Official Nexa 1870mm DHC-6 Twin Otter Canadian Yellow (Balsa ARF) Discussion Thread

[arkreal1]

Thanks for the info! So you are connecting each esc to 4s 3000 ?

[arkreal1]

I got recommended esc and motors from motion rc and they recommend 3s 5000 battery. That is why i went with 3s battery which i already have.

[xviper]

Thanks for the info! So you are connecting each esc to 4s 3000 ?

Yes, that is correct. I've had the Hanger 9 Twin Otter before and on 4s, it was just barely enough for my flying style. This one is a bit smaller and lighter, so I figured that 4s would be just perfect and it turned out it is indeed the case. I have no idea what it would be like on 3s, but I'm sure it'll be fine. I just like to fly my planes with a bit more gusto. Scale flying is fine, but I get a bit bored unless I can do loops and rolls with ease.
I based my powertrain on the similarly sized and weighted HobbyKing Albatross seaplane. It's using the same 4s system from that plane.

[arkreal1]

Thanks again! Will try to move batteries little more forward see i can get a way with just adding little weight. Do not want to change the whole power system now.

[xviper]

Thanks again! Will try to move batteries little more forward see i can get a way with just adding little weight. Do not want to change the whole power system now.

I wouldn't change a thing at this point. See if you can tuck one battery under the seat as far forward as it can go and maybe consider putting the second one in a transverse config to get as much of your batteries weight forward.
This plane tends to be quite forgiving of a slightly altered CG. It's already quite big and heavy. A little tail heavy is manageable.

[arkreal1]

Will do. Thanks!

[arkreal1]

Just to let you know xviper, I took out seat bracket ( the one has magnet attached to it ) and secured the seat in slots with few drop of CA. Now I can push my two batteries side by side all the way forward with ease and get the CG right. Also added two pilots I had in my toy box.

[xviper]

Perfect!

[StiknRudder]

Hello fellow Twotter lovers,

I'm building this kit and I have a few questions. What in the world does that cardboard incidence gauge, that only lines up with the wing spar and one of the positioning dowels, even though there are 3 holes, supposed to do? I've set the horizontal stab perpendicular with the vertical stab and now I need to glue it. Does it measure squareness with the fuse? Does it actually set the incidence of the horizontal stab when you glue in the vertical stab?

Secondly, Power system. Looking at either e-flite power 25 870KV with 10x7x3 MAS or Power 32 with 11x7x3. Either with 60a Avian ESCs.

Third, has anybody put the ESCs in the fuse and run long power leads or just put the ESC under the nacelles and run longer battery leads?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[xviper]

Hello fellow Twotter lovers,

I'm building this kit and I have a few questions. What in the world does that cardboard incidence gauge, that only lines up with the wing spar and one of the positioning dowels, even though there are 3 holes, supposed to do? I've set the horizontal stab perpendicular with the vertical stab and now I need to glue it. Does it measure squareness with the fuse? Does it actually set the incidence of the horizontal stab when you glue in the vertical stab?

Secondly, Power system. Looking at either e-flite power 25 870KV with 10x7x3 MAS or Power 32 with 11x7x3. Either with 60a Avian ESCs.

Third, has anybody put the ESCs in the fuse and run long power leads or just put the ESC under the nacelles and run longer battery leads?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Before you get to that step, you should have the gear and wheels on so the plane can be more or less flat on the table and able to be held down securely (more or less level). The whole tail assembly should also be finished, perfectly square and aligned properly so the template can do it's job.
That template should only go over the main wing dowel (aluminum) and the horizontal stabilizer. It has nothing to do with either positioning dowel. The front of the template goes over the aluminum tube and the rear slat goes over the horizontal stab. Look at page 10C. The whole "jig" assembly is so you can ensure that A=A'. If one side is more than the other, that means your tail assembly is crooked and not aligned with the fuselage. It does not really set the incidence of the of the horizontal stab. You may need to prop bits and pieces of the plane with stacks of little boxes, books or sheets of something so you can measure precisely A and A'. You might even need 4 hands. (It's like looking through the crosshairs of a rifle scope at another set of cross hairs marked on a wall. You want both crosshairs to match and sit one over the other. This template helps you ensure that your "rifle" is perfectly aligned up/down, left/right.)

