i thought i had my mind made up on an arrow. but i found a nexstar for the same price as an arrow. most of the messages on this board didnt like the nexstar due to the extra money you pay for the training extras. i dont think i need most of the extras but the flight sim may come in handy for me. on the other hand i am worried that the nexstar wont be as agile as the arrow and that i could get bored with it. both planes have alot of appeal to me. but i guess the bottom line is more agility with the arrow or the flight sim with the nextar. anyone have any opinions on these 2.

Greetings,

I cannot comment on the arrow but I have the NexStar and love it. It is my first plane, so my .02 are probably worthless for your decision. As for the add-ons, my instructors had me remove the speed brakes because they changed the flight characteristics and required more trim. They also had me disable the AFS because they have heard that it can interfere too.
It is a slow, good trainer, but can also fly fast and do some acrobatics - rolls, loops, etc - nothing fancy or at least not yet .
The flight slim is good and you can also get add-ons for it. I bought the whole NexStar kit for $400 and it came with everything except the field kit, fuel, etc but had the radio, servos, battery, etc. The engine was also included and mounted. It had been broken in and tuned at the factory. Assembly was about 30 min and then it was ready to fly.
Whatever you choose, have fun, fly safe.

Richard

The best thing to do is to ask your instructor. If he thinks you can start with an advanced trainer like the arrow, go for it. You can always get a sim if you want to practice.

Need to look at the Hangar 9 Alpha 60 trainer. Check the reviews. Great plane.

If you want more agility in your trainer and one that will take
you a little further on your learning path between your two
choices the Arrow would be better with it's semi wing.. The
nextstar has a lot of added features, But most do not like
them or remove fairly quick.. The Sim I would guess is ok,
But depending on what sim you want, You can now find
some great prices on sims... As Minn said.. I would talk to
your instructor and see what he thinks you can handle
better.. But I would add, Think about how you feel and think
your doing on your flying.. That is if your now flying a club
trainer.. That's what I did... My instructor wanted me to get
the basic trainer.. But I went for the Avistar.. *No regrets*

thanks for all your help, i have not flow at all yet and my brother talked me into the nexstar. mainly because once i learn on it i can have lots of fun teaching my 2 sons. so im going to order the nexstar.

Good idea. Do you have a club nearby? And have you visited them?

theres an rc field like 4 miles from my house. ive already been out there and already a couple of guys offered to train me. so i hope that works out. if not there is a club field about 25 miles away and i can check into that also.

Just to put things straight -- the Nexstar has a semi-symetrical wing as well, & without the add-ons & with the throws cranked up, it will do lots of entertaining aerobatics. Additionally, it is well suited for hopping up --- I have flown a taildragger Nexstar without dihedral & with a .61 in it -- a great sport flier.

britbrat... The three Hobbico NexSTAR 46's I've seen fly had
flat bottom wings... Maybe they make a semi Nexstar, But I
have not seen them.. I've flown one.. And it did not fly quite
up to par as my Avistar

I have the NexSTAR and i love it , best thing i have ever bought ! I talked the local hobby store down in price too ! so give that a shot ... Either way YOU wont go WRONG by buying the NexSTAR .

CitatioN10... Gees:-) don't get me wrong, I think the Nexstar is a
good trainer, once setup right. I almost got one because of the
sim, And I found one cheaper.. But with it's flat bottom( Now that's
the one a club member let me fly) wing, it did not fly inverted like
my avistar.. That's what I meant:-) I just did not say it.. You have
a good one and have fun...

PS: you also, get the flight simulator software with the Alpha 60 package, which includes a JR 4 ch. Quattro transmitter. The package is about $374.00 and is ready to fly in about 1 hour. Excellent trainer plane, handles wind, very stable, is capab le of most basic aerobatics.

if you didnt see my other thread i did order the nexstar yesterday. thanks!

raideron -- there are no flat-bottom winged Nexstars -- I suspect that you are being misled by the add-on anti-stall extensions, which do provide a flat bottomed profile in the outer wing. These are removable. The wing also sits with slight positive incidence, which makes the flatter aft run of the wing underside appear to be parallel to the chord-line -- it isn't. If you doubt me, call Hobbico -- they think that the wing is a semi-sym.

I do agree that a stock Nexstar can't match an Avistar in aerobatics, but the Nexstar is also a much larger & heavier plane, and being so, it has tons of potential for modification. It really flies well with a bit of hopping up & a good dose of power.

I just had a discussion with raideron & it seems that the Nexstar does have a flat-bottomed wing -- at least in its current incarnation. Somehow they changed the wing when I wasn't looking -- either that, or my old-timers disease is acting up again.[:@]

mrbass111, the nextstar is one of the good planes (trainers) out now. I train at my club with two others. The air brakes are more of a problem than a help. Keep her leval, some power, and you will be fine.