My first nexstar during take off, it would stay fairly straight. Well, I accidently crashed it and got a new one. It came as an ARF so I put it together.

The problem I have with this nexstar is it tracks to the right a bit on the ground, which isnt too bad.. A little steering correction fixes it.. But as soon as it comes off the ground, it wants to go to the right REALLY bad.. It doesnt really bank to the right much but it seems like it just "moves" to the right (hard to explain). I have to get it left to keep it from flying over the pits.

Any ideas what may be wrong?? Could vertical stabilizer be crooked?? Rudder be off?? Engine mount problems??

Check your rudder and make sure its perpendicular to the horizontal stab when your radio system is turned on.
How to check is run a straight edge ruler over the vertical stab. The rudder should be inline with the vert stab.
Then, using a carpenter square or whatever you have that is a perfect 90 degrees, check your rudder/vert stab to make
sure its perpendicluar to the horizontal stab. I'll bet that they are not correct and that would be the reason your
going off to the right.

Dave...

This is a Nexstar problem -- there is too much right thrust. Shim the engine with a popsicle stick under the right side of the engine mount.

When you say "under" the right side, do you mean "behind" it? I ask because I own a NexStar, and it was doing that... so I adjusted the nosewheel a bit, but I'm still not happy with it's takeoff veering to the sides.

Loosen off the bolts holding the engine mount to the fuselage and if you want to use the popsicle stick put it between the engine mount and the firewall on the right hand side to get the engine pointing more to the left and tighten down the bolts. I actually prefer using the round washers with the hole in the middle. Try using 2 washers between the firewall and the engine mount on the 2 right hand bolts. Washers won't crush and you can add more or less to change the thickness and thereby change the angle of the mount.

Too much Right thrust might be the problem? Does it also seem to track to the right while in flight? did you need a lot of left rudder trim to achieve stright flight? If so I'd agree with the right thrust diagnose if not. Here's a couple of other suggestions

The nose wheel is straight. gently add some toe-in to the mains by bending the mains slightly forward. The control throw between the servo arm the the steering arm is too "sensitive" deaden it by moving the pushrod connection to the next outermost hole on the nose wheel steering armd and do some taxi tests if you run out of holes on the sterring arm move the pushrod to the next innermost hole on the servo arm. On combination or an other should result in a less sensitive easier to control take off run

Assuming that the nose gear and the rudder are controlled by the same servo, if the plane was steering to the right on the ground AND turning to the right in the air, I would remove the control arm from the servo and move it one spline position to the left. After that, I would test it's steering on the ground. If the plane tracked better on the ground, then, and only then, would I take off and see if the the problem in the air is solved.

Scott

I am having the same problem except the instructor says it happens more often at full throttle in the air. Could this thrust problem be causing this to my plane Thanks for any help.

Hi Guys:

On the nexstar I have had one for about 2 months, a lot of quirks to this one.

1. it doesnt need full power for take off.
2 if you apply full power it will veer to the right.
3. if you take off the flaps you will need to adjust the elevator up.
4. The best thing about this plane is the engine, it runs great and lots of power to spare.
5. For a trainer skip it and get a Lt 40 or a goldberg eagle 2
6. The plane looks great on the ground and once you learn all the quirks its okay, lucky for me I had some good help from the local experts, and it was my second plane.
7. Oh yeah pitch the flight assist system, just creates bad habits.

This is just my opinion and I am new to the hobby, but I have been flying one for a couple of months and been reading the threads, for someone starting out I would recommend something else.

Good Luck

I recently got back into the sport after a few years off and decided to try the Nexstar for a quick re-entry. Before I even started the engine, I checked the C/G and all adjustments for proper alignment and still something was not correct. On the first taxi, I found the same problem with a turn to the right during taxi. I corrected it with a quick adjustment at the servo. I then taxied it some more and that problem was gone. I then tried a take-off and just after leaving the ground, the plane made a severe turn to the right, not as much of a bank as with aileron but more like rudder, which was in line with the fin. Fortunately, I was able to avoid a crash. Then the plane did something very unexpected...it took off for the sky at an almost 45 degree angle with the elevator at neutral! It took full elevator trim down to attain level flight (well almost level) at half throttle with out the flaps installed. It also would not bank to the left in a light cross wind. After cutting the throttle to idle and making a right turn back to the field, I had to force the plane to nose down with a fairly large input of down elevator to get it back to the field. At full idle and the sticks at mid-position the plane would not lose altitude to come to a landing. Because the handling was not good, I decided not to add power and go around but instead let it go as far as it wanted until it came down. Just before it came to the ground, a gust of wind caught it and it just didn't miss a light pole. So much for #1!

I have now acquired a new Nexstar that I hope to fly soon and have again checked it out as much as possible. As I have built several great flying planes in the past, I think I would have seen any obvious problems but nothing stood out. I believe that this was just a fluke as everything I have read on the forums about this airplane is that it flys a bit nose heavy instead of a bit light as this one did. I will make sure I have much more room for error when I try this one.