i have just bought a nexstar select from tower hobbies, i decided to buy this aircraft as i have just crashed my hanger9 xtra easy last sunday. one of the reasons for buying it was the success guarantee that comes with it, but when i read the guarantee it states that this is only in effect for 60 days after purchase.in my opinion i think it is time that tower hobbies made this more clear as it leads people to believe that this guarantee is for a longer period of time. the plane looks good and i have run in the engine today but not before running into all sorts of problems. i charged the batteries and filled the tank with fuel. after a few mins i noticed gas leaking from the bottom of the fuse. i removed the tank and tightened the screw as the rubber seal was loose and not pre tightened. i then put the tank back in and tried to refill it with gas. this time the fuel probe blew off the filling line spraying gas everywhere. i tried to empty the gas back out of the tank but it would not empty. after taking it out and putting it back in many times i was ready to give in. i read the manual a few more times and watched the DVD that came with it to see if i was doing something wrong. i eventually found the problem, i was doing everything the manual said to do i was filling it using the green fill line and the clear one was going to the carb as it was installed the pink to the muffler. the problem was that all the fuel lines were in the wrong order so there was no vent to the tank. i hope this is the last of the problems i encounter as it has been a painful lesson already. one thing i did learn is glow fuel + eyes = some serious pain

I also have the Hangar9 Xtra Easy .46 and it flys very well. As a matter of fact I like to kill the engine up-high and just glide it like a glider (I used to fly sailplanes).
I can sense you are at the very beggining of this hobby....Remember that 99% of the ARFs are built in China or Taiwan (rebel China) and in sweat shops. Since you did not put it together, always inspect ALL items in the plane:
-remove gas tank and check for leaks (pinch one fuel tube, blow into the other and put it under water-watch for bubbles)
-pull -medium hard- on the ailerons, rudder, elevator and reglue all hinges.
-check all screws in the plane.
-assemble the plane (ready to fly but do not start the engine), hold fuse from behind the engine and front of vertical stab and go hard up and down with it -listen for wood cracking (hope not).
Once you finished this, you could consider you have a solid plane.
One piece of advice I tell beginners is to get a cheap sail plane and fly it before you fly glow. It will teach you smooth landings and also remove the fear of dead stick with a glow.

Danny.

I had the same problem. It also took me 5 min. of trying to start it before I noticed that there was no fuel line going to the carb! I think part of the problem is that there is such a demand for this plane that quanity is coming before quality at the factory. It seems like all you are hearing is negative about this plane these days. The only good thing about the package is the flight sim.

A boy and his mother showed up at the field the other day with a Nexstar - the antenna wire had been cut, the engine would not run properly with the limiter on the needle valve, and the switch harness was bad. All would have resulted in a crash.

You just can't beat having experienced eyes looking over your airplane before your first flight attempt.

Mine flew/started right out of the box perfectly! I think it was one from the first run of kits, err, ARF's.

Jerry

I have an Xtra Easy 2 that I got for almost nothing as my first trainer. It was built okay, but not great. The Ultracoat covering was ragged and just sloppy. You can see where it was designed to be built fast. My instructor did a lot of reinforcing here and there and it is an okay plane now. I prefer my other kit plane and am building another one at the moment. I must say that this plane has taken a pounding over the last 3 months, but I won't get another ARF.

There are no guarantees other than burning glow fuel in the air.
If you stay up and fly long enough you will get good enough to solo.
Continue flying long enough, you will crash

BUT in the fine print it states "one plane will be replaced" ,not two or three,just the first one.

FWIW.... I would STRONGLY RECOMMEND disableing the AFS. The opinions of the MAJORITY of the people who have flown the plane with the AFS activated (at least according to the newsgroups and other locations) range from: "Had to fight the plane all the way up and back down." to "It is THE MOST WORTHLESS PIECE OF JUNK I have ever seen." and everything in between.

Read some of the posts on the NexStar. The plane itself is basically a decent plane. The Evolution engine is excellent, especially for someone just starting out. There have been very few reports of engine problems. The ones that have been reported seem to be the exception, not the rule. (If you want to read about an engine that really has problems, read about the MDS line of engines.)

As with anyone starting out, I HIGHLY recommend you find an instructor and use a "Buddy Box" while learning. I also highly recommend you get a simulator FOR PRACTICING what you learned at that lesson. A sim WILL NOT TEACH YOU HOW TO FLY, but it can and will help you. Teaching yourself to fly has a steep learning curve, is VERY frustrating (and expensive) and usually results in a "rekitting" of the plane within 30 seconds.

While I am semi-new to the sport at the age of 18, I have bought a nexstar and just recently a Sig Somethin Extra have have flown then all with no problems. I am noticing a trend however...most people started these days dont want to WORK on the modles, they want to take it out of the box and fly with no problems..well its not gonna happen. I highly suggest building kits and learning how to work on these things. I am currently builing a twin ducted fan 1/10th scale B-57 Canberra from a 1/72 plastic model. People just dont want to take time and really get into the sport, call me old fashoned, but problems, wrinkles, breaks etc.. are all going to happen, so the best thing to do is bite the bullet if you hate it, and start to tinker,lol..because as your prgress to more advanced modles things are only going to get worse, then eventually better as you gain experience. Good Luck!

I don't feel the "problem" is that people don't want to "work" on the models, so much as it is they don't have the available free time and feel they don't have the "skills" for building.

While MOST ARFs are a "good value" for the money, you learn nothing about repairing them when that time comes. If you figure it out, what a kit costs, plus building materials (glue, #11 blades, covering, accesories such as fuel tank, wheels, etc) NOT INCLUDING YOUR TIME, an ARF USUALLY saves 25% or more over doing it yourself.

I like building. Some of the reasons are: I KNOW the quality of the construction and when "that time" arrives, I know how to repair it. The biggest reason though, is I want something "different" from the rest of the people at the field. When you go to the field, how many Cubs, Caps, Mustangs, PT-19, etc. do you see ? Have you ever seen an FW-56 (Stosser) or a Hawker Tempest at your field ? How about some of the other "common" planes - TaylorCraft, various Grumman warbirds, Beavers, etc ?