I agree with John and recommend any of the flat-sided trainers over the Nexstar, both for ease of float installation and ease of repair. I have trained a couple of people on Nexstar RTFs and used to be a pretty big fan. One of my students, however, recently had a crash. With another trainer, it would have been a pretty simple repair and covering job. With the Nexstar, however, we decided to start fresh with an LT-40 ARF.

The two main problems are the pretty curved fuselage and the landing gear. The snap-in landing gear stinks. In its factory condition, it has a tendency to fall out. I had the joy of landing on the nose and one main wheel. We then used dowels to pin it in a little more permanently. The problem is that, with the landing gear running through the middle of the fuselage, a minor crash can do a lot of damage to the fuselage. Not what you want in a trainer.

-Scott