Has anyone tried to put a bigger engine in a nexstar trainer? If so what engine and did it change the flight characteristics? What type of mods did you have to do to the plane? I was thinking about putting a bigger engine so float flying is funner and at some point I'd like to add more accessory's to the plane like a camera or something so I'd like to have more power for the added weight. Thanks for the Input

was thinking about the float plane option thinking about the OS 61 as I happen to have one handy, might have to move the battery and reciever to the rear a bit to get the CG right. that motor is a lot bigger than the 46 in size

A buddy of mine and I have Nexstars and he has pretty much totaled his so he transfered all his gear into a cheaper Tower Trainer ARF. Well I have all his old airframe. The Fuse is totaled but the firewall is intact. I will use it to see how feasible it will or will not be to install an OS .60 FP that I have before reworking my Nexstar. I would think, but may be wrong, that the addition of floats would push your CG aft so the larger engine may not hurt your CG as bad as you think. Just to make clear I am no expert. So let's work together and see if we can find the easiest way to do this.

Try to keep in mind that 60 engines are about 3 engine sizes up and therefore will need a larger fuel tank if you want to maintain 10 minutes of flight time. I would suggest a 14 or 16 oz. tank. You could look at the 52 size size engines. They have more spunk than the 46 size and not too bad on fuel. I have an ASP Super Series 52 and it puts out awesome power!

I was thinking I'd put a TS .56 that I have now from my crashed Cap into my NexStar so I could use the OS .46FXI in my new WM Ultimate. The .56 has great power & is not a whole lot bigger in physical size. I have an older OS .60 that is quite a bit larger in size than the .56 I think the only changes I'll need to do is re-check the CG. & it will allow me to swing a litter bigger prop too. It did real well on the Cap with a 12X6 on it, the .46 likes an 11X6. We'll see what happens. I too want to try the float fly thing. I originally thought I would put them on my Tower Trainer but that darn thing flies so nice just as it is I've decided to leave it alone & do any changing & experimenting with the NexStar instead.

Yes I did. When I first started in the hobby my first trainer was a Nexstar and I got a LA40 for it. This is a 1.0Bhp engine.
My instructor said although it would fly the plane is did not have enough power to "power" itself out of a problem if I was to get into that kind of situation. He suggested I increase the size and or Hp of engine. Not knowing any better I purchased a OS 50SX. I say not knowing any better because of the price you pay for one of these engines. BUT having 1.8 Bhp in the same space DOES make a world of difference in preformance. The plane will climb straight up to the limits of my sight now without any slowdown. Hope this helps.

Bruce

Thanks for the input, I may do some more investigating on the topic, I had the .46 engine with the floats and it didn't change the CG. I used a float kit from Felcon that seamed really nice. The plane flew very well with the comination although I had to add down elevator inorder to pull the floats off the water, but a great plane to float fly with.

Why not start with the Hangar 9 Mustang so you just have one plane? If ya stick with an instructor the whole way you have beginner to Aerobatics in one plane.

Regardless of the amount of hype that the P-51 PTS gets, it's still not a trainer for everybody. It needs to be kept at a higher speed on landing and has a few other characteristics that move it into the "advanced trainer" category. I'm not trying to take away anything from Hanger 9 because they did a great job of making a trainer out of a P-51, but there are going to be a lot of students that this plane will just be too much for to learn on from the get go.

Ken

Grab the bull by the horns , start new with an IP and have a plane that grows with you, plus it doesn't have rubber bands. IMHO I'm a NUBIE that has no aspect of a difference , why noy IP with a great IP and learn from a tail dragger?[sm=sunsmiley.gif]

I have installed a LEO .61 in a modified Nexstar & it loves it --- & so does the owner.

Pictures? Post mods... Very interested.

What's an IP?

The Nexstar doesn't have rubber bands.

Sorry, but floats shouldn't affect C-of-G at all. The re-balance with floats is accomplished by adding weights to the floats, rather than the airframe.

Depending on the engine, the battery may need to be moved aft in the Nexstar if a larger engine is used, but it is no big deal at all.

You can get ~ 10 min with a 61 from the stock Nexstar tank.

Lol, That one blew right by me too brother![&:]

I believe that Iron6000 allready owns a NexStar & is inquiring about beefing it up on the power side for float flying & carrying more weight. I have know idea why we are now talking about the H9 PTS or an IP for that matter!

The only IP I am aware of is my Internet Provider.[sm=lol.gif]

I'm pretty sure that IP = intermingled parts