I'm using 9.5 X 7 X 3 props (counter-rotating) from the Flightline OV-10 / B-24 and HobbyKing Aerostar 850KV motors and 80A ESCs (overkill) because I just happen to have these laying around from other cancelled projects. I fly on 4S and the TO has plenty of get up and go. If you want more punch, go with what you have in mind but double check to make sure the 11" props won't hit the fuselage when turning. If you can't use the 11" prop, stick with the power 25 as it has 100KV more speed unless you go with a pitchier prop on the 32 if the 11" is too big.

My ESCs are mounted inside the engine nacelles with multiple slits dremeled at front and rear cowel for more airflow to keep them cool. Not that big of a deal if you want to mount the ESCs inside the plane but you must ensure airflow so they don't get too hot in the summer. I kept them in the nacelles since the room is there for them.

[StiknRudder]

Before you get to that step, you should have the gear and wheels on so the plane can be more or less flat on the table and able to be held down securely (more or less level). The whole tail assembly should also be finished, perfectly square and aligned properly so the template can do it's job.
That template should only go over the main wing dowel (aluminum) and the horizontal stabilizer. It has nothing to do with either positioning dowel. The front of the template goes over the aluminum tube and the rear slat goes over the horizontal stab. Look at page 10C. The whole "jig" assembly is so you can ensure that A=A'. If one side is more than the other, that means your tail assembly is crooked and not aligned with the fuselage. It does not really set the incidence of the of the horizontal stab. You may need to prop bits and pieces of the plane with stacks of little boxes, books or sheets of something so you can measure precisely A and A'. You might even need 4 hands. (It's like looking through the crosshairs of a rifle scope at another set of cross hairs marked on a wall. You want both crosshairs to match and sit one over the other. This template helps you ensure that your "rifle" is perfectly aligned up/down, left/right.)

I'm using 9.5 X 7 X 3 props (counter-rotating) from the Flightline OV-10 / B-24 and HobbyKing Aerostar 850KV motors and 80A ESCs (overkill) because I just happen to have these laying around from other cancelled projects. I fly on 4S and the TO has plenty of get up and go. If you want more punch, go with what you have in mind but double check to make sure the 11" props won't hit the fuselage when turning. If you can't use the 11" prop, stick with the power 25 as it has 100KV more speed unless you go with a pitchier prop on the 32 if the 11" is too big.

My ESCs are mounted inside the engine nacelles with multiple slits dremeled at front and rear cowel for more airflow to keep them cool. Not that big of a deal if you want to mount the ESCs inside the plane but you must ensure airflow so they don't get too hot in the summer. I kept them in the nacelles since the room is there for them.

Thank you very much. The directions are, shall we say, lacking.

[MNFinn]

Hello,

The Nexa Twin Otter is on my current "potential buy" list, for a little winter project. Only have a question. How well does it handle taking off/landing on grass? Local field is all grass.

[xviper]

Hello,

The Nexa Twin Otter is on my current "potential buy" list, for a little winter project. Only have a question. How well does it handle taking off/landing on grass? Local field is all grass.

There's grass and then there's grass. What kind and how long, lumpy and bumpy is your grass? The wheels that come with the kit is a good size so the "usual" grass RC field should not be a problem. I used one of the main stock wheels for the nose gear and HobbyKing Tundra tires for the mains. There's never a problem with taking off from even the roughest, unmown grass.

[MNFinn]

There's grass and then there's grass. What kind and how long, lumpy and bumpy is your grass? The wheels that come with the kit is a good size so the "usual" grass RC field should not be a problem. I used one of the main stock wheels for the nose gear and HobbyKing Tundra tires for the mains. There's never a problem with taking off from even the roughest, unmown grass.

Grass hasn't been longer than 2 inches any time I've flown. They mow about once a week, so it's probably shorter than that. Field isn't super bumpy, folks are flying Arrows EDF jets off of it, so I'm guessing it's OK as far as that goes.

[xviper]

folks are flying Arrows EDF jets off of it, so I'm guessing it's OK as far as that goes.

