dive badly with just the brakes removed. And yours dives with both of them removed, which is what I thought would happen. I think my wing extensions are coming off this weekend and we will see what happens. I am soooo ready for another plane but i think I will wait a while longer. Hopefully with the wing extensions removed I will have sort of a new plane again.
That makes the Nexstar 3 planes in one!!!!!

Happy Landings,

Sean

stormexplorer

Thanks Sean,

The key point that I wanted to make is that if you're a novice and tweek your NexStar by removing the Air Brakes or the Wing Droops be sure to have an experience pilot fly the plane first and trim it out. As a novice I wasn't really prepared to have to retrim the plane myself and felt lucky not to have put the plane into the dirt.

Thanks Brad

Dewalt17

Excellent point indeed!!! I had been flying without an instructor for a while when i took my brakes off, and it did pucker me up pretty good. If I had someone flying with me that day with more experience I would have gladly handed over the controls. So im with you on this one, Nexstar owners beware!!!!

SENZA

Thanks for the heads up brad,I was intending to remove my wing tips soon,ive been flying with out my brakes sense day one.I wonder if this affects the cg when removed im going to check mine before my flight. before and after..... I bet the Adrenalin was flowing when that happened i haven't flow alone yet ive always had my Friend who taught me with me.sean did you add up elevator with the trim.I would be curious to know how much was added and where was the elevators positioned after?

Thanks bill

rc-sport

My Feedback: (12)

The brakes not only keep the plane slow but create lift like flaps. If you had the plane trimmed for level flight with them on of course your going to have to retrim the elevaor for level flight. Once you get the plane trimmed it fly just as good as before.

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

I have seen this on a couple of Nexstars at the field.
There should be a caution warning in the manual

rc-sport

My Feedback: (12)

Today a young flier showed up at the field with his Nexstar and he had removed his airbrakes. I alerted his instructor about what I had read and he made the adjustments on the ground, things went well. Thanks for the heads up.

stormexplorer

Hello rc_sport- RCU,

That is great. I'm glad his instructor adjusted his plane. The NexStar is a great plane it just needs an experience flyer to retrim it after removing any of the training aids.

I flew my Nexstar again today (3 flights) after removing the "air brakes" and "wing droops" as I described the other day. I had another more experience flyer take it off and check it out before handing the transmitter back to me. I had it trimed pretty close mechanically after adjusting the clevis's at home. The NexStar is going to be a great trainer. It is relatively fast and more aerobatic after removing the brakes and droops. Rolls are quick. Loops can be large diameter( 40 ft. ?) and powered all through the loop, not as meshy at the top. I'm trying to get my nerve up for a vertical stall and hammer head and possibly inverted flight.

Thanks Brad

Mile-Hi Flyer

Hello,

We're just down the road in Aurora at Mile Hi R/C.

There are several NexSTARs at the field. They seem to be multiplying like rabbits; however, I did manage to "kill one!"

One of the NexSTARs is flying naked; no fixed leading edge or trailing edge devices. It flies fairly well; however, its not a docile trainer at that stage.

One of them is flying around with just the leading edge devices.

Mine has the leading edge devices installed. Additionally, I'm using a Futaba T6EXA with six servos. Just messing around, so I installed dual aileron servos and flaps. While the NexSTAR manual called for 6" flaps, I was missing a hinge so I moved out to the 10" mark. They work fine. Also, since the thing seems to yaw quite a bit during banks, I mixed in 15% rudder with the ailerons. Now the nose and the rest of the aircraft head in the same direction! I know, I could have simply applied rudder manually with my turns or tweaked the differential in the airlon setups. Since the radio gear was capable of fixing the yaw, I went with the easy route.

At half throttle crz, you can get the start of a loop with flap deployment. The start of the loop is okay, the finish needs a bit of work. Resembles more of a hammerhead-turned-belly flop!

I don't see many, if any, NexSTARs flying with the AFS activated.

gbzflyer

My Feedback: (2)

I trimmed out a new members Nexstar Wednesday afternoon. After the first takeoff, the plane wanted to bank right and climb. The plane was trimmed for level flight and then landed. I noticed that the elevator, at neutral, is in a slightly downward angle. This may be caused by the airbrake and wing extensions. I can imagine that if you remove these, the plane will want to dive due to the lowered elevator trim setting.
Thanks for the heads up. I'll remember to tell my student what to expect when he removes them in the future.

Mike

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

I am glad to see the word getting out.

Jumpnjoe

Thank you Stormexplorer! I removed my speed brakes and leading-edge extensions yesterday after 30 solo's with my NexSTAR and left it trimmed for level flight at half throttle. I got on the buddy box for 1 flight and thank god I did. It wanted to dive like crazy! My instructor had to land pretty quickly and we ended up taking out 3 revolutions of my elevator on the clevis. We got it back up and it was nearly perfect. Now after you remove these devices your landing pattern (at least mine did) will change dramatically. I have to idle down A LOT sooner, and now I want to overshoot the runway.

