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Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Air Models / August 2004Hobbico NexStar
A potential new member to our club was looking at the Hobbico NexStar combo setup for $400. Plane, radio, engine, flight sim, etc. I know the radio is on the low end, but what about the plane? How does it fly? Any other comments on this setup so I can help this guy out. John VB The only one I saw didn't fly very well. Three experienced fliers tried it out all managed a successful landing. The plane seems to want to climb at a very steep angle. Turns are very difficult to make. This being the only one I've seen doesn't say all of them are this way. | The only one I saw didn't fly very well. Three experienced fliers | tried it out all managed a successful landing. The plane seems to | want to climb at a very steep angle. I've never flown one, but this suggests that it's way out of trim or tail heavy. Neither would be the fault of this type of plane. | Turns are very difficult to make. This is harder to track down. Not enough control authority? Most trainers have very little, and that's intentional. Too much dihedral? I doubt that.  SignatureDoug McLaren, dougmc@frenzy.com I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man. --Chuang Tzu | | The only one I saw didn't fly very well. Three experienced fliers | | tried it out all managed a successful landing. The plane seems to | | want to climb at a very steep angle. | | I've never flown one, but this suggests that it's way out of trim or | tail heavy. Neither would be the fault of this type of plane. I'd forgotten about the autopilot thing. It should not cause this, unless it's somehow misconfigured or broken. | | Turns are very difficult to make. | | This is harder to track down. Not enough control authority? Most | trainers have very little, and that's intentional. Too much dihedral? | I doubt that. The auto-pilot could certainly make it hard to turn. SignatureDoug McLaren, dougmc@frenzy.com There are only three types of people in the world. Those who can count, and those who can't. > A potential new member to our club was looking at the Hobbico NexStar combo > setup for $400. Plane, radio, engine, flight sim, etc. I know the radio is > on the low end, but what about the plane? How does it fly? Any other > comments on this setup so I can help this guy out. > > John VB Do a Google search on this NG and you'll see that most folks aren't too impressed with the NexStar. It flies OK but the autopilot feature isn't what it should be. Your new member would probably be better off with a SuperStar or AviStar combo or some of the other trainers out there. Morris On 8/1/2004 8:37 AM Ted shuffled out of his cave and grunted these great (and sometimes not so great) words of knowledge: > A potential new member to our club was looking at the Hobbico NexStar combo > setup for $400. Plane, radio, engine, flight sim, etc. I know the radio is > on the low end, but what about the plane? How does it fly? Any other > comments on this setup so I can help this guy out. > > John VB STAY AWAY FROM IT !! The plane and engine are halfway decent. The AFS is a piece of junk and WILL CAUSE FLYING AND LEARNING PROBLEMS. The people I know that have the NexStar have turned off and/or removed the AFS system. At this point (without the AFS) you have a VERY overpriced RTF trainer. As for the flight sim, D/L FMS and get an interface cord for about $25 of EBay. I priced out two systems for someone yesterday at the Tower site. Hobbico SuperStar Thunder Tiger Pro 46 HiTec Laser 6 w/4 servos Total $330 plus shipping Hobbico SuperStar OS 46 AX Futaba 6XAS w/4 servos Total $415 plus shipping Considering the MAJORITY of trainers fly the same, why buy a piece of junk with a BASE LEVEL 4 channel radio when you can get a GOOD engine and a 6 channel COMPUTER radio for about the same money or ? Of course, some people have more money than sense and believe the company "propaganda". This is just my opinion. I've flown one of my student's, it flies well. Worth the dough. Comes with the simulator. Gave the student a boost in learning. CR > A potential new member to our club was looking at the Hobbico NexStar combo > setup for $400. Plane, radio, engine, flight sim, etc. I know the radio is > on the low end, but what about the plane? How does it fly? Any other > comments on this setup so I can help this guy out. > > John VB Steer him toward the Avistar. It's a much better aircraft for training. MJC > A potential new member to our club was looking at the Hobbico NexStar combo > setup for $400. Plane, radio, engine, flight sim, etc. I know the radio is > on the low end, but what about the plane? How does it fly? Any other > comments on this setup so I can help this guy out. > > John VB >A potential new member to our club was looking at the Hobbico NexStar combo >setup for $400. Plane, radio, engine, flight sim, etc. I know the