I crashed my Nexstar this past weeekend. Not really sure what went wrong yet. I was just doing some loops about 200 feet up. I pitched the nose down to get a little speed( I was 1/2 to 3/4 throttle) and it never came back up ( I started pullign up after about a 25 ft decrease in altitude, however it nosed in to the corn, damage is fixable but it will propably get pused back till fall, since I have a cub that I can also fly. Question, some of the guys at the club suggested I get an Ultra Stick as replacement.

Any thoughts? We have 3 of them at the club, it dosen't sound like a lot however when I joined this past spring I was the eleventh member. How does it handle compared to my nexstar, I have the 46 that will need a home for a while however I'm more tempted to go with the 60 version and put my O.S. FP 60 in it and then have the ability to jump up in motor size once I'm more comfortable. What are your guy's thoughts?

Well, first of all it is not a Nexstar. It is an aerobatic type, and if I recall, symmetrical airfoil arrangement. If it's anything like my Wildstick, well, it is much more reactive than the Nexstar ever was or every would be.

If you can handle that sort of reactive aircraft, then go for it. I would be very careful how you set it up for the first several flights, keeping the control surface throws at a minimum, and keep the weight down. Power it properly.. using what I would consider the absolute minimum would be what the manufacturer would call the maximum powerplant.. you can always prop it down and use good sense with throttle management.. then be aware that it will probably land much faster than the Nexstar..

When I bought my Wildstick 40, I read the manual through but at a glance. I then started the build. I then read the manual a bit more thoroughly and saw, on the second page, in big letters... 'Careful throttle management is a requirement when flying this plane' (or words to that effect). I asked the LHS what that meant.. he said that I probably don't want to fly it full throttle for a very long period of time... I was using the OS 50 engine. Given the thick, symmetrical wing, with large control surfaces, it did not handle high speeds very well, or very long. Those barn-door control surfaces handle a lot of pressure from a fast moving aircraft, and could fail or cause a failure if you fly it to fast. Especially after doing something vertical, and heading down, and pulling a quick maneuver.. it may object to that sort of flying. It is meant more for 3D type flying than real serious, fast paced aerobatics.

My Wildstick has flaps and ailerons. If flying straight and level, if I deploy the flaps, the thing will do a fast loop with all the lift it gets. It will loop at slow speeds, roll like the best of them, but all at slower speeds. Oh, it will do it at high speeds too, but probably not for very long.. []

The Ultra Stick is probably in the same category. Be careful, but, if it flys like my wildstick, and if you are careful, you will find out that
it flys pretty good.

Hope this helps.
DS

The Ultra-Stick 60 was my second glow plane after my Nexstar. I found it easier to land than the Nexstar because of a very predictable sink rate. The Nexstar would float forever. It is a point and shoot airplane, meaning it is not self correcting. When you put it in a bank, it stays there until you take it out of the bank. The Ultra-Stick is a tail dragger, ground handling is slightly different, but the U.S. is an easy handling tail dragger.

If you were smooth with your Nexstar, I don't think the Ultra-Stick will give you any trouble. Just keep it on low rates until you are used to it. I would say go for it. It is a fun plane.

I called the LHS and ordered the Ultra Stick, I can pick it up on Thursday, so hopefully I can get it ready for Saturday afternoon

As has been said already, just set your rates down and keep out of the throttle for the first tank! Should be an excellent second plane. Remember that this plane will not self-correct. Whatever flight angle you put it in it will stay there.....all the way to the ground.

hey,
you'll love the ultrastick! they will fly very slow even slower than a trainer. with flaps i have flown backwards in a breaze. do a search on this site for mods to make in setting up the arf ultra sticks. i love mine but they need a little help in certain areas such as reinforcing wing hold downs and firewalls. i cut a tank hatch in mine to make tank fixes easy as well, also reinforce the split horiz stab a little in the joiner. but do these "fixes" without undue weight additions. i just used micro balloons and CA in the fuse and a little carbon fiber and ca on the stab... oh yeah reinforce the LG block as well.( use plastic bolts for mounting your LG. resist putting a motor on that is two heavy and it will balance with the gear in standard location. take A LOT of care to see that it is well balanced lenghtwise and wing tip to tip. have fun

You will love the US.. It was also my second airplane and I've really enjoyed it.. You should build it with the quad flap option if your have a radio capable of handling the flaps.. The CROW feature is INCREDIBLE and you don't want to miss out on that opportunity. Also as you assemble your airplane do a "dry fitting" with all of the components to check the CG. Most all of us have had to mount the rudder/elevator servos in the rear of the airplane to get the balance right. For some reason they ALL come out very nose heavy.. Great airplane though. Mine has a Tower .75 on it and has unlimited vertical..

I should be able to pick the plane up tomorrow, maybe this afternoon, if i can skip out of work early, I've read several threads on modifications. At this point I think the rudder and elevator servos in the tail will happen. I'm intrigued by the " hatch " people have suggested, I can't picture how that would work do I cut the section out then beef up the edges and screw it in? or create a lip on it and do a hinge?

I figure I will ask some guys at the field on Saturday assuming I can make it out. My club is real intersting, their is only three memebrs that are not retired, and everyone else flys on wedednesday and saturday mornings, so if I don't make it out to the filed by 1 on Saturday, their is no one around. As of right now I intend to use an OS 60 FP that is in my J3 Cub, I think that should provide plenty of power till I reach a comfort level with the plane.

Thanks for the suggestions.