I have heard the included .40 motor is not enough power.

I have heard guys saying at the field that installing a .46 makes the avistar a good trainer. Have you thought about buying the ARF version of the avistar and installing your choice of radio and engine?

the supplied .40 with the avistar is plenty of power for this bird??

The avistar flies fine with the 40.

ORIGINAL: smokingwreckage

I bought an Avistar ARF and practiced on FMS while the epoxy cured. Bolted on an OS .46 AX with a 10x6 APC and installed the flight pack that came with a Futaba 6EXA. Joined a club, took it to the field, and since nobody was there I thought I'd do some taxi practice. The plane ended up airborne and was destroyed.

Next I bought a Nexstar Select. The included RealFlight is much better than FMS. The electronic instructor is quite helpful for a newbie. I found an instructor and managed about 6 flights on a buddy box. Been crashing by myself ever since.

I had a lot of problems with the Nexstar, like air bubbles in the fuel line causing numerous deadsticks, landing gear falling off in flight causing a crash, tail feathers refusing to stay lined up, causing chronic problems staying trimmed, the front half of the fuselage coming unglued, etc. Mercifully, gremlins bumped the rudder trim one day prior to takeoff, and the plane yawed right, rolled over, and went straight in, never getting more than 6 feet off the ground. Good riddance to that lemon. I tossed it in a heap with the Avistar and bought the Nexstar ARF. I never used the AFS, so I can't speak about that.

The second Nexstar got the OS .46 FX out of the first, but with an 11x5 APC prop, and the flight pack out of the Avistar, with an added servo from the original Nexstar to have flaperons (the Nexstar wing is equipped with mounts for the dual servo option). Bump a trim on an EX radio, and it won't make much difference in flight, plus, the transmitter beeps to tell you a change has been made. I bolted in the landing gear with a nylon wing bolt on each side, right through the bump in the plastic snap under the servo tray that's supposed to hold the gear in, re-glued everything I could reach, trimmed around the fuel tank and added some foam, and a few other mods I learned about with the first Nexstar. I didn't bother installing the leading edge spoilers or training flaps. I flew the snot out of that Nexstar. Learned to do loops, rolls, stalls, inverted, cross-wind landings and takeoffs, etc. Then one day, after 40-50 successful flights, I'm flying along inverted and the radio just stopped working. No response at all. She went into a full power dive all the way down, and ended up a pile of rubble.

I bought a second Avistar and built it with the EX flight pack and the .46 AX with 12x4 APC. After 40-50 flights with the Nexstar, the Avistar was a good second plane. I installed foam around the fuel tank and re-glued everything I could reach. I modified the wing servo mount to hold 2 servos inside the fuselage, and made a wing joiner with no dihedral and a wedge to fit between the wing halves. It wasn't fast, but I learned to hover, and even got a torque roll out of it once or twice. On about the 10th flight I ran out of fuel, breaking the prop. The only other prop I had was an 11x6. It was fast, but would not hover. I started practicing basic pattern and 3D flying with the Avistar. A local club pylon races .46-size trainers, so I bolted on a 10x7 prop and went racing. I had tons of fun with the Avistar, until it was destroyed in an air-to-air.

If you are just starting out, go with the Nexstar ARF. Install a good ball bearing sport .45 or .46 and go ahead and splurge on a 6-channel computer radio you won't outgrow too soon. Assemble the wing with dual servos for flaperons, re-glue everything, put bolts in the wheel retainers, and run an 11x5 APC or 11x6 Master Airscrew prop. Find an instructor and learn on a buddy box. After 50-60 successful solo flights you'll be ready for an Avistar with dual aileron servos and no dihedral.

I also have a Kadet Senior ARF with a .46 FX from the Nexstar select. It is very easy to fly, and I can heartly recommend it for a first plane, if the wind does not blow more than 10 mph. It is a handful on the runway in a cross-wind, though wind doesn't bother it at all in the air.

ORIGINAL: Mchwind Chimes

i know both are trainers and good ones too. But i heard nexstar is a str8 up trainer, but avistar is a progresive trainer, allowing room for first stage acrobatics....... which one do you think is better..??