Hey guys.

I'm new here, and Iam very sad, to say the least. I am a new model flyer. I had a JR Alpha trainer, which I was getting pretty good with, until one day, I hear d a"pop", and down she went. That was my first big money crash ($$50). I know it's not much to many of you guys, but it broke my heart and set me back for a while. I recently bought a Hobbico Nextar ARF, and purchased a Futaba 6EX radio system, and a Magnum XLS .46 engine.This all cost me about $300. I put the "training wings" on the plane because I had not flown in 6 months, and I foud that the plane was more difficult to fly than my Alpha without the leading edges and airbrakes. Needless to say, I crashed the plane today, almoast completely shearing the fuselage in half. I found that the rudder got stuck in hard left posistion, even after checking all controls and surfaces. Also, the motor has a nast habit of killing on me really quickly. I had to pull the plane out of a tree. I had to fight back the tears. I want to start over, but I am not sure if it would be better to just get a whole new ARF, or try to take out the damadged parts and rebuild? I have never built a "kit before, and I don't know where to go from here. I am about to start taking welbutrin again so I can sleep, and this last episode makes me really need it.

Any word of wisdom, or offers of help for this confused beginner?
Thanks

nexstar had an ad that guarenteed your plane if you had a flight instructor and such.this is from the webpage.(The NexSTAR is such a great way to learn to fly that we guarantee your success! As long as you train at an AMA-chartered club with a qualified, club-designated instructor, if you crash before successfully learning to fly, we’ll repair or replace it with any Hobbico trainer of up to equal value...FREE!
See your instruction manual for details.)i am not sure about your situation but if you fall in the catagory stated here they might replace your airplane,good luck.
http://www.hobbiconexstar.com/success.html

You want words of wisdom? Get an instructor and lower the cost of learning to fly.

Regards,
doubledee

Thanks for the reply guys.



I did have an instructor, but I am not sure if he was AMA certified. and the local club and he do not get along very well.

I know that I will most likely have to purchase another plane. I have found so many testimonials about the nexstar, that I really want to get another one, but I doon't want the wing attatchments. The plane flew to eraticly. Any suggestions as to another plane?

Wellbutrin is not what you need. You can probably repair the Nexstar. Post some pics of the damage on this site. A lot of crashed planes can be repaired and will look and fly just as good as new. What may be a disaster to you is not to many of us.

Post the pictures from several angles and lets see if we can repair this dude.

The Hobbico SuperStar or Sig Kadet or LT-40 are good trainers, but probably not much different from the Nexstar without the wing gizmos. (Never flew one so I don't know that). Find a flat area at least about 400 ft x 600 ft without trees. At this point I'd try repairing what you've got as it has been "broken in" and will hurt less the next time it picks up battle damage. Servos can "lock up" if the linkage and endpoints aren't set up correctly - like hyperextending your knee (and with similar results).

There will be setbacks. Don't stress out. It can be a little cost intensive in the beginning for sure. Like any good hobby, it has a learning curve.

You should have 2 nice radio systems, JR Quattro and Futaba 6EX, both with full flight packs (4 servos each, switches, receiver batteries, and receivers). You should also now have an Evolution TPS .45 BB engine and your Magnum XLS .46A. That's a pretty good stockpile of engines and flight equipment to work with.

There are several .40-sized trainer ARFs on the market that can be assembled with little-to-no building required. The Global RCM trainer, available from Tower Hobbies or Hobby People, is one such plane that is almost completely prefabricated. Another trainer designed with this level of complete prefabrication is the Thunder Tiger Tiger Trainer .40 MkII.

The control surfaces are already hinged, and the plane simply needs to be pulled out of the box so the wings can be screwed together and the tail assembly bolted on. After that, you simply install the engine and radio equipment and you can begin your preflight checks. Both of these planes retail for about $120. They're a bit more than a Nexstar ARF, but can be ready to fly more quickly.

There are also some excellent traditional trainer ARFs available for $69.99 to $79.99 in price like the Hangar 9 Solo Sport/Solo Star, the Seagull Models Arising Star, the World Models Sky Raider Mach I, the World Models Super Frontier .40, The Tower Hobbies Tower Trainer .40 Mk II, The VMar Discovery .40, and the Vmar Challenger .40

You can buy a largely prefabricated trainer ARF like the Global RCM trainer or Tiger Trainer .40 MKII to get back in the air as quickly as possible. If you like assembling your ARFs and appreciate the building experience you gain, you can buy a good $69.99 to $79.99 trainer airframe and save yourself some additional money. In either event, your existing engines and radio equipment should be usable. You will need to thoroughly check out your receivers and servos to make sure that no crash damage occured.