No need to even guess. If little Arrows jets can fly off it, the TO with stock tires isn't even a concern, unless you build it underpowered. Build it a minimum of what's recommended for power.

[Kdwdarkskies]

I just purchased this plane, I opened it when I received it, checking for damage, there was none. I put it back in the box, waiting to finish the build when I can afford to buy the rest, I am just getting back into RC flight after a 20 year hiatus, I know the plane calls for two Admiral GP2 electric motors, I ordered and received two Admiral GP10 motors, a lot bigger motor than called for, first thing I noticed was the spinners that came with the plane are notched out for two blade props, I ordered and received Master Airscrew propellers three blade 11 x 7, one is reverse prop, because I will have one rotating opposite to counteract thrust during takeoff. I still need to buy the ESC's, i'll get the 85A mantis, I got one battery, this plane will be run on 4S battery, 5000mah Admiral battery. Does anyone know where to get a spinner for 3 blade props for my size of motor? Thanks for reading.

[xviper]

Finding 3-blade spinners for counter-rotating master airscrew 3-blade props will be a challenge. You could check HobbyKing and buy one of their generic spinners and modify it to fit your application. Know the diameter of the base of the spinner closest to the cowl opening and start there. Eg. DuBro makes spinners for 3-blade props BUT they don't make them for the other rotation.
The choice I went for was to find an existing plane that had 3-blade counter-rotating props and buy the whole assembly - props and spinners. In my case, I chose the HobbyKing Albatross, as I have that plane and I knew the props/spinners would work.

[Kdwdarkskies]

I have bought the DHC-6 with the yellow, black, and red livery, I have not built and finished the ARF, I am waiting on funding to purchase the remaining things needed, i.e. servos, two 85A Mantis ESC's, I have bought the two motors, which I guess is quite large for this model, but nothing wrong with flying at half power...lol....I purchased two Admiral GP10's, because of larger motors, I purchased two Master Airscrew 11 x 7, 3 blade props, one prop is a reverse prop, so that the motors will be ran with the configuration of one CCW, and one CW, to offset the thrust issues during takeoff, This will be my first plane with a tricycle landing gear (nose gear), I have only previously owned "tail draggers" with right rudder to control direction on the ground. The propeller spinners that come with the model are useless with 3 bladed props, I purchased the 2" 3 blade spinners from Du-Bro, only issue is I will have to take a file to both spinners to notch the slots for the spinners to accept the reverse prop, they dont make a spinner for reverse props so both new spinners will be notched equally for balance. I just ordered a Flysky 2.4Ghz 10 channel radio and receiver, hopefully its not a junky radio. I have one battery, Admiral 6000mah 4S 50C Lipo battery, I will get another. I still need to purchase the following: Castles Creation 20a Bec, two Mantis 85a ESC's, all servos, and various splitters for servos connections and Motor wire extensions. I will start the final building when I receive the last of the equipment listed, It has been hard for me, I am now on a fixed income and have limited funding per month, so at the rate I am going, I figure I'll start the build in April or May 2023. Can anyone think of what I might need other than what I listed?

[xviper]

This plane doesn't torque steer at all, so counter-rotating is a bonus. If you're experienced with tail draggers, trike gear is easier to steer, especially on a heavier airplane. It also is not a complex airplane to set up electronically, so your radio is more than adequate. I don't think it's a junky radio. I just don't know much about them and those new to Flysky say there is a learning curve.
A single large battery will require some trial and error to place to get the CG right, so don't make a permanent battery strap too soon.
Besides what you already have listed, I can mention that a soldering iron will come in handy to make harnesses and extensions. Thus, some extra heavy gauge silicone wire will be needed, along with extra connectors for the ESC and power wires.
You have a hobby iron to tighten up and smooth out the covering? How about a Dremel - better than a file.

[Kdwdarkskies]

I do have a soldering iron as well a covering iron that I used for coverings on previous builds, I did like what I read about placing the ESC's in the engine nacelles with the nacelles slotted for cooling the esc's during flight, I like that idea, as I have never ran electric in planes, so the specifics as I go along are always helpful. Also I have a dremel.