I own a NexSTAR and flew it for the first time last Sunday. Everyone made comments on how nice it was. My instructor even said it was a nice looking plane and flew very nice. As far as the "extras" go, I do agree that that is why there is such a price difference between it and all the other trainers. You just have to decide for yourself whether or not you will need or want these extras. The thing my intructor noticed is at anything other than half throttle it REALLY wants to climb.....more so than what would be considered normal with any other plane under higher throttle because of the leading edge extentions and speed flaps. But it's nothing that can't be adjusted for. The other major thing is the AFS system. If you have spent any time on a sim and got used to how a plane flies unassisted, the way the AFS act will be VERY strange to you and maybe troublesome.I was using Aerofly Pro for about 6 weeks and then the sim that comes with the NexSTAR so I was already familiar with how to properly use the controls. When I tried the NexSTAR sim with AFS enabled, I was a mess . You basically have to hold all inputs throughout the maneuvers because the AFS always wants to fly straight and level, so you wind up fighting the controls. You can turn the gain way down on it to limit it's autocorrection behavior, but that kind of defeats it's purpose. To make a long story short, I wound up going up for the first time and all times after that with the AFS system completely disconnected. My Instructor said that was fine because I will have to learn how to fly with no assistance anyway. As it turns out, because of all my sim time, my intructor was totally amazed at how good I was doing and asked me If I wanted to try and land on only my second time in the air. So I did and brought it in that time and all consecutive times like I was an old pro . All in all, it's a very good plane. Easy to fly and lans like a feather. You just have to decide on whether the price is worth it to YOU. Forgot to mention their guarantee also......which is really the only reason why I spent the extra money on the NexSTAR. If you fly it on an AMA santioned field with a designated intructor, If you crash it in the first 60 days, Hobbico will replace the plane. You just need a statement and signature from you intructor. That doesn't include the motor or radio equiptment. But if you crash a trainer, chances are that those things will survive anyway. Tower Hobbies RTF's also have the same kind of "learn to fly" guarantee. That alone was worth the extra money to me . Good luck with whatever you choose.......and have fun .



Adam