radio is >on the low end, but what about the plane? How does it fly? Any other >comments on this setup so I can help this guy out. > >John VB The best trainer I have seen next to the Nexstar is the Alpha 60. Similar pricing. and nice flying. Throw out the autopilot on the nexstar, it will not help a student learn to fly. Also had the landing gear fall off a couple of times, it's a plug in poor design. Good Luck, Ray - Minooka, IL > >A potential new member to our club was looking at the Hobbico NexStar combo > >setup for $400. Plane, radio, engine, flight sim, etc. I know the radio is [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Good Luck, > Ray - Minooka, IL A couple of others that are nice are Horizon's Xtra Easy 2 combo and Sig's Kadet LT40. For something similar to the Avistar, Horizon makes the Arrow. Morris I'd go with the Hanger9 Alpha trainer. Great engine, good flying plane and a JR radio. What more could you want??? JMHO Jim W > A potential new member to our club was looking at the Hobbico NexStar combo > setup for $400. Plane, radio, engine, flight sim, etc. I know the radio is > on the low end, but what about the plane? How does it fly? Any other > comments on this setup so I can help this guy out. > > John VB > A potential new member to our club was looking at the Hobbico NexStar combo setup for $400. Plane, radio, engine, flight sim, etc. I know the radio is on the low end, but what about the plane? How does it fly? Any other comments on this setup so I can help this guy out. > John VB I have one. Paid $369 for it locally. I'm a beginner and am learning to fly with it now. It actually flies very well once it is trimmed out, and the plane has so much lift that it turns into a very good glider when the engine shuts off in flight. I am a bit disappointed in some low-quality components, though they have been fairly easy to fix. The biggest problem was my needle valve--Hobbico shipped it with the wrong needle in the needle housing. Compared to a known good needle, mine was a different taper than the needle housing permitted. I will be contacting Hobbico soon to see if they'll replace it for me. The radio is VERY basic. It will become a buddy box later on. AFS: I have never used the AFS, nor do I ever plan to. As a naive beginner I thought it would help me learn, but no trainer at the club would let me use it, so unless you're learning without a trainer it won't do much good. I have heard others with this model say the AFS system works well. Turned to maximum control, it will not let you bank the plane very steep, making it hard to turn. Turn the AFS control down and it's much more manageable. One big benefit was the flight simulator software and cable provided with the plane. It also came with a "how-to" DVD, about 45 minutes long, that went over lots of stuff I didn't know. Very useful. Email me if I can provide anymore info. -Steve in Phoenix. two_wheeled@hotmail.com Thanks for all of your very helpful replies. John VB Greetings, Just thought I'd post my experience with the plane as a new pilot. The package seems like a decent way to get into the hobby at first look but it does have its issues. The first problem I had with it occurred on a hard second landing of the plane when it was first being trimmed out. The snap in landing gear did not perform like they intended (at least I hope so). The landing gear snapped the internal plastic piece inside and broke apart the servo box. My more experienced friend fixed the plane for me by building a very secure base for the landing gear and attaching it to the bottom of the plane and recovered. After this was done the plane was good. The other problem is that like others mentioned the plane really wants to go up. One of the things noted was there wasn't enough down thrust put on the engine so we added some washers behind the top bolts on the firewall which helped a lot. The experienced pilots that were training me though still felt like the plane flew a little quirky. We tried it without the extra parts on it (the wing tips and full time flap things) and the plane then flew like they thought it should. Of course then it was much to fast for me and was not a good trainer so we put it all back on hehe. Finally 2 weeks ago during some practice take offs some wind got the better of the plane (and me) and I couldn't pull out in time and the plane became many plane pieces. Did I buy another one or fix it? No, and at this point I wouldn't recommend it to someone else. I purchased a Sig Kadet Senior ARF for my new trainer. My friend has a modified(it has ailerons) kit Kadet Senior which I had flown before and it was wonderful easy going plane. I would suggest the Kadet Senior ARF to a new pilot. The only problem I had putting it together was getting the thing balanced with the Nextstar's old OS .46FX. It was too tail heavy and my friend assisted me in producing some custom lead weights for the front. Roy Great. This