Crashing your plane is very disappointing, but you simply have to accept that crashes are part of the hobby. Every crash is an opportunity to learn more about repairing and maintaining your models, and while you shouldn't greet crashes with enthusiasm, they do help you grow and improve in the hobby.

Whether you repair the Nexstar or build a new ARF, spend some additional ground time with your flight instructor (or any experienced builder) overseeing your build/repairs and ground checking your plane thoroughly to assure that your next few flights are trouble-free. Good luck!

The rudder failure and the known tendency of your motor to die on you quickly are two conditions that cause me to doubt the ability of your instructor. He has not helped you properly tune your motor, nor has he taught you how to do it. The rudder failure is probably due to a construcion error (hinge failure, control rod bent, or radio problem) that probably had some indication on the ground which you are not experienced enough to see, and neither did your instructor. Why doesn't he get along with the local club? Doesn't like the safety rules? Doesn't fly well? Other pilots are afraid of him? If you don't know if he's an AMA member, you're not asking enough questions.

Repairs are not difficult, even for a fuselage that's broken in half. The most expensive part to replace is usually the covering. If you don't want to go the repair route, get the Tower Hobby trainer. Its a great flyer (better than the Nexstar IMHO). Then do some more homework on the club and your instructor.

Brad

Hi meddad
Was your instructor using the trainer cord feature built into all of the radios today? Most people I have trained learned without hurting their plane. I'm always dissapointed when I hear of people quitting this wonderful hobby because they had bad experiences trying to learn one their own or with poor instructions.

You have your Gonzales club and there is another very close in Prarieview www.redstickrc.org

I remember something being said on these forums before that the nextar acted weird if you left the wing extensions on and took all the other goodies off. That might be somethign to keep in mind.

I have to agree though, if the engine kept dieing and the rudder locked, your instructor didn't help you set stuff up properly and break it in.

if you need ideas on how to repair your plane then if you can post some photos there are many "builders" that can lend some advice to your repair route fixing a crash damaged plane is pretty easy if you know how.
I crashed my NEXTAR pretty good, smashed the fuse, and tore out the firewall, and in a couple of days and some CA glue later I was back flying again its only hard if you are not sure how.
my NEXTAR is pretty much retired now but has had many crash and repairs and is still very much flyable if I wanted to do so.

Re:
I had a JR Alpha trainer, which I was getting pretty good with, until one day, I hear d a"pop", and down she went. That was my first big money crash ($$50). I know it's not much to many of you guys, but it broke my heart and set me back for a while. I recently bought a Hobbico Nextar ARF, and purchased a Futaba 6EX radio system, and a Magnum XLS .46 engine.This all cost me about $300.

$50 repair doesn't sound bad especially vs replacing an entire plane and I hear all excellent things about the alpha 40 and 60, why not fix your alpha or get another alpha since it appears you were successful with plane vs the Nexstar that you were having problems flying?

What was the "pop," and do you still have everything from the Alpha? If yes, it might be worth getting replacement parts through the hobby shop; or direct from http://www.horizonhobby.com and putting it back together.

Was the Alpha crash a 50 dollar hit, or was it 250? I ask because I'm pretty sure you spent a lot more than 50 bucks getting the NexStar up and running, I've seen some sites where people like to use a dollar sign to represent 100 dollars rather than simply typing the number.

Hi

As previously mentioned send some pics of the damage.

The basic principle of repairing them is to keep all the bits, glue it back together like a jigsaw puzzle, then cut out the damaged areas and splice in new bits all the cuts should be angled to spread the loads on the joints.

If the engine keeps cutting once the engine has been tuned and running ok its almost always the tank or fuel lines.

Simon

AMA Certified does not mean a thing. How many millions of idiots have a "drivers or pilots license?" You had an engine that was not tuned properly and a plane that was not checked out very well. I suggest when you get your next plane, get a different instructor.

