Hobbico’s

NexSTAR MINI 2.4 GHz EP

Electric Powered Park Pilot Trainer

By: Eric Henderson

The Hobbico NexSTAR Mini EP is presented as an electric powered (EP), Ready-to-Fly (RTF) Park Flyer basic trainer airplane. The RTF version is a complete package that includes a 4-channel, 2.4 GHz transmitter with batteries, a brushless motor, electronic speed controller (ESC) and has the receiver and all of the servos pre-installed.

The NexSTAR Mini EP is the smaller brother of the larger, very successful NexSTAR EP electric-powered trainer and the cousin to its glow-engine powered NexSTAR Select trainer.

All three airplanes feature training aids, which include SpinControl® leading edge (leading edge droop section), airfoil extensions, and fixed SpeedBrakes® (airbrakes) that act as training flaps. They also all use the Hobbico-patented PivotFlex® wing mounting system which helps reduce damage in hard landings. The PivotFlex Wing Mounting System fastens with one nylon bolt and employs a rubber retainer and pivoting channel. A severe, unplanned airplane/ground interface will cause the wing to separate from the fuselage and reduce the damage from the meeting with terra firma.

The NexSTAR EP Mini meets all the aircraft requirements of the Academy of Model Aeronautics’ (AMA) Park Pilot Program. The aircraft weighs less than 2 pounds (the Program’s upper weight limit) and has a level top speed under 60 mph (the Program’s upper speed limit). For complete Park Pilot aircraft details, follow this link.

The AMA Park Pilot Program offers non-AMA members the opportunity to become AMA members at a much reduced cost. Park Pilot membership includes a great magazine “Park Pilot”, $500,000 personal liability insurance, $2.5 million liability insurance for the flying field owner (see insurance details) and membership in the world’s largest sport aviation association – the AMA. For complete information and details about Park Pilot membership, just click here.

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The completed NexSTAR Mini EP shows the leading edge droops that prevent stalling of the airplane when you fly too slowly. The airbrakes are designed to allow the pilot to use the power of the brushless electric motor without going too fast. Both devices are basically held on with adhesive tape and can be removed as your flying skills and your confidence improve.

BOX CONTENTS

The NexSTAR Mini EP comes in a carry box with a clear picture and content specifications. The parts were very well packaged and showed no signs of shipping damage. The box and molded foam protector can be reused for storage and transportation.

The box shows the NexSTAR Mini EP on a picnic table. To do this review, the assembly was performed on a picnic table at the local flying field. The radio is a Tactic 2.4 GHz spread spectrum radio that will not interfere with any other model radio. This is great for the pilot because there is no longer any worry about radio interference at a local club or in a park area.

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The picture on the box shows all of the goodies that include the brushless electric motor, the electronic speed controller (ESC) with built-in battery eliminator circuit (BEC) to power the receiver and servos. Also shown are the SuperTigre brushless electric motor (BL) and the SuperTigre three-cell Lithium Polymer (Li-Po) battery.

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The NexSTAR Mini EP box contents are all that you need to get a remote controlled airplane into the air. The description uses the words RTF (ready to fly). Except for tightening a few bolts, sliding the wing halves together and installing the landing gear, this aircraft is truly ready to go. This small amount of work allows the airplane to be packaged in a reasonably sized box.

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The fuselage comes with the motor and the nose gear leg already fitted. The stabilizer has the elevator and control horn already attached. The fin also comes with the rudder and control horn attached.

The wings are hollow and are of balsa wood and plywood construction. There are two servos already fitted and connected to the aileron control horns.

The wing comes in two halves that are joined with a carbon-fiber tube and two screws through the center piece. One retaining screw had already been fitted to one wing panel in photo 12.

ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT

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There is a very small collection of hardware that comes with the NexSTAR Mini EP and that is all that is needed: A molded main undercarriage with the wheels already fitted, a carbon spar tube/rod for the wing, screws for wing retention, a white spinner, and a propeller.

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The Tactic radio system is pretty basic as is usually true for smaller RTF airplanes. The four channel transmitter has no dual rates. The trims are of the ratchet type. The transmitter does have reversing switches for all channels which could come in handy should the radio system be moved to a different aircraft later in the pilot’s career.