isn't what I wanted to hear. :eek: I read the reviews of the airplane, and they all seemed to be lik 'this is the best thing since sliced bread.' So, I bought th airplane. My first problem is that I can't even get it put together! The win mounting system is off center, by as much as 2mm in width, and 1 1.5mm front to back. So, the wings have to go back to Hobbico to b replaced. As to the AFS, I'll reserve judgement until I can actually fly th plane. I expect to be putting in a few hours with the simulator between th time I ship the wings and the time I get them back. We'll see if tha does anything in the field when I get to fly. Of course, I have th huge handicap of being a real life pilot, and I've already heard al the problems I can expect because of that, so don't bother. :p In a month or so, if the airplane is still in one piece (meaning haven't intentionally flown it into the ground) I'll come back an report on my initial feelings. I'll also report on the instructor' view of the AFS. Gar -- GaryM Gary, Sorry to hear about the wings. Other than the problems stated, I have actually had much success with my NexStar, and Hobbico's warranty service has been very friendly also. Expect to do a bunch of adjustments the day you finally fly it. I'd like to hear how it goes when you get it up in the air. Good luck! -Steve. > Great. This isn't what I wanted to hear. :eek: > [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > Gary I started this thread because a new member wanted a plane to learn with. I put him on the buddy box a couple of times and didn't have to take it away once. He really does well for no previuos rc experience. So, we ended up getting the Hanger 9 Arrow. Hope it flies as well as the Alphas I have helped other people fly. John VB > Great. This isn't what I wanted to hear. :eek: > [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > GaryMC's Profile: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?action=getinfo&userid=37494 > View this thread: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=258675 > I started this thread because a new member wanted a plane to learn with. I > put him on the buddy box a couple of times and didn't have to take it away [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > John VB The Arrow is a good trainer, much like the Hobbico Avistar. I've only flown one for a newbie, and though it was faster and not quite as stable than the typical trainer, it had no bad habits. Y'all made a good choice. Morris > Great. This isn't what I wanted to hear. :eek: > > I read the reviews of the airplane, and they all seemed to be like > 'this is the best thing since sliced bread.' So, I bought the > airplane. Yes this is exactly why I bought mine. I think on first look the plane does look great and the reviewers just don't spend enough time with it. > My first problem is that I can't even get it put together! The wing > mounting system is off center, by as much as 2mm in width, and 1 - > 1.5mm front to back. So, the wings have to go back to Hobbico to be > replaced. I had the exact same problem. It must be a manufacturing defect. I just widened the hole till it fit together myself. I had far more trouble getting the tail together. They are insane if they think you can do it the way the instructions say. I ended up taking off some of the control horns so could get it all to fit together properly. > As to the AFS, I'll reserve judgement until I can actually fly the > plane. I never turned the AFS on once, and since the reciver was damaged in the crash it will never come on now hehe I kept hearing "You need to learn how to fly the right way" type things from reviews and stuff so I just left it off. I know it wouldn't have helped me in my crash that is for sure. > I expect to be putting in a few hours with the simulator between the > time I ship the wings and the time I get them back. We'll see if that [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Gary Good luck! I'm sure you'll have better luck than I. Roy Roy, I really am sorry that you had all the issues with your NexSTAR. have to wonder about the landing gear on the airplane, too. I put i together, and couldn't pull the landing gear off, but then I remove the gear, intentionally, and had the devil of a time getting it to loc back into place. Finally I did, with enough patience, that I can't ge it back out again without pushing the buttons internally. I hope don't have issues with the landings. I spoke to one of the instructors at our club, and his feeling is tha I shouldn't even install the speed flaps. He feels that is the caus of the problem with the high climb rates. For me, I don't like th attitude at which the airplane descends with them on, if the simulatio is to be believed. So, I won't put them on, but I will leave th 'droops' on the forward edge of the wings. I don't really have a issue with them being on there. As to the AFS, again, if the simulation is