So thank you everyone that warned against this. I would surely have crashed if I hadn't buddy boxed the flight after I took off these devices. Hobbico says that they will "cancel each other out" or that trim will be minimal if both are removed at the same time. Not in my case they weren't. Thank god for this site.

speedkingnick

CLEVIS PIN PROBLEMS ON A NEW NEXSTAR SELECT PLANE!


I have a Nexstar Select in the following configuration: Wing Droops on, Air Brakes Removed, AFS Disabled.

Yesterday was the maiden flight. Clear sunny day winds 5 to 10 mph. Working with an instructor on a buddy box system.

This is what happened:

Plane took off fine and we trimmed it out just fine. We had to keep it at 3/4 to 7/8 throttle to keep it from diving. The plane was balanced perfectly prior to flight. Halfway through the flight the plane experienced shudder and we lost some functionality. Upon landing (no crash - whew!) We noticed that the clevis pin for the aileron broke. So BE CAREFUL OF THOSE CLEVIS PINS. I am going to replace all of them with metal ones today.

It also appears as though the plane runs rich. I will have to look at that in more detail.

Good Luck!

Nick

buckskin

Once you get the Nexstar trimmed without the brakes & wing droops you are just getting started. When you get used to the faster performance the fun begins!!! I soloed with mine last June and I am still finding things it will do. Including inverted with very little down elevator, flat circles, beautiful hammerheads, and believe it or not Knife Edge. I am working on my 7th airplane and I still have a blast flying my Nexstar. But, take the extras off 1 at a time. It makes the changes more progressive, and before you make any changes practice trimming in flight.

bruce88123

You have removed DRAG generating devices, what else could you expect? More speed at the same power input and less drag to slow you down during approach for landing. The underwing flaps generated drag and tended to make the wing attempt to rotate to a more positive pitch thus requiring down trim for level flight. Removing the flaps means removing that trim. Same thing happens in many full scale planes when they extend landing flaps or landing gear, gotta retrim the plane.

scottsey

My son has this plane for a trainer and we removed both items yesterday with the same results.
Fortunately I have flown for years and was giving the plane its first flight after removing the air brakes and wing droops! It did want to take a nice dive and my son might have put it in the dirt had he been flying. But after retrimming in the air the plane performed great. I was really impressed with how it will fly inverted now with very little down elevator. This has been a great trainer plane for my son. He wants to try an Uproar 40 for his second plane. If anyone has flown one of these let me know what you thought of it.

shakes268

I have a Nexstar and never put any of these devices on (ARF does not come with the AFS). The plane from the start seems and still does fly great and lands easily. Since I never used the devices I can't comment on how they effect the flight but I do know that this plane scares me to death to take off! By the time it's danced around the runway, shot left or right and gets in the air I'm so nervous I have a hard time flying it.

Due to the take off issues, I've already switched to my second plane. Granted, I can fly the nexstar inverted, snaps (slowly with the high wing) and some other things so I guess I was ready but the Tiger 2 I have takes off like a dream compared to my nexstar. I even removed some of the right thrust in the nexstar to see if it would help but it did not alleviate the problem.

britbrat

shakes -- make sure that the nose-wheel linkage is tight (I'm sure that you have done this). Make sure that the main gear isn't bent so that the wheels toe out -- they should be straight, or slightly toed-in, for tracking. Make sure that your nosewheel steering is set to the least sensitive configuration -- servo-end of the pushrod in the inner-most hole in the servo arm, & in the outermost hole in the steering arm at the nosewheel. The Nexstar is normally a *****cat on take-off (except in a crosswind).

shakes268

I'll check the mains but its not just on the runway, it's also the first few seconds it leaves the ground - the plane darts like crazy. 3 seconds into the climbout, everything settles and it flies great! It's not just with me, its also with the 2 instructors that taught me. It seems as though every nexstar that has been out to our field has shown the same behavior. The most common question I get is "How's the take off?"

I'm not too worried about it at this point, I flew the Tiger 2 all day today and enjoy it WAY too much right now Better performance, quicker response and the landings are like a dream with that plane.

britbrat

Interesting -- I fly Nexstars at every weekly training session & have never experienced that behaviour. Is the rudder throw excessive -- that plane only needs a small amount of rudder throw.

shakes268

I don't think so, its set to what the manual states - used a accuthrow gauge to set it up.
Taking off at half throttle lessens the effect but anywhere above that, it goes nuts. Are you take off on a very long roll out with half throttle or less?

Pilot Chad

My Feedback: (4)

The superstar was like that, new gear, problem solved, yet to taxi with the new stuff reinstalled. But i will have fun on takeoffs to an extent, I like to keep it on the ground and let it raise itself. I am very iffy on pulling up on the elevator after my crash. Can't wait to fly again

britbrat

I start the takoff roll at part throttle to establish the track, then quickly accelerate to full throttle, while correcting for any lateral drift -- nothing unusual. The Nexstar is sensitive to steering inputs, but it is not at all unmanageable.

I suspect that you are overcontrolling & are even lifting off with too much rudder input -- that would cause the initial in-flight wobbles. Try reducing the rudder throw & keep your hands calm during take-off -- it doesn't need to be manhandled. Most of the Nexstars I fly have the nose-gear bent out of line from hard landings & require some sort of correctioin on taxiing & take-off, but a light touch is really all that is needed.