Well, I got Sun_Kissed_Girl's Nexstar to fix, whoop-dee-doo! There is a problem with the control surfaces; the control surfaces can wiggle ever so slightly up and down, and I checked the linkages, and those are nice and snug. I checked the holes in the control horns on the servos and the pushrod wire, and those are also very good fitting. There isn't any play between the clevis and control horn on the surfaces, or the pushrod and control horn on the servo. But I noticed that the top gear in the servo was wiggling when I wiggled the control surface, so I thought maybe the screws were loose, and they were a little bit (maybe 1/8th of a turn loose) and I tightened them down, but the wiggling was still present. Now I'm thinking that the bushings that support the top gear are at fault, as they are S3003 servos. This happened to my Avistar as well, but I never really noticed it. With SKG's Nexstar, it constantly needs retrimming in the air. So is my diagnosis correct, and should I replace the servos with ball bearing servos, or is there something that I oversaw that might be the culprit? Thanks in advance for your help!

I was thinking maybe I should pick up [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXXD61&P=Z]a pack of this[/link] to solve the control surface wobble problem.

depends on which surface the rudder and elevator or the ailerons? my NEXTAR had a problem with the ailerons, they loosened up at the torsion rods, they were not glued in and had loosened up allot,caught them just in time I had to channel out the wood around the wire and filled the void with 5 min. epoxy, since then they have been rock solid.
the 3003 servos aren't that bad the 3004 are ball bering are a little better they are the ones I use in all of my other models if you are able to move the control horn without hearing the motor sound there is some slop either a gear has worn or the teeth are worn or worse broken, REPLACE asap the 3004 servos run about 12 $ the 3003s that came with mine are still in great shape, unless they are broke or super loose save the $ , if they are broken and you are not comfortable changing gears in a servo just buy a new one of course. also the push rods are not exactly stiff or anything prettty weak if you ask me they have a little flex in them for sure.
once trimmed the NEXTAR should fly its self you should not have to touch the trims for the most part the thing floats like a balloon

I would not think that the servo's are your problem. You say it needs retrimming all the time. Is that for turn or climb. I would as suggested check the ailerons. I would also make sure that the push rods are secure for the elevator and rudder. As for the 3003 servos they are famous for some slop on the top end. The 3004 are are the same as the 3003 with the exception of ball bearings. I would check the servo's under a load and make sure the gears are good. Good Luck, Dave

Hi!
How long are your control arms?? They should be as long as possible!
And how long are your servo arms? They should be as short as possible.
Many make the mistake and hook up the stearing system to the lower holes on the the control arms! This is a No No!! Always have as long control arm as possible and as short servo arm as possible.

Regards!
Jan K
Sweden

Echo what bigtim had to say. If it is the ailerons your talking about, mine did the very same thing. A quick fix is to poke a bunch of little pin holes all around the area where the torque rods go into the ailerons. Then you can use thin CA to wick into the pin holes around the torque rod. It's a little unsightly but you can put a small white patch to cover the pin holes. This method works pretty good & is much quicker & easier than re-grooving the torque rod channel for epoxy. Allthough Tim's method is probably a stronger & more permanent fix. That is exactly what I was gonna do until a buddy tipped me to the pin holes & thin CA. If it is the ailerons you should hear a flutter whenever you start to ring it out a bit. You can check it very easily by just getting a hold of the torque rod & if you can wiggle the aileron, then you've found your problem.

Now the flip side of this is that she has been on that NexStar for a good while now, has she thought about using the engine & radio gear out of it for a 4* 40??? [sm=idea.gif] Just an idea.

I think you already are but also be sure to use the dual servos too. One for each aileron.