to be believed, I think I' going to set it at about 10%. I feel, from flying the sim, that a that setting, I have a nice stable, but 'control accurate' airplane. Of course, flying the real thing when my wings get here will be th telling. I will have an instructor at the flying field, and we will use a Budd Box, so hopefully that won't cause an issue. I am looking forward t getting this in the air, though. Thanks for taking the time to post again, and tell me of your issues. I asked Hobby Services to 'test fit' the wings before they sent them t me. If they don't fit, I may ask for your assistance on *how* you go yours to go together. Gar -- GaryMC You guys need to read the instruction manual. It talks about what will happen if you take off the brakes and leave the other thingies on and vice versa. CR > Roy, > I really am sorry that you had all the issues with your NexSTAR. I [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > Gary Hi All, My son (age 8) and I have been flying a NexStar since the spring. We have a great club in the area with multiple AMA instructors. The NexStar is configured with all the add-ons (speed brakes and wing tip extensions). We never used the AFS - my son and I had been flying the RealFlight Lite simulator for a while, and didn't like feel of AFS on the NexStar simulator. I was also a bit paranoid about varying light conditions at our field. We mostly fly in the evenings. Although the NexStar was close to flight ready after assembly, the club instructors helped make a number of control throw changes (the elevator needed much more throw) and balance the plane. We also quickly discarded the fuel mix limiter knob, and had help adjusting the low end mix. These "tweaks" took place over a few weeks of flying and breaking in. As far as our instructors were concerned, these were all completely typical adjustments and to be expected of any airplane. All the instructors believe the NexStar is a great first trainer. It has all the desireable flight characteristics of a trainer - slow stable flight, good lift, a little "mushy" to dampen out overcorrections, etc. If you want to learn on a plane with aerobatic performance, this isn't for you. As others have mentioned, there are a few issues to watch out for: 1. Check tightness of ALL pre-installed hardware. We've had two other NexStars show up at our field with different parts loose out of the box. 2. The snap-in gear is fussy, check it all the time. You might need to file off some of the paint around the holes (as per the instructions). Poking the spring mechanisms from the top with a long screwdriver also helps (as per newsgroup/website comments). 3. Install an exhaust deflector. We had fuel wick into the landing gear slot (right side). A rough bounce broke up the ply plate under the gear, and while repairing the damage I found plenty of fuel soaked ply and balsa. I can't pin the blame on the fuel, but it certainly couldn't have helped. 4. Another hard landing caused damage to the gear assembly again (no fuel soaking this time). IMHO (*NOT AN EXPERT*) the ply plate doesn't have enough give before reaching the breaking point. It also is weakened by the two access holes drilled to release the gear. I've replaced the ply with a same sized plate cut from a nylon sheet (approximately the same thickness). The nylon has plenty of flex and is probably stronger. We've had a number of landings on it so far - and so far so good. My biggest concern is that the nylon will flex to the point where the gear isn't held in against the spring mechanism. We still check the gear all the time. Finally, the bottom line is that the NexStar is a great beginner's plane. Read the instructions. Browse the newsgroups and web discussion boards. Get experienced help inspecting, trimming, adjusting and flying the plane. It is going to be a slow, stable, floater - just like a trainer should be. --Jay >Finally, the bottom line is that the NexStar is a great beginner's plane. >Read [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >--Jay Well put response. After all, these planes, no matter which brand or model all are TRAINERS. Their mission is to help you learn...about flying, about setting up, about saftey, about fixing , about tuning, about trimming, about repairing and recovering, about protecting the structure from fuel leaks and stresss of landings and about the things you are going to want in your next plane and the one after that and the two after that one and the ones after those two... Enjoy it all and the thrills and frustrations of a great hobby. Andy We can make a box of wood.....FLY!! Charles & Peggy Robinson Wrote: > You guys need to read the instruction manual. It talks about what > will happen if you take off the brakes and leave the other thingies on > and vice versa. > > CR Mr. Robinson, The manual doesn't really say anything that I wouldn't expect. It say it was 'optimized' to fly with them on. Sorry, no airplane