There are three lights that tell you the condition of your transmitter battery. If the green one goes out, stop flying or do not fly, and change the batteries. Of course, the transmitter uses the newest frequency range, 2.4 GHz. For more information about this revolution in RC systems, read the various Sport Aviator 2.4 GHz articles in the Flight-Tech Section.

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The NexSTAR Mini EP comes with its own Lithium Polymer (Li-Po) battery and charger. The charger uses a 12-Volt car socket or equivalent. (A lot of people use their portable roadside automobile “Jump Starter” units - just remember to charge the unit back up when you get home).

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The stock battery and charger connector are probably proprietary. I changed them to EC3 style connectors to allow the use of several of my personal spare battery packs.

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2.4GHz transmitters use less power than the earlier 72 MHz units. The TACTIC transmitter only uses four (4) AA dry cell type batteries. That is all it needs as the batteries do last for an extended period of time.

CONSTRUCTION TOOLS

The NexSTAR Mini EP requires only a small Phillips-head screwdriver. No glue is required whatsoever. When you open the box, the first thing you might want to do is charge the Li-Po battery. It will take longer to charge the battery than it will take to build the airplane.

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The first thing to do was fit the main wheels. The NexSTAR Mini EP comes with a molded main undercarriage that is held in place with two (2) screws. The main wheels were fitted first to allow the fuselage to stand up by itself.

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The horizontal stabilizer and the vertical fin interlock and then just slide into place in the slots provided in the rear of the fuselage.

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Photo 25 shows the stabilizer and fin screws in place prior to tightening; just snug them up and do not over-tighten. (If you are never going to remove the stab and fin you could wick in some thin CAA).

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The elevator and rudder pushrods are already installed and connected to the servos. The connector to the control horns is a unique device that uses one screw to tighten the clevis onto the pushrod. Once a lot of flying had been done, and the flight trims established, a drop of thin CA was added to ensure that the connectors did not or could not move on the pushrod.

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Care has to be taken when installing the propeller and spinner. The propeller must not touch the outer casing of the spinner cone. You need to spend a little time tightening the propeller in different positions before the spinner cone is screwed into place

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No, the propeller tips were not damaged in shipping. They both come like this to help improve efficiency and lower the noise levels. The tips proved to be very quiet at full throttle.

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The carbon fiber spar provides good strength in this wing with very little weight. A small screw keeps the wing together using the center plastic bracket/fairing. One 5-mm screw holds the wing in place for flying.

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There is a hatch under the fuselage for the Li-Po flight battery. The hatch is retained by a magnet. Some self-adhesive Velcro was added to the battery to stop its moving around in flight. There was already some Velcro installed in the battery box.

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For test purposes, the optional flaps were added. Just peel off the self-adhesive backing and place them under the wing. They proved fairly easy to remove at a later date.

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The anti-stall LE droop devices were already installed. The receiver was already installed and held in place with Velcro. All I had to do was plug in the aileron servo leads to the receiver’s extension Y-lead, screw in the wing bolt, and was almost ready to go.

One task, a very important one, still required was to line up all of the control surfaces and set/check them for neutral. You need to switch on the transmitter and plug in the Li-Po battery to the airplane. [BE SURE TO HAVE THE THROTTLE STICK IN THE LOW POSITION AND/OR THE PROPELLER REMOVED].

The NexSTAR Mini EP has a safety program built in to the ESC that requires you to apply full throttle and then low throttle to activate the motor, BUT, it is always a good idea to play it safe!]

Set all of the trim levers to their center position and then, using the screw in the pushrod connector, adjust each control surface to put the flight control at a neutral (or centered) position.

If the Li-Po battery is fully charged, you are now ready to fly.

As a frame of reference, the Li-Po battery took an hour to charge while the whole assembly process took only 21 minutes. This time included taking assembly photographs. That is amazingly quick by any standards.

TIME TO GO FLYING - AT THE FIELD

The three views of the completed and really ready-to-fly NexSTAR Mini EP illustrate how attractive this airplane is. The airplane’s bright color scheme is easy to see in the air.

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This two inverted photo shows a good view of the airbrakes. Note the holes that allow air to pass through without causing any lifting action that could become a problem as the aircraft changes airspeeds.

Here is a peek underneath at the control hook-up, the air vents that help cool the motor, the speed controller, and the battery.