Hey guys,

Thanks for all of you kind words and support. I still have my Nexstar, just put away for right now. As to the Alpha, the damage was TOTAL. The fuse was smashed all the way back to almost the tail, and the servos are pretty shaky. I have put another Nexstar in layaway, and I will try and contact someone from the Gonzales club. I recently acquired a registration for for them, but it had no contact information, and no costs. I have heard that all of the non-club controlled (can't get in w/out being a member) areas are pretty hazardous because of all the radio interferance around them (dog training collars) because the trainers like to come out at the same time i try to fly, and they just set the dogs loose, not even thinking about others using the area. I immediately land, because 1: if I crash, I don't want to hit the dogs or people, 2: I don't want the dogs chasing and eating my plane while taxying. I just want to be safe. I WILL get back in the air, somehow, some way.I just need some time to get the money together for the plane, and AMA membership, and local club dues.
Again, I appreciate you guys giving me advice. I will post some pics of the Nexstar and see what you say.

Until then,
Keep your eyes on the sky.

Meddad
If it's any consolation to you crashes do happen.
Do yourself a favor try to develope a liking to building and repairing these things.
I myself had a terrible encounter at a local flying field with the president of the club while at the field on an off day with a member.
To make a long story short I decided I would teach myself to fly if it cost me a million dollars! (almost there!)
I have a nice place on my own land to try. It has become sort of funny.
My usual flying day goes something like this:
One neighbor to another:
"Hey Bob , Dan's going to try to fly his 40 trainer today you wanna go watch"?
Bob: "Well Bill If I do I'm not getting out of the van"!
Bill: "Why not?" " Your safer out of the van than in it"! ( another long story)
Lets just say I did'nt feel bad as I sold Bob the van and even with the damage it's worth more than he paid!

As for your passion for the plane I completely understand. I have a Goldberg cub that will probably never leave my work bench. I just don't have the heart to take it out and wreck it. but as far as the other planes in my stable the are all fair game!
My advice to you is unless you are as pig headed as I am or have a endless resource of funds get help!
And do not solicite help from anyone that can not fly better than you. When I sneak off to my flying field by myself ten buddies show up making it a three ring circus not to mention the endless jokes , it has become as much of the fun as the flying is.....
Even the UPS guy askes me when he delivers my tower Hobbies packages if it is more glue.................

Going up!....Coming down!

we had a person at my club who got a nexstar and he had the wing ext and air brakes and nearly lost his plane. we took off all the added on stuff and other than trimming it flew good

I learned on the NexSTAR Deluxe with an instructor, a certified AMA instructor. I had the wing gizmo's installed during the entire process and found that they DID help. After I solo'ed, I removed the devices one pair at a time. I never used the flight stabalization gizmo. I didn't like it. Once I removed the wing gizmo's, I flew that plane for several months until I moved up to a Tiger 60.

The devices help. But, if you learn to fly without them, well, so much the better. But, they do make it easier to learn. I fly Pattern planes now, by the way, so I must have learned something.

DS.

Good afternoon gentlemen!!!


As of today, I have received, built, tested, and flown my NEW Nexstar a total of 8 times with NO crashes!!!! This is over two different days, including last Saturday, when I flew in the company of some fellows that have been flying for years. The general impression I received from them was that I fly like a scale modeler. I was told that the way I take off, bank, climb, manage altitude were great! When another fellow with a Nexstar came in and flew while the guys weren't paying attention, they came over and asked "why were you flying dumb just now? We saw how good you were flying, but now, I just don't know!" I replied " That wasn't me. Look down the flightline and you'll see who's flying." They apologized and asked if I could give the guy some pointers! ME? WOW!

I'm back in the cockpit gang!!!

James

That's certainly a compliment but why didn't they go and say something constructive to the other guy themselves? Easy to sit back and point fingers. Takes a friend to go and actually help someone. I hope you did go and try to help.

Yes I did go and help him. He was continuously trying to land with the wind instead of into it, and trying to take of with the wind. He couldn't figure out why it was taking him the entire length of the field to take off (just barely making it), as well as almost taking out fences at the ends of the field when he landed (too fast). After some repeated reminders, he got the idea, and followed my suggestions, saving his plane from wrecks three times.

Good work and Good Deed for the day

I have to remind myself from time to time that the wind does change direction on my field sometimes in the middle of the flight, and I need to look at the little flag/ribbon on my tx antenna to figure out which way to come in or take off from.