Hey wheels!! Ive got a nextar and have had major problems w/ the tri landing gear. Ive thought about making it into a taildragger but dont know were to start. Taking the dihedral out of the wing was a great Idea. coud you tell me a bit about where you put the forward gear. was it just behind the gas tank.. thats where it looked like it could go to me but what did u do?


Buy the way it looks awsome!!!

maybe you could put some black and white stripes on the top of the wing like those Piper Cub bird dogs in the Military?...

SpitfireAce......I have some pics of how I did the landing gear. I think you will see by the pics how I did it. If not, let me know.

Yeah I think I can tell how you put the front gear just behind where the gas tank is inside.

Maybe, (if its not too much to ask) you could measure back from the front of the fuse on the bottom of the plane, to the area where you put the gear?

Also, I geuss you just screwed the gear into a piece of like 1/8 ply?


did you take all the covering off of the plane before re-covering in the sweet new bird dog trim scheme?

Ha! Sweet man! [sm=thumbup.gif] [sm=thumbup.gif] [sm=thumbup.gif]

SpitfireAce.......1/8 inch plywood would not be enough unless you glue several peices togeter. I would guess the thickness from front to
back is a piece I built, about and inch thick, and tapered up along the fuse. I'm sorry its not right in front of me, but doing it this way it is
a little bit thicker than the thickness of the landing gear. This way I have plenty of hardwood to screw the landing gear into. I prob should
have drilled up through it and used plastic screws just in case, so the plastic screws would just break in the event of a harsh landing.....but
trust me.....installing them where I did, this thing lands like a piece of cake . If you look at the photo again, you will see which bulkhead I
glued up against and then also I run some pieces up towards the front along the side of the fuse to the next bulkhead forward, just to give
it a little more strength. Trust me....if this thing ever breaks.....its going to take the fuse with it, thats why it might be smarter to use
plastic screws so they might break (only) and not damage the rest of the set up.

Hope this helps

Thanks Wheels for the info on the wing setup and the pics of the landing gear mods. Your solution sounds easier than what I thought. I was planning to not use the plastic piece and the rod. I was going to take a bulk balsa and shape to the wing profile. Attach the wings on each side of the block and fill with fiberglass and epoxy, drill a hole in the rear for the nylon screw, and place a rounded dowel end at the front for attaching to the fuselage. My concern in this design was the strength of the wing not having anything "tying" the two wing halves together and the potential for in flight failure during a higher g force manuever.

Once again thanks. I'll give it a shot and let you know how it turns out.

ok.....I liked keeping as much of the factory attaching mechanism as possible. Also, was very concerned about strenght. I think the way I
did it, it will be even stronger than factory setup. Also, even tho the wing struts I installed were purely for looks, they could also add some
security in the event of a serious crash I guess. But now this plane flys so well.........if it crashes......it will be my thumbs to blame now !

very cooooooooooooooooooool

Man what a great looking birddog. I,m going to rip my wing apart on my nexy and flatten the wing. add a wing strut and give it new color. sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet

Wheels, At this point I'm just gonna sound like a broken record of what everyone else has allready been saying, but I'm gonna say it anyway. That thing looks great, & it's even more impressive that it flies great too! You should really be proud of the job you've done. I spent 4 yrs in the Army (long time ago) and I never thought I'd hear myself referring to anything OD green as purty, but that is a beautiful Duck!![sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif]

Britbrat, nice cowl you made for your student, wanna make another one? If so pm me please thanks.


Mark

Cool.. round the vertical stab over a bit and it's a dead ringer for a Bird Dog!

Thanks again guys........its been awhile since I posted this......and every now and then it pops back up. Thanks again.

I have a brand new Nexstar and I can't want to get some damages so I can do the same as your. Probably happen sooner than later as this is my first plane.
Ditto what everyone else said. Sure looks nice. Almost like something you would need on MASH or Black Sheep.

Jay

CLpilot.....yeah......helps if you crash 'em first.......then you feel like at least you have nothing to loss......or at least thats the way it
was for me.

Looks awesome Wheels.

Well I have started my conversion. I flew yesterday and had 6 flights in when things got soggy. I could not figure out why my trim was changing every flight and the engine would miss every now and then when it never did before[] So I put it in a hard climb till the engine quit, it was the only time it would miss. Never on the ground did it miss just in a climb. So I glided the plane down landed perfect on the ice runway we plowed and took the wing off I suspected a cracked tank. I was half rite the screw for the tanks rubber grommet was loose and fuel was running out of the tank into my nexstar soaking all the foam in the fuse I pored out about 6oz of fuel. went home took off all covering on fuse to let it dry out (the covering was coming off anyway I had alot of tape on it already) So the conversion begins I'm thinking of changing the tail to a round one to make it look like a stand off L-19 Its a cool idea( nexy-19) any thoughts!!!!!!!!

Lureman.......well ..... sounds like the way it all started for me. Not a fuel problem but.....A CRASH. Once you have a big problem and
have to fix something anyway, its a real easy decision to go a little wild and try something new.

I like the idea of the L-19 look. In hindsight, I wish I would have put on Invasion stripes, and am still thinking about it. Also, I need to
come up with a new idea for wing struts that are quick and easy to install at the field, and yet look good. Still working on that.

Post some pics as you go, would love to see the progress.

Nice Jpb on the plane!! Glad to hear she flys well!!!

NO BRIGHT COLORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just put the black and white invasion stripes and the blue and white national insignia on it and fly it. Here's one in Air Force Colors, if you need more ideas http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/air_power/ap46.htm

Wheels I have most of it torn down already. I fixed the wing with less dyhidral and I have the landing gear glued up. I put in the same place you did. Now I'm looking for a cowling to fit over engine. this weekend I'm going to start the tail feathers its going to be the most challeginng of the project. I'm going to put flaps in to why not its easy

Lureman......SHOW SOME PICS.......would like to see it.

Hey wheels I'm going to start a new thread I'm going to call it Nextstar to NEXY-19 I do not want to steal your thunder here. I will take a lot of pics and post them with the build or should I say rebuild lol I have to find a digital camera or I'll have to do it the long way with film anyway I'll start this weekend with the pics and see how far I get. This I think will be real helpful to others with nextstars have a HAPPY NEWYEAR I think about your warduck alot it is truly awsome

Lureman........well....thanks again for the compliment.......I will be looking for you r NEXY 19 thread. I also have another NEXSTAR that
is wrecked and in need of repair just setting on a shelf. Havn't decided what to do with it yet.....maybe you can show me some things
on your NEXY and give me some better ideas........will be watching for the thread.......

HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR......