Well, I spent the bucks and the package arrived yesterday. So, I have a question for the Nexstar owners out there. And here goes: Is it necessary to tighten the engine bolts and everything that holds the engine and muffler in place further, using thread lock? Everything came completely assembled in the engine compartment, including the prop and nose cone, seemingly all tightened. I'm not sure if they should be disassembled and inspected or not, I'm assuming that the model is ready out of the box, as per instructions. Well, let me know what you all think, and thanks. I don't plan on operating the model for at least another week, just the simulator for now.

NorfolkSouthern

Nah, just let all the loose stuff fall off and you can replace it later with new things.

Kidding aside, it's always a good idea to go though any ARF or RTF and verify everything is tight and straight. I see no need for thread locker though as that would just make servicing tougher later.

Then after your first weekend of flying recheck all of your screws for security and make it a habit to periodically check them for the life of the plane. Even with thread lock these things will find a way to work loose or break or wood to deterioate.

Check your firewall and tank areas and decide if you wantr to fuelproof them better or not. Much easier BEFORE fuel gets on them. Also check all of your clevis's for correct installation as I have seen then incorrectly attached at the control horns. "Pull test" on all of your hinges.

In other words - do a VERY thorough check of the plane and assume nothing is correct until you prove it for yourself. Better to waste a little time now than to waste money later.

I agree with bruce88123 and will add a few things. Make sure you tug on your main gear before every flight. I had a problem 1 time where one leg came off when I pulled on it. I have not had a problem since.
I use thread lock. It's not difficult to remove the bolt later if you need to, just requires a little more muscle.
You may want to fuel proof. I had a leak and did not notice it until the wood was very soaked. I used kitty litter to soak it up and am still shaking granules out! Overall I love my NexStar and still fly it occasionally.

From what I understand on the gear the plastic tabs in the fuselage gearbox don't always fully drop into the engagement holes in the landing gear legs due to paint buildup on the legs. You need to be careful about that. Perhaps push on the tabs from inside the fuselage or remove a bit of the paint so the tabs engage easier. Many threads on this if I recall. Many accounts of Nexstars losing gear on takeoff or in flight, make sure secured. Some even epoxy them in.

ill add one point. make sure the front landing gear is seccure. mine and a few others that i had talked to the front landing gear was bezeled at the wrong angle thus causing the plane to taxi at an angle. if you have this problem i would suggest refiling another flat spot on the landing gear and get it set straight to begin with. also most folks dont hook up the flight stabalization system. leave the wing tips on till you learn. and myself i wish i had trained without those flaps.. but if you do install those flaps and get the plane trimmed out just right, when you romove them the plane will be way out of trim. so you might want a trainer to remaiden your plane after the flaps are removed.

Good point. I also read where some had to re-drill the hole in the gear leg to make it slightly larger so the tabs would snap in easier.

Well I didn't have any of the above mentioned issues with the landing gear. When I installed them I could feel them snap into place real well & pulled & tugged on them with no problem. They are still strong as ever today. Make sure you know that they are locked in good though. I went over all the bolts in & around the engine compartment & found them all to be very tight & ready to go. The place I spent the most time, & this pays off well, is in hooking up the pushrod linkages to the control surfaces. If you take the time to get them adjusted mechanically it will trim out that much easier for you when the time comes & will fly sraight & true. Turn on your radio & move the appropiate stick for the surface you are hooking up. Move the stick back & forth, make sure the trim tab is at neutral. This will get the servo centered out for you. Then make sure the control surface is at neutral as well. I use painters tape for this. Just tape the surface to the wing so that it stays perfectly at neutral. Then adjust the clevis so that when you hook it to the control horn the control surface does not move at all. When your done, the trim tab on the radio should be right in the center, & the control surface should be flush & neutral to the wing, Vertical stab for the rudder, & the horizontal stab for the elevator. If you take the time to do this for all three control surfaces, you should end up with a perfectly aligned airplane that flys good. Hope this helps & good luck!!

Norfolk....
I owned a Nexstar as well. Awesome trainer.....hands down!! You will have a lot of fun with it.
Like the other guys told you already...check the pushrod linkages..make sure they are tight, so nothing will come off during your flight!!
Check the Servo screws..make sure they are nice and tight.
Check the engine mount, just to assure the engine is tightly mounted. don't go overboard though.

Also...trim the ailerons before take off somewhat....most of the trimming you will have to do during the maiden, but I had some adjustment to do on mine.

Good luck,,,,welcome to the hobby...

when I first got my NEXTAR I definatly had to file the holes in the landing gear to get them to snap in . also with the flaps installed you need a bit of down elevator trim to get level flight when you remove them you/your instructor should re-trim for level flight and like the rest have said check all bolts after several flights my head bolts were loose the ones on top of the motor just a bit but they needed snugging up a bit also the antenna wire needed to be routed out of the fuselge to get it to pass a proper radio check your instructor will go over that for you . other than that this is a great first plane a real floater easy to fly and land it helped me on my way for sure

Thanks a bunch for the info, folks. I have really enjoyed the simulator so far, and am learning how to do the figure 8s on the computer. Also, landing and takeoff is getting easier as I spend more time with the program. So far, the model seems like it's good and tight. I ordered an extra set of nylon bolts for the elevator and rudder, as I ended up taking the tail assembly off and reassembling it during assembly. The nylon bolts seem good and tight, but from reading the manual I am somewhat concerned about any possibility of stripping after too much tightening. Has anybody here had any issues with the tail mounting system?

NorfolkSouthern

HERE ARE THINGS I found wrong with or had to replace on my nexstar after 1 yr of checking.
Bent aileron rod/ assembly,lower rudder stuck out 1/4 inch to the bottom left, top and center ok,binding throttle linkage,aileron servo arm cut wrong, replaced. instead of skiping 1 of the star arms linkages were attached to adjacent arms rudder servo still doesnt center, not recentered as of yet any suggestions?, all surfaces out of ajustment as much as 1/2 inch from factory,replaced left wing as it had bent control arm, replace remote needle valve assebly the black part broke at screw joint bakelite looking stuff, thats all i've found so far. o'm sure i left out something so ill probly edit this later yep forgot this 1 nose wheell binding at firewall had to modify. wheels will need replacing fuel seems to be eating them up as there are already holes in them and 0 flights so far

Comment for any RTF RTR RTC ARF:

I go through the manual like I am building it, step by step getting to know the object of R/C. The models may be great but factories make mistakes. Metal on metal always gets Loctite, unless it interferes with it's operation, then use a new locknut. Inspection when I am done flying/driving R/C so repairs/adjustments can be made before storing and next adventure.

If its the rtf version, epoxy the wings together dont rely on the screws. Run the engine at least 2 tanks before you fly and check for leaks at tank. Also I reccommend glue on tail feathers dont rely on the bolts there also.Above all fly with a instructor its to pretty of a plane to loose. Mine is going on 3 years and waiting for a new pilot.

If not already done, grind a flat spot on the nose gear wire where the set screw for the control horn goes. This will help prevent your nose gear from slipping.
Make absolutely sure your airplane balances correctly either to nuetral balance (balanced exactly level to manufacturers recommendations) or just slightly nose heavy. some nose heaviness is ok, any amount of tail heaviness is bad.
Make sure the control throws are correct (how far the control surfaces move) if they move too far or too little it will make the airplane difficult to handle.
Most people will recommend you do not use the AFS system. I agree with them.