dodgeguy44

What do these do and how different will the plane react when they are removed?

Ice Fun

The airfoil extensions provide more lift and stability when attachted to the wing. This is recommended for beginner flights and can be later removed for more aerobatic flights.



(This was actually invented by NASA)

hogflyer

They are something of an anti-spin device on the NextStar. With the droop extensions, during a stall the inner half of the wing stalls, while the outer portion of the wing continues to fly. Basically they are lowering the stall speed of the outer half of the wing and allowing you to maintain control of the plane. Some planes are prone to wing tip stalling which can lead to an inadvertant spin, and these are an attempt to prevent this situation. With the flat bottom wing, not only is NextStar is not prone to wingtip stalling, but is very stable, docile and spin resistant. Notice I said spin resistant and not spin proof since just about any plane, when pushed into the right circumstances, will spin. I have yet to get a true spin from my NextStar no how hard I tried.

With the droops removed the plane is a bit faster, more aerobatic, and has a flatter glide. I personally don't care for them - but this also a matter of personal preference. Talk with an instructor at your local club and see what they prefer.

Hogflyer

dodgeguy44

Thanks hogflyer, I think I will try the plane without them this weekend.

My only problem with the Nexstar is my landings are seldom smooth or without a hop or two. The instructor suggested I try it with out the tips as they may not work well with the way I fly in and handle the approach. I will see this weekend if the weather is good.

hogflyer

I'd suggest taking off both the droops, and the speed brakes (if they're installed). That will make the plane much smoother with a flatter glide. It will also be faster so the throttle needs to be properly managed - it'll fly at 1/2 throttle all day long. I regularly do touch-n-go's on a grass field and never have to go beyond 1/2 to 2/3 throttle.

You'll find a much different flying plane, but make sure you instructor knows what you did so he can re-trim as necessary.

Hogflyer

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

fortunatly I crashed one of them off LOL so removed the other one, when I was flying this plane more I did not even notice them missing, not sure if they did anything really the flaps/speed brakes on the other hand did slow the plane and add lift, when I removed them I had to re-trim the plane.

dodgeguy44

I tried the speed brakes and didn't like them so I removed them and haven't looked back.

These are great Trainers, I really enjoy mine.

Flying freak

in theorie. 90% of peopel cant tell the difference and just to let you know these things are installed by eye there not very preices so i dont know if they do anything more then jsut sounds cool and add one more thing hobico can brag about. we took one of the club members incidence meeter (i think thats what it is called in english) and found that they were 7% of each other with that much of a difference im not sure they do much more then look/sound cool

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

I've trained quite a few students using the Nexstar and here's my "observations" on this plane. Hobbico sells this thing with several "things" that they say set it above other trainers: AFS (system to maintain level flight when no control input is given. Basically an autopilot), speed brakes/flaps, the wing droops, and a "successful flight guarantee". Now, of the first three there aren't any of them that are needed. In fact, when I have a student show up with a Nexstar the AFS gets disconnected and the speed brakes are removed before the plane ever leaves the ground. If the student wants I will let them leave the wing droops on, but otherwise they come off too. Why? First of all the AFS. This is a crutch for the student and they will never learn how to fly the plane properly with it working. If a student learns that all they have to do is "release the sticks" and the plane will recover itself they wil never learn the vital skill of recovering it themself. This will haunt them long past this trainer plane, and will never be able to fly more advanced planes. The speed brakes aren't needed because the Nexstar can fly slow enough without them. An IMHO it makes for some quirky handling at slower speeds. As was said above, the wing droops really don't do much either way. The claim is they are there to prevent tip stalls, but it's very hard to get a straight wing to tip stall anyway so these aren't really needed either. Why does Hobbico put them on there?? IMHO it's nothing more than a sales pitch. It's a gimmick to get people to buy their product. Let's face it, a guy standing in the hobby shop thinks it sounds really good that this plane is "so easy to fly" because of all of the add-ons. There's nobody there to tell him that he doesn't need all of that.

Oh yeah, the last one. The crash guarantee? Tower has the same thing for their own Tower Trainer so why pay more for a Nexstar?? Which brings me to my next point. If you take all of the "gadgets" off of the Nexstar you basically have a trainer that is pretty much like most others out on the market. If you look at the Nexstar RTF it's $379. The Tower Trainer 40 RTF package is only $269. When all of the gadgets are removed from the Nexstar it's basically the same plane as the Tower Trainer, so why not save the $110 and by the Tower Trainer to start with?? That $110 will go a long way to buying fuel and field equipment.

I'm not saying that the Nexstar doesn't fly well, because it is a good flying trainer with all of the gadgets removed. But rather I'm saying that there's nothing special in the way that it flies that can justify a higher cost in my mind. I'd say buy the less expensive trainer and save your money

That's my 2 cents worth.

