Then you have done better than most students. Lots of veterans would like to get though a whole season without scratching a plane.

Believe me, the Cessna will be easy for you. Just get an experienced guy to trim it out and stay with you until you are comfortable flying it. As long as the plane is balanced right and kept reasonably light, it should be a very sweet and forgiving airplane.

And
All the paranoia about scale planes is from the left over wive's tales from the 70s and early 80s.

Today's R/C warbirds and scale planes fly much better than the ones we had in the 70s and 80s. Today, manufacturers are making the planes less exact to scale and more flyable instead. In the past, something like a Corsair or Mustang was just an accident waiting to happen. Back then, we built all our own planes, and the scale guys took more pride in their workmanship than anything else. It wasn't important whether or not the plane actually flew decent. Lots of scale planes had very nasty stall characteristics, especially the WWII warbirds, and very few of them flew well. It didn't help things that the scale airplanes came out not only heavy, but tailheavy as well. By the time balance problems were addresseed, the planes were flying (barely) sleds. Add to that the fact that yesterday's motors, and (especially) radios weren't nearly as good as what we have today and you can see that the scale guys really had their hands full.

If you compare that to today, something like a Hangar 9 Corsair is lighter and straighter than what we were building back then. The Hangar 9 is also less perfect as far as being an exact replica, but it's designed to fly. I recently tested one for a friend, and it was a very nice airplane. You won't win any pattern contests with it, but as long as you use a little restraint it will make a great sport plane.

And.......I have extensive experience with the Hangar 9 PTS Mustang. Very smooth plane. It's advertised as a trainer, but I think there are better basic trainers. However, as a second plane it's pretty nice, and it allows you to progress by removing the training aids as you become better. Oh, but more in the context of what I'm talking about, Hangar 9 made docile, flyable Mustangs and Corsairs. Anyone who hasn't been on the scene for a few years would be shocked at how good these airplanes have become.

If I hadn't seen and flown these planes, I would have never believed it possible because scale planes had such a horrible rap in the past. I badmouthed the PTS Mustang until I flew one, and then I became a believer. You may have run into someone that was just as misinformed as I was.


Since you had a solid year with the Nextar, you don't need another trainer. You're ready to move on to something that's hotter and capable of more. However, if you want to keep flying a trainer because that's what you like, there is nothing wrong with that either. But........The most logical progression would be something like a Hangar 9 Arrow. It's a high wing plane (which looks startlingly similar to a cessna-type plane) with a semi symetrical airfoil. The plane is full aerobatic, but it's still docile enough that I recommend my studentws start with one of these.

If you are ready for something more exciting, there is a big list of really nice planes that are just a step hotter than your Nextar. Personally, I like to move my students from the Arrow into a Hangar Pulse XT because they share the same wing, only the Pulse is a low wing airplane. It's a very small step in difficulty, but the plane looks so different, and looks so stinking hot that it is a real confidence boost for them, which is what a lot of them need when they leave the security of their first plane.

I have a Pulse myself, and it's a very nice airplane. The Pulse has my unconditional endorsement as a second plane.

There are other choices as well, like the Goldberg Sky Tiger, or Great Planes Super Sportster. You've got a pretty big field to pick from. It's never been this good.

Both of those are very solid airplanes, which is fly instructors like for their students to progress into them. There are other solid choices, but those are the ones that have been around the longest and have the biggest following. Personally I think the Pulse will smoke any of them all the way around, but that's just IMHO, of course, and any of these planes would make a fine choice.


It happens with electric planes every day.

I am safety coordinator at my club, and I am very careful when it comes to new people that I don't know. Our rules say anyone new has to be checked off by an instructor or club officer. We haven't had a real problem yet, but there are a lot of yahoos out there. So you can't really blame people for being cautious with someone they don't know.

Absolutely, but I think the major overriding factor is that electrics and park flying is so much more convient than dealing with all the backstabbing and petty, stupid BS politics that goes on in clubs.