Hello,

I am thinking about getting a Nexstar but I am not shure if it is a good plane to start
out with so if someone has trained with one let me know. As well I am fairley sufficient
at flying the Nexstar on Realflight G4 but would like to know if the Nexstar on Realflight
G4 is harder or easier to fly than the real thing?

Thanks, Andrew

Yeah, I'm training on a Nexstar and am progressing very quickly (My instructor says I can solo in 2 weeks, I've been flying about 1 week). The key to my success - a sim ; I feel that its a bit easier to fly in some respects than the sim. I was on the sim for 9 months (most of the time RF G3.5), and practiced at least an 1 hour a day. As you practice and get better on the sim, the easier it will become each training lesson. The Nexstar is a great plane, handles nice, and is just a joy to fly. My dad also learned on a Nexstar but, lets just say it reached its "experation date" before it got passed down to me ; so, I got to build an ARF, by myself w/ supervision from my dad. It was a pretty good to build and I really didn't have any major problems.


TakingFlight96

get an avistar, Its cheaper and in my opinion its got more room to grow.

Andrew: I do not have one but I have flown some of them at my local field, I am not an instructor but I like to help the new people that come to our field and want to learn. It is a good starting plane, it is also very forgiving and will last a lot. What I really like about them is that they come with a great engine that you can use in your next plane. The simulator is a great tool but you will need an instructor when ever you get to any field to practice with your new plane. First time is very important and a qualified instructor have to check everything on your new plane and of course have to be the first to fly it and trim it before it can be ready for you. There is a big difference between using the simulator and the real life flying but as I said is a great tool because you will learn a lot about orientation, and that was a common problem with beginers before the sims were on market. I would say that the real thing is harder and cost a lot more than flying with your Sim, but the real thing is way more fun than the sim.

I liked the NexStar because it had everything in one package - radio, servos, engine, etc. so I didn't have to shop around and ask a lot of questions about getting started.
I never even had AFS enabled, and didn't fly with the training "aids" for very long before my instructors said to remove them. It is a fine trainer but there are cheaper ones.

I trained on the Nexstar. It's a fine plane. Rugged and durable. I solo'ed with it about 6 years ago and it is still around training people. A great plane. RTF combination is a good one. An excellent engine and radio combination. You can learn with or without the gizmos. I used mine, all except the auto-leveling gadget, that is.


CGr.

The Nexstar is a good plane but it definitely isn't the only RTF trainer out there. I'd look at all of the other options. You may save some money by not getting things you won't use like the AFS, LE droops, speed brakes, etc.

I owned a Nexstar that liked and a Tower Trainer ARF. The Tower Trainer was the better flying plane in my opinion. I've also owned a World Models Sky Raider Mach-1 and I think it was better than both of them.

There are a ton of good trainer options out there. Also, don't rule out the ARF route rather than a RTF. You can get a Tower Trainer ARF, OS .46-AX and a Futaba 4-channel radio for under $300.

Ive come to accept that trainers are just trainers. My first plane was a nexstar oh so long ago (2 months) and outgrew it quickly. Its not fun to fly in the wind, you cant really do any aerobatics but it gets you in the air and learning the controls. I still bring it to the field but I havent flown it the last few times. But for the time I used it it did its job and held together quite well. And it does have a good engine/servos to swap to another plane when its time.

I just finished training on my Nexstar. I loved it, until I flew another plane and saw how much more nimble some of the other trainers are. The Tower Trainer is a great deal, and the Avistar is a great flying plane. The Nexstar is very solid. You can fly it in the wind, but it is more affected by the wind. Because of the huge amount of dihedral, the plane wants to roll and dive with rudder use, making landing a bit more of a challenge than with other planes. It does this in the simulator too, so you're probably used to that (you should be using rudder to take off and land). With the wing droops and speed flaps you can fly really, really slow, and land slow. I took them off after the first day though, and never used them again. The plane flies just like it does on the sim you are using. The RTF is a waste of money if you already have a sim, and the leveling system that comes with it is advised against.