Ken

bruce88123

If you like the looks of the Nexstar, buy the ARF and build it up the way you want it. Spend the extra money upgrading the radio and engine, things that will count later. Not stuff that you are going to rip off or turn off. [:'(] Talk about a rip off.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

the looks were the selling point for me as well as the basic sim provided, which IMHO helped in the early stages of re-learning, for me I wanted something that looked like a plane not a flying box.
I had a few of those when I was a kid and wanted something that looked a little more "real " in the air, also the NEXTAR came with a OS engine which for me was also a selling point I have had other brands of engines in the past and did not mind spending a few more $$ for quality equipment.
the tower trainer has the tower 46,which has some quirks sometimes, after the bugs are worked out runs great, but as a beginner I wanted reliability and something that I did not have to work on to fly.even now after building and working on planes for a few years I feel far from being a engine guru and some of my club members had bad experiences with tower engines.
coming back to the hobby I was not interested in , a tower radio futaba copy ,and a boxy looking plane yea its just a trainer and mine does sit in the garage now, but for some name brands count for something as well as the presentation .
Bruce said it well the arf version flys just as well and you can build the plane with radio upgrades and save a couple of bucks if you like the RTF version with the tower discount is 360$ and you get the basic sim as well.

dodgeguy44

The instructors at our field have trained quite a few of us with these planes and have complimented all of us on our choice. I hope you recognize that some of us like these planes and the fact that they do fly very well with or without the extra "things". I don't believe the Nexstar is over priced for the same reasons bigtim mentioned, they do come with quality components.

Now back to the subject. I understand now what the wing tip extentions are intended to do and I can't wait till tomorrow to try it with them removed.

bassnvt

hi guys, now out of the ones that has been talked about here, what ones offer or come with ailerons or have the place were you can add it? its been a long time that i have flown. i want to get back into it but i also want to be able to do more with it. i want to buy just one plane and in time i might get one for more stunts or so. but in the mean time what one will have what i am looking for.

thanks for any help guys.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

almost all trainers now days have ailerons, RCKen has compiled the list of lists for trainers most of the new RTF (ready to fly) trainers for glow power have throttle,rudder,elevator,and ailerons the trainer being discussed here is a fine plane and you can re-learn to fly RC with it as well as do some basic maneuvers ,loops,rolls,and even fly inverted although its not a stunt plane by any means. it also comes with a basic one plane simulator for practice before you get in the air.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Here's a the link to that list.

[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4537845/tm.htm]Looking for a trainer, what's available. (Updated 8-14-06)[/link]

Ken

dodgeguy44

This morning I flew my Nexstar a couple of times with the wing tip extentions and then took them off and flew the rest of the day. From what I can tell taking them off made the plane react faster, fly faster and the landings had to be a little faster too. It's alot more fun to fly as it doesn't seem as slow and lazy in the air.

I would still use them for training because of the easy take offs and landings as well as the slower reaction to aileron input.

One of the great features of the Nexstar Select.

NorfolkSouthern

I put the flaps back on mine because I like the extra lift and the STOL performance better. I am sure I could get more speed and aerobatics if I removed the extras on the wing, but I do believe my second plane will serve that purpose better. Then I can assign the aerial photo and video tasks to my Nexstar. As far as trainers are concerned, I think the Alpha is easier to fly and learn on as well as the Great Planes PT-40 and Kadet LT-40.

NorfolkSouthern

bruce88123

Flap? What flaps? This plane has no flaps. It has the leading edge extensions and it has the "brakes" under the wing that I guess some might call "flaps" but really ruin the flight characteristics. Why not put on some training wheels too? The Nexstar is as easy to fly as the Alpha or PT-40 but you need to take the JUNK off of it and let it fly like an airplane should.

NorfolkSouthern

Let's just say, I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Who knows, I may even add some working flaps while I'm at it.

NorfolkSouthern

bruce88123

Well now you're talking a different story. An older guy at our field bought a Nexstar for a "fun fly" plane. Took all of the dihedral out and cut the ailerons mid way. Rigged the inner sections as flaps and installed the aileron servos for the outboard sections. He likes it that way, seems to work. He doesn't use it as a training crutch but to add to the flight envelope.

dodgeguy44

The Nexstar does have the necessary make up built in to install flaps if you want to.

I like the idea of taking the dihedral out. That would make it fun to fly.

hogflyer

Bruce,

How did that guy, when flattening the NextStar wing, maintain structural integrity? There is a huge metal bar that runs inside the wing and acts as the dihedral brace. He had to some major surgery to that wing in order to accomplish that feat.

dodgeguy44, NS,

I just started test flying my NextStar using full span flapperons. I'm using a Futaba 7C which gives me a rotary dial for flapperons (they come down well over 1/2" ) and the airbrake function for around 1/8" drop. Makes the plane a different critter and it stops in about 30' from point of touch down (instead of the usual 75' - 100') with a full flap landing. Slow flight we guessed at around 15 mph with very positive control. The airbrake feature has increased it's gliding ability. I still have a lot of testing to do but so far I'm really happy with the results. It appears to fly much better with the flapperons than with the training aids.

Hogflyer

bruce88123

The guy is an extremely good builder/repairer. You can't tell it isn't stock by looking at it. It isn't that hard to do, a number of people have done it as well as a taildragger conversion. He can pull a lot of G's with it w/o a problem.

britbrat

It is a dead-simple mod that can be done by bending the rod & trimming out the lower web portion of the plastic joint-fitting, or by making a hardwood center-section spar & balsa wedges -- no big trick.

I have done numerous Nexstar wing mods & structural integrity is certainly not a problem, but the payoff in improved flying qualities is pretty big.

bruce88123

I was trying to remember your name Britbrat but you had fallen off the end of my tongue.