Nan Explorer Q4 4m

The Nan Models Explorer Q4 is reported to perform better than Nan’s previous designs in all weather condition, have better stability in turns, easier landing characteristic, better penetration, and improved handling.

The Q4 is optimised for F5J electric thermal soaring. Its higher camber airfloil helps it excel at catching those small low level thermals elude less nimble gliders. Despite its unparalleled low speed abilities it is no slouch at the other end of the speed polar, and has the legs to make it back to the landing spot even after following a weak thermal way downwind. The Explorer Q4 can also be used for slope soaring in light conditions.

The Explorer Q4 wing is designed for F5J competition flying, with special attention given to great low speed handling and thermal soaring in the small weak thermals found low down.

The kit is supplied with:
• Three piece carbon fibre/kevlar fuselage for easier transportation.
• Tailboom includes Bowden cables for slop free rudder and elevator actuation.
• Includes a radio transparent kevlar/glass nosecone compatible with GPS racing.
• Fuselage supplied with Servoramen 30mm firewall (not fitted).
• Four piece fully molded composite wing.
• Fully molded composite tail.
• Accessory pack.
• Ballast tube built into main wing centre panels (22cm long 18.5mm diameter).
• Available with V and X tail configuration.

The fuselage of the Explorer Q4 is a masterpiece of design and composite engineering. Starting from the front, a 40cm long slim nosecone with a 16cm hatch holds the motor, speed control and flight battery. This is supplied to take a Servoramen 30mm firewall (blank one supplied but not glued into place). The length is a benefit as it allows lightweight (c 100g) motors to be used. However if a heavier powertrain is preferred the front could be shortened by approx 25mm and fitted with a 32mm firewall, and the rear could be cut down by approx 4cm while still allowing room for a good sized battery. The slim nosecones supplied with our Q4 models all have a carbon layup to maximise strength and low weight. We always 2.4GHz whiskers are routed outside the fuselage.

Moving back, the middle section of the fuselage is an all carbon molded part and includes wing mountings that match the wing root airfoil, and is marked Explorer Q4. This part retains the very low frontal area of the nosecone and is barely any thicker than the wing root. However it includes a very useful hatch on the underside that gives access of the pre-fitted wing wiring harness and receiver wiring plugs, making it an ideal position for mounting the receiver.

The fuselage is completed with a very long yet lightweight carbon tailboom with low friction 1.5mm carbon rod inner Bowden cables ready fitted. The tail servos are installed horizontally at the front of the tailboom on a supplied carbon servo mount designed for 23mm wide wing servos (e.g. KST X08H, KST A08H, MKS HV6110, MKS HS75, MKS HV75K-R). The tail linkage consists of clevises to be screwed and glued onto the carbon inners at the front and pre-fitted L bend wires at the rear that locate in pre-fitted horns in the tail surfaces. The cross tail and V tail tailbooms are the same length but as the cross tail version’s rudder projects further to the rear the X tail version ends up being about 5cm longer. The cross tail tailboom includes a very clever toggle that securely clamps the fin and tailplane in place without any tools required. The V tail tailboom mounts the V tail halves at 103º to each other, giving good rudder and elevator authority with no interaction.

The three parts that make up the complete fuselage should be held together using good quality waterproof tape. Do not glue them together as that will make subsequent servicing and repairs more difficult.

The nicely finished hollow molded four piece wing uses a slightly higher camber airfoil giving it a excellent low level thermal soaring performance and handling. The wing carbon skin is available in standard and strong layups. The strong layup is about 50g heavier. The flap and aileron servo openings are approx 45mm x 45mm and are designed for Integrated Drive System servo installations as there is no provision for external flap or aileron horns. The four piece wing and three piece fuselage result in model that fits into a 28 x 16 x 122 cm box, making it very transportable. The other benefit is that the dihedral angle of the centre panels as well as the tip panels can be adjusted by using different wing joiners.

We supply the model with four wing joiner options: 5.7º, 7º, 8.5º and 9º equivalent dihedral angle (EDA):
5.7º – least affected by turbulence and gusty conditions, best for flying fast, not as laterally stable so requires more concentration when thermalling at the limit of visibility.
7º – compromise between easy thermalling and nicer handling in windier or more turbulent conditions.
9º – most laterally stable, easiest to thermal at the limit of visibility, more affected by wind and turbulence, best for calm day thermal soaring.

The accessory pack includes clear servo covers and a wiring harness with plugs that connect into sockets built into the fuselage. For more info see the RCGroups Explorer Q thread.

(c) 2023 Neil Stainton

Explorer Q4 Specifications
Wing span	3.96 m	156 in
Wing area	86.5 dm2	1341 sq in
Length inc spinner	192 cm	75.6 in
Flying weight from	1340 g	47.3 oz
Wing loading	15.5 g/dm	5.1 oz/sq ft
Aspect ratio	18.1
Wing airfoil	Proprietary
EDA (dihedral)	5.7 – 9º
Spinner Diameter	30 mm
Centre of Gravity	110-125 mm from wing leading edge
Controls	Rudder, elevator, ailerons, flap, throttle

Explorer Q4 Recommended Servos
Tail servos	KST X08H, KST A08H, MKS HV6110, MKS HS75, MKS HV75K-R
Aileron	MKS DS6100, MKS HV6100, MKS HV6110, MKS HV6120, MKS HV6130, KST X10 Mini, KST X08H, KST X08H-Plus
Flap	MKS DS6100, MKS HV6100, MKS HV6110, MKS HV6120, MKS HV6130, KST X10

Explorer Q4 Powertrain Recommendations
Powerline Micro 1020	3S 1Ah LiPo, 16×8 prop
Powerline Micro 1025	3S 1Ah LiPo, 16×8 prop
XPower F2919/10 Light	3S 1Ah LiPo, 10×6 prop
XPower F2925/8 Windy	3S 1Ah LiPo, 10×5 prop
Leomotion L3007-6000	3S 1Ah LiPo, 13×8 prop

Explorer Q4 Typical Weights
Fuselage	165 g	5.8 oz
Left wing	354 g	12.5 oz
Right wing	353 g	12.5 oz
Fin	30 g	1.1 oz
Tailplane	39 g	1.4 oz
Wing joiners	47 g	1.7 oz
Accessories	29 g	1.0 oz
Total structure	1017 g	35.9 oz
Wiring	20 g	0.7 oz
Control rods	10 g	0.4 oz
Receiver	8 g	0.3 oz
Rudder servo	9 g	0.3 oz
Elevator servo	9 g	0.3 oz
Wing servos (4)	40 g	1.4 oz
Speed control	25 g	0.9 oz
Motor	100 g	3.5 oz
Prop & spinner	20 g	0.7 oz
Battery	82 g	2.9 oz
Flying weight	1340 g	47.3 oz

Explorer Q4 Control Movements
Rudder	30 mm each way
Elevator	12 mm up, 12 mm down
V tail	13 mm up, 14 mm down
Ailerons	14 mm up, 8 mm down
Flap	80 degrees down
Thermal camber	Flap 6 mm down, aileron aligned with flap
Speed camber	Flap 2 mm up, aileron aligned with flap