i 'optimized' to fly with the flaps down. It may be 'trimmed' to fl with them on, but you probably should be trimming the airplane throug the whole flight anyway. I mean, that -is- what the trim is for. And, as I said, in the simulation, I don't like the way the airplan descends to the ground. It's just way too fast for my taste. I woul prefer to fly the 'longer' approach. My two cents. We'll see what happens when I put the airplane in th air. Gar -- GaryMC Jay, In reviewing your post, I've purchased an exhause deflector, and I plan on adding small pieces of monokote over the holes to prevent fuel from possible gaining access that way. I may also use a very small amount of RTV around the openings for the landing gear. You aren't the first person I've heard speak of issues with the gear. May I ask what your flying field runway is? Grass, asphalt, dirt? I hope that I don't have issues with it, because I would have no ideal how to fix it! :) As to the AFS, I don't know if I'll fly with it or not. If I do, it won't be over 10%, which probably doesn't amount to much help anyway. Hopefully the wings will be here on Monday. Gary SignatureGaryMC1 Hi Gary, >In reviewing your post, I've purchased an exhause deflector, and I plan >on adding small pieces of monokote over the holes to prevent fuel from >possible gaining access that way. I may also use a very small amount >of RTV around the openings for the landing gear. RTV was going to be my next solution if the deflector didn't do a good enough job. I was told by some folks that deflectors don't work well and that they never stay on. I found the simple DuBro deflector to be a major improvent over no deflector, and have fastened it to to muffler with CA and tie wraps (after cleaning the muffler with rubbing alcohol first). I still clean the gear between flights, just to be sure. >May I ask what your flying field runway is? I fly off of a fairly small grass field. Flying a standard pattern, crosswind, downwind and base legs are all above trees. I had to ask for repair advice the first time I broke the gear assembly. The very helpful instructor pulled out a knife and did some "surgery" right at the field to give me an idea of what needed to be done. Best of luck! --Jay I used a small hose clamp to hold mine on, and so far so good David I found the simple DuBro deflector to be a major improvent over > no deflector, and have fastened it to to muffler with CA and tie wraps (after > cleaning the muffler with rubbing alcohol first). SignatureIf we're not supposed to eat animals, why are they made out of meat? The deflector has a couple of ribs on the area that goes over the muffler outlet. I use a small piece of copper wire and loop it around between 2 of the ribs and then loosen the muffler lock nut and continue the end of the copper wire around the muffler bolt. Then retighten the lock nut clamping the wire in place. . Arne, USA . . > I found the simple DuBro deflector to be a major improvent over > > no deflector, and have fastened it to to muffler with CA and tie wraps (after > > cleaning the muffler with rubbing alcohol first). >The deflector has a couple of ribs on the area that goes over the muffler >outlet. I use a small piece of copper wire A couple of plastic wire ties cinched up tight has always worked for me. Of course, I don't use deflectors much since the extra back pressure may make the engine run hot. Dr.1 Driver "There's a Hun in the sun!" Dr1Driver Wrote: > A couple of plastic wire ties cinched up tight has always worked fo > me. Of [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Dr.1 Driver > "There's a Hun in the sun!" Isn't that just a matter of readjusting the mixture control to make i run a little richer? And, on top of that, with such a short piece o tubing, is it really going to make that much of a difference in th first place? Gar -- GaryM Well, the wings finally arrived today...or, at least parts of them! : When I contacted Hobbico tech support, I was told to remove the cente core rib, and ship the wings and the metal spar. I did. When I go the wings back today, the forward attachments for the stall control an the connections for the ailerons weren't included. :( So, I guess I'm going to have to wait for those, too! That may b another week. Well, actually, it won't be. I'm going to the hobby store in a fe minutes to buy the aileron attachments and then I'll just wait unti the stall devices arrive and if I've been flying and don't feel I nee them, I probably won't put them on. Maybe, -MAYBE- by this weekend, I'll actually be in the air! Gar -- GaryMC What a disaster! So, the wings come back, thankfully. The aileron horns aren't attached, as I said previously, but I went and bought some, and attached them. Now, this wing has a 'center core rib', a piece of plastic in the center of the wing that both wing sections screw into, and a metal spar for support. When I sent the wing back, I was told to remove