I am looking to get started flying glow engine planes. I went to the hobby store with my son-in-law (who has been flying since he was 9 or so) and we noticed the Hobbico NexSTAR plane. The thing we both liked was that the plane came with it's own simulator flying that particular plane and your remote connects to your computer. He said that he saw a guy that bought one of these and spent hours on the simulator then solo'd his first time out....no buddy box. He was impressed, said it wasn't the prettiest landing he had ever seen, but no crash and no broken parts. I mentioned this to someone at the local air-field and he didn't like the plane because it has an Active Flight System (basically anti-crash) and he felt like that would get in the way (although I assume you can turn that off).

Please give me pros and cons of using the NexSTAR as my first plane. Also, if you do not like this idea, give me a suggestion of the best trainer plane for a beginner.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

I had a friend who learned to fly with that system. The funny thing was that he found that the "Anti-Crash" system was never hooked up and he had never noticed it. He practiced quite a bit on the simulator, though. I agree - not necessary. You'll have to learn to fly without it someday, and most everyone before you has already done so, so it's not really necessary, just a crutch. In my opinion, you might even learn a bad habit or two by becoming dependant on it.

You might give some thought to reinforcing the main landing gear area from the inside. Being a trainer, the plane is going to take some abuse. Those plug-in gear are nice to install, but were a real bugger to fix after a few 'hard' landings. It was repairable, but it might be good to reinforce it before things get that far.

Also, one minor point that your son-in-law would probably pick up on anyway - the present high speed needle was way off. he could not start the engine himself. I finally got it going after removing the 'stop' and manually adjusting the valve.

Overall, the plane was a nice setup. You'll do pretty well learning to fly on it. Happy Landings!

Bob

I have been flying for about 15 years now and can remember back before sim's were introduced. I had the good fortune to have an instructor with over 30 years experience. My first plane was an Aerostar 40 with a .46 OS on the front. It lasted until my third solo flight (were it was turned into toothpicks on landing). I had flown it every weekend for about 6 weeks on Saturday and Sunday (3 filghts each day). I replaced it with a .60 size Aerostar and was surprized at how much easier it was to fly the larger plane. As I moved to my next plane I was happy that I had purchased the larger plane because it was easier to locate a tail dragger that used a .60 size verses the .40 size. I would suggest finding a larger .60 size trainer because I found it easier to locate planes in the .60 size than .40 size.

The Nexstar is an excellent first airplane. The active flight stabilization system is unnecessary in my opinion but it does work. If you don't like it, just disconnect it. While the simulator isn't an exact replica of actual flight it does help teach you not to overcontrol the airplane, keep it straight & level, etc. Another good thing is that you can use your engine and radio gear in your second airplane. A Nexstar isn't the only RTF trainer out there but it is one of the best in my opinion.

If you turn the AFS off the NexStar is a fine Trainer. That is exactly how I soloed too. After long hours of sim practice I went out & flew it. The AFS almost cost me the plane on my first flight but after managing to get her back on the ground safely I turned it off then went on to have a great day of flying with it. Having said that, let me say that I was sort of forced into this method of soloing due to severe medical problems with two instructors. One right after the other. One is no longer with us, we lost him to cancer a couple of months later. R. I. P. Glenn. After my second instrcutor got into serious medical trouble too I broke down & went at it on my own. If you can come up with a qualified instructor to teach you, you would be much better off & you can get away with a much less expensive Trainer too. All the extra gadgets run up the cost of the NexStar. I also have a Tower Trainer that was $259 RTF at the time, not sure what it is costing these days but it also is a great flying Trainer!! I still have & fly it today. It's great fun to play with when the winds get up around 25mph or more & I don't want to risk a more expensive plane I break out the Ol' Tower Trainer & have at it. Do yourself a favor & try the tradional route of using an instructor first. They can teach you much faster, safer & you will learn things that won't require the old hard lesson learned method. Not to mention they will keep your plane in one piece for ya while you are learning!
Good Luck!!

The Avistar is a great trainer... the semi-symmetric airfoil with only a little dihedral makes it more aerobatic than the typical trainers (with lots of dihedral and a flat-bottomed airfoil). If you have a good instructor and a buddy box, I think you'll learn just fine on it, and you won't get board with it as quickly.

IMHO I hate the Nexstar, I'd rather teach on anything else. I believe the Nexstar is the worse trainer going.
now remember I said IMHO. to go with that the LT-40 is the best
Good Luck and have a ball

I learned on a Nexstar without all the bells and whistles. Just basic plane without the speed brakes or AFS mess..........great trainer. New school though, I did have the help of a simulator (not for that plane) but a G2 and a great instructor. Good luck with it....

Just an added comment. I do plan on using an instructor. I have found a local instructor, plus my son-in-law will work with me also. Sorry that was confusing.

The Nextar is an excellent choice. The simulator is great for learning - but as others have said, it's not exactly the same, but an excellent training tool nonetheless. But turn off the auto pilot... it has a bad reputation. Other than that, the Nextar is top knotch

I like the Nexstar. I bought one to teach a buddy of mine to fly on. It's been a great plane since. I'd recommend it. Good luck,,,

Yup we recently saw one plane crash due to the AFS.

Just turn it off!

Do that and it's a good trainer.

Also consider that there are other alternatives as well.

