If you turn the AFS off the NexStar is a fine Trainer. That is exactly how I soloed too. After long hours of sim practice I went out & flew it. The AFS almost cost me the plane on my first flight but after managing to get her back on the ground safely I turned it off then went on to have a great day of flying with it. Having said that, let me say that I was sort of forced into this method of soloing due to severe medical problems with two instructors. One right after the other. One is no longer with us, we lost him to cancer a couple of months later. R. I. P. Glenn. After my second instrcutor got into serious medical trouble too I broke down & went at it on my own. If you can come up with a qualified instructor to teach you, you would be much better off & you can get away with a much less expensive Trainer too. All the extra gadgets run up the cost of the NexStar. I also have a Tower Trainer that was $259 RTF at the time, not sure what it is costing these days but it also is a great flying Trainer!! I still have & fly it today. It's great fun to play with when the winds get up around 25mph or more & I don't want to risk a more expensive plane I break out the Ol' Tower Trainer & have at it. Do yourself a favor & try the tradional route of using an instructor first. They can teach you much faster, safer & you will learn things that won't require the old hard lesson learned method. Not to mention they will keep your plane in one piece for ya while you are learning!
Good Luck!!