the Center Core rib, which I did. When the new wings arrived today, they had another center core rib on them, so now I have two. Not a big deal, I'll just transfer the servo from one to the other. Now the Center Core Rib doesn't match up with the airplane! Take the new rib off, put the old one back on, shove, push, and grunt, and finally get the wings into that one, and finally, after what should have been a five minute process, hours later, I have the wing where it will finally connect to the airplane. An hour or so after that, I have the ailerons lined up and trimmed (boy, were they out!) and surprisingly, the airplane balances! HOORAY!!! Now, all I need is for the club training supervisor to call me/e-mail me/mail me and let me know who my trainer is going to be, and I can GO FLYING! Gary SignatureGaryMC1 Hi All, An update on my previous post about landing gear: My son is now learning how to land. Last night he had a somewhat bouncy landing and wouldn't you know, the gear assembly broke *again*. This time my nylon plate flexed enough to cause balsa damage. If it had been the original ply plate, it certainly would have split. I've now replaced the factory gear with gear from Klett Plastics. It has better flex than the aluminum gear, and is one piece. I can give more details on the modification if anyone is interested - but you might want to wait until its been tested a bit more... I "bounce tested" the gear in my basement, taxiied the plane around our bumpy grass field w/o wings, and did a number of take-offs and gentle landings. The real test will be when either my son or myself put the plane down hard! A side note: Remember to double check all hardware on brand new NexStars before flying. We had one show up at the field with a loose engine mount and an unglued elevator. --Jay Jay, For future reference, if I have the same sort of issues, I wouldn't mind seeing what you're working on for the replacement landing gear. Pictures, drawings, etc., all would be useful to me. I've purchased the exhaust deflector, and covered over the two holes on the bottom of the plane with Monokote, but I haven't done anything around where the gear extends from inside. Thanks in advance, Gary SignatureGaryMC1 > I "bounce tested" the gear in my basement, taxiied the plane around our bumpy > grass field w/o wings, and did a number of take-offs and gentle landings. The > real test will be when either my son or myself put the plane down hard! The plane wasn't designed to SPLAT into the ground that hard. What you shouldn't be doing is reinforcing the beejeezus out of everything. All you're going to do is cause the next weakest part to break, as you've already found out. If something is unreasonably weak, then reinforce it reasonably. Don't make it bulletproof, or you'll be sorry on the next hard landing. Eventually the plane will be bulletproof, but it'll be too heavy to fly. > A side note: Remember to double check all hardware on brand new NexStars > before flying. We had one show up at the field with a loose engine mount and > an unglued elevator. Good advice for ANY airplane. Hi Mathew, >The plane wasn't designed to SPLAT into the ground that hard. What you >shouldn't be doing is reinforcing the beejeezus out of everything. You're exactly right! However, I would think a trainer would be designed to withstand a few tough landings. I really think the NexStar's aluminum gear doesn't have enough spring to it. Combined with its two piece design, each gear arm acts as a lever and transfers almost all the forces to the plywood plate. For example, if you compare the NexStar's gear (aluminum stock) with an Avistar (wire), you'll see the NexStar's gear has very little give, and as such, transfers the forces to the next piece of the plane (the plywood plate). The Avistar gear has plenty of give, and people will complain that over time the wire doesn't hold the plane up high enough ;-) When I replaced the plywood plate with a nylon one, it wasn't meant to be stronger but to be able to provide little more flex than the plywood. It was held in by the same size triangle stock as the plywood, and it was the triangle stock that broke on our last landing. So, yes, in this case, the next weakest part broke. >If something is unreasonably weak, then reinforce it reasonably. Don't >make it bulletproof, or you'll be sorry on the next hard landing. Great advice - thanks! One of the guys at our field told me the same thing when I was talking over different fixes. I installed the replacement gear using four #5 x 3/4" wood screws, screwing into the NexStar's original plastic landing gear plate. I did not replace the balsa sheeting under the gear. Instead, I covered any exposed wood with monokote (to keep any fuel out). What I hope is: 1. The replacement gear has much more give, and should absorb mild bounces better than the original aluminum gear. 2. If we have a nasty landing, the #5 screws are small enough that they will pull out of the plastic plate before any real damage occurs to the plane. 