The Nexstar is a fine trainer but I have to go with jetmech05 on this one. The Sig LT40 is by far the nicest, most gentile trainer I have ever used.
I acquired one myself last summer and even with the LA-40 it flies better than any Hobbico trainer we have. I tried the same plane with a .46FX and it was even better, but not necessary.

I'd bet a student would solo sooner with an LT40 that with the Nexstar with or without all it's bells and whistles.

I've trained on the Nexstar, the Tower Trainer, the Hanger 9 Alpha Trainer, a SPAD Debonair, and the Hanger 9 P-51 PTS.

IMHO, the best trainer of the bunch was the SPAD Debonair! It flys as well as any of the other trainers, but it will take a tremendous amount of punishment, it can be built very economically and quickly, and gives you many more options for more aerobatic flight once you gain some experience.

After that, the LT-40 is an excellent trainer. Gentle flyer, and if you build the kit, you can make it strong. Maybe not as aerobatic as the next group when your more experienced.

Next in line is the Hanger 9 Alpha Trainer and the Tower Hobbies Trainier. These are almost clones. Slightly smaller than the LT-40. The Evolution engine on the RTF version is OK, but I personally prefer the ARF version with a TT Pro 46. Or you can spend a little more and put the OS 46 AX on it, but the performance improvement is marginal for the extra cost. The Alpha doesn't have as high a lift wing as the Nexstar, and slightly less dihedral, making basic aerobatics a little easier. My only complaint is the wire landing gear.

The Nexstar is an adequate trainer, and has the advantage of the 60 day guarantee (If you're flying at an AMA field with an AMA instructor and you crash, they replace the plane). I never use the AFS, so why pay for it. I also strip off the air brakes and wing droops. That's what an instructor is for. I think the original design was intended to allow people to learn to fly without an instructor. Not a smart approach. As for flight characteristics, this is the least aerobatic of the trainers, and tends to fly sluggishly. The rounded fuselage makes for a more scale appearance, but it also complicates repairs when you do crash.

The least recommended trainer is the P-51 PTS. Having said that, the P-51 is an excellent second plane. Just read the threads on how to strengthen the landing gear and fuselage. Otherwise, you have very short days at the field.

Good Luck.

Brad

I learned to fly on my Nexstar back in 2005, and I have a couple of perspectives on the plane that I haven't seen expressed here yet.

The problem with ALS system is it works by pointing the top of the plane toward the sun. If you fly at noon every day, you'd probably think this was the greatest thing ever. If you fly during the morning or the evening however, the ALS system keeps banking your plane toward whichever direction the sun is located and you have to constantly correct the airplane's course. If you're not flying at noon, unplug the ALS.

The Nexstar has a lot of fine attributes. It's a great looking plane and the bolt-on wing gives it a much cleaner look than a trainer with rubber bands and dowels. It's nice and large, more the size of a .60-sized trainer than a .40-sized trainer, so it's stable and easy to see. It comes with a very high quality engine that offers plenty of power and very reliable performance.

The Nexstar has a few bad attributes. The ALS, wing pods, and air brakes are all unnecessary. The landing gear may not always lock into place and can fall out while you're flying. The Nexstar's large wing is wonderful for learning to land, the glide characteristics make it very easy to bring down even without power. The same wing characteristics that create gentle landings, however, also make the plane more of a challenge in windy conditions. The plane tends to "balloon" into upwind turns because of that huge wing surface.

The bundled G2 Nexstar Edition simulator is a terrific idea that is now being copied by everybody on the planet. Having the simulator to fly when the weather or your schedule won't allow you to head to the field is a great asset. It's not a particularly realistic simulator, but it is great for practicing a number of things.

There are three trainers that I would rank ahead of the Nexstar. I owned a Nexstar and I liked my Nexstar, but knowing what I do now, I would choose either the Sig Kadet LT-40 RTF, the Hangar 9 Alpha 60 RTF, or the Thunder Tiger Tiger Trainer 60 Super Combo ahead of the Nexstar.

All of these planes are nice large trainers with high quality radios and engines. All of these trainers share the Nexstar's good looks and gentle glide and landing characteristics. None of these planes suffer from the same quirky handling that the Nexstar experiences while turning into the wind.

The Nexstar typically sells for around $379.99 ready to fly, with the simulator in the box. The Sig Kadet LT-40 RTF is available directly from Sig for $319.99. The Thunder Tiger Tiger Trainer .60 Super Combo is available from eHobbies.com for only $279.99; with the money you save choosing the Tiger Trainer .60 over the Nexstar, you can actually buy a full registered version of the EasyFly2 simulator and have more than one plane and one flying field on your computer. The Alpha .60 RTF is comparably priced to the Nexstar at around $389.99.

If you end up with a Nexstar Select RTF, you will have a terrific airplane for a fair price and a good basic flight sim to practice with. The other three trainers that I've mentioned, however, represent better vaules for the money simply because the cost of gimmicks like air brakes, wing pods, and an ALS system aren't built into the price. The Tiger Trainer .60 Super Combo is a particularly outstanding value, it's priced the same or less as most of the .40-sized RTF packages on the market:

http://www.ehobbies.com/ttr4503-f12.html

If you want the most aircraft for your money, the Tiger Trainer .60 is impossible to beat.