3. Without the balsa sheeting to hide the gear hardware, I can keep an eye on how things are holding up. Any constructive criticism on these assumptions is more than welcome! - especially from anyone with more airplane experience and has seen the NexStar's gear set-up. I certainly could be out-to-lunch here... Thanks, Jay >You're exactly right! However, I would think a trainer would be designed to >withstand a few tough landings. It certainly should! The Nextstar is a poor design in several areas, IMO. Another fix for the gear is this. Replace the wire gear with aluminum gear of the proper size. Drill 4 holes in it at the corners to accomodate 10-32 screws. Install a 1/4" plywood plate in the bottom of the fuselage, the size of the sheet aluminum gear. Drill and tap it for 10-32 bolts. Use thin CA to soak the tapped holes. Clean them out with another run of the tap. Use nylon bolts to attach the landing gear. Now, on a hard landing, the bolts will shear and won't tear up anything, 'cept maybe bend the gear a little. Dr.1 Driver "There's a Hun in the sun!" FIRST FLIGHT!!! IT WORKS! Okay, here are the details. The airplane, because of the wings not fitting, is not equipped wit the leading edge devices. So, no extra lift there in case of a stall The Speed Flaps aren't installed, and the AFS is turned OFF. The OS .46FXi started right up, and runs nicely. We're using a riche mixture for the first gallon of fuel to go through it, but I gues that's normal for breakin periods. I was surprised how quiet the engin was at a little over half throttle. It has an 11x5 prop on it. Due t the concern of the landing gear, I've been checking it, and after tw flights, while cleaning the airplane, I found one of the gear legs n longer properly seated. I played with it and finally got it seated Since the instructor did both of the landings and takeoffs, thi concerns me greatly. I too, think that the gear in this airplane i going to have to be rebuilt. I was thinking something along the line of what DR1 said, build a plate into the bottom of the plane, and bol the landing gear to it with nylon bolts. I probably will, later on cut out the bottom of the airplane around the gear, and form a ne landing gear support box, and bolt the gear into place. Then, I'l screw the 'cover' over the gear box and bolts. My instructor didn't have the correct trainer cord, so we only had m radio to use. Not too much of an issue, he did the take offs an landings, and I flew in rectangles, right and left, back and forth ove the field. Ya wanna know something? That was just fine by me! I wasn' too sure I was ready for anything else. Maybe next time we'll have cord we can use, and I can do the T/Os and landings. My instructor feels there is a warp in the wing, because it won't tri out correctly. He's also very disappointed in the roll rate, and sai the control arm that's on the aileron servo doesn't provide enough rol rate to get you out of trouble in you get into a situation. Therefore he recommended that I install a straight control arm, which I di tonight. I may need to run new control linkages and brass clevises i place of what's on there. However, it is a very sweet flyer, in m opinion. What it'll be like this weekend with the new control arm, don't know. If need be, I'll put the old arm back on, and reset th linkages. I do have an exhaust diverter on the airplane, but there is still a lo of fuel around the right side landing gear, but we'll deal with that Maybe a little RTV to close the hole up some. I agree that the landin gear is a simple design, but I'm thinking a poor one, too. I'l probably write Hobbico a letter, and tell them what I think. This ma be the 'Ulimate Trainer' but it needs to get some of the bugs worke out of it first. As to loose screws and stuff, I found enough while I was assembling th airplane, and tightened all of the. We found that the elevator didn' give near enough throw, so the instructor suggested moving th connection on the servo arm out one spot, and moving the connection o the elevator down to the bottom hole. This seems to give us bette control authority in pitch. The throttle control was binding at ful power, so he asked me to change the control location on the carb, an use the bottom hole, and I set up the servo connection so there is n more binding. Other than that, I think I'm going to be happy with the airplane, but for $100 less I could have gotten the Hobbico SuperStar or Hanger Extra Easy, both which also would have fulfilled my needs, and then could have bought the Lite version of Real Flight with the differenc in cost. Gar -- GaryMC Well, I wrote Hobbico a nice long 'product improvement' letter. We'll see if it does any good, although honestly, I doubt it. Do hobby companies actually listen to their customers? Gary SignatureGaryMC1 |
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