I think the Nexstar is one of the best looking trainers (except for the more expensive Sig planes), and I thought I really liked the nylon wing bolts, but really rubber bands are not that bad. I think I bought it 90% for the looks, and again I was really happy with it until I flew the Avistar at the end of my training.

I got the ARF Nexstar. I enjoyed assembling the plane while getting to know and understand how everything works, and choosing my own radio and engine. Knowing what I know now I probably would have gotten an Avistar and a 4 channel radio.

Actually, in the right hands the Nexstar can do some aerobatics. Heck, a student got a kick out of me putting their Nexstar in knife edge (albeit slowly losing altitude) and coming in over the runway upside down just the other day.

I second Nathan King's observations. After having both it and a Superstar, I personally feel that my Nexstar was better. It is perfectly capable of doing loops, rolls, inverted passes, and other stunts if the techniques are learned properly.

NorfolkSouthern

Andrew, as some others have mentioned, you might want to take a look at the Avistar. It`s made by Hobbico, like the Nextstar, and is a terrific flying plane. It is somewhat smaller and more nimble than the Nextstar. I still fly the Avistar I trained and soloed on almost four years ago even though I`ve moved on to other more " advanced " planes. The Select package is a good starter, with the possible exception of the OS 40 LA. While a good enough engine to start out with, if you replace it at some point with a good 46 you`ll be amazed at the upgrade in performance. I learned to fly without the benefit of a sim and was older than the average student, I suppose. I used to think that the Avistar might be a bit too quick for many students, but now everybody seems to use a sim to start with and I no longer feel that way. Check out the Avistar, and welcome to a great hobby!

I recall this topic coming up on several occasions. And, it always amounts to the same thing. Trainers are indeed trainers. But, as was pointed out, trainers can and will do some aerobatics. They won't do some too.. the ones they won't do are the ones that they are designed not to do. For instance, don't try a snap roll. It won't happen. It may look somewhat like a snap roll, but it isn't one.

Nope, it may look like a duck... yeah..yeah..

Ok, now, with that said, I will go further into somethign that I've said before and others also have said before. Don't get rid of your trainer once you have 'grown' out of it. First of all, you might be in a position to help someone else out by offering to let them try your trainer. And, you might be the instructor that helps that person learn to fly.

And you might also want to 'revert' back to the old days and fly something that is gentle and smooth, and easy to fly. Those intense flying times may just lead you to want a relaxing day at the field with your old, trusty trainer. I made the mistake of selling my Nexstar only to buy another trainer a couple years later, actually to serve as a 'club trainer' and also to give me the opportunity to go on out to the field for a gentle and smooth and relaxing day of flying that trainer.

Don't throw it out, and don't disassemble it. Keep it around. Hey, what happens if you do make a drastic mistake and don't have that advanced plane around to fly. You can go back to flying something, at least, and that something could be your old trainer. And, if you do have that accidental event, you really ought not use the same RX and servos until you can confirm that they are ok to use. Meanwhile.. nothing to fly until you get the plane rebuilt and/or the electronics checked out.

My advice is: Hang on to 'em.

CGr.

Couldn`t agree more wih CG regarding keeping your trainer.... for all the reasons he stated. Glad I kept mine. Another reason to keep it is that it`s a good idea to fly a plane you`re VERY comfortable with if you have to fly at a new field and learn new approaches.

[sm=thumbup.gif]

Hey,

Thanks everyone! Would it also be cheaper to get the ARF version and buy the other stuff?
And if I do does it make sense to invest extra money into a 2.4 gigahertz system?

Thanks, Andrew

rwright142,

I've had about 7 or so flights, when would you call it time to ditch the "training aids" ?


TakingFlight96

I think you should take them off when you feel you are ready. Or if you have an instructor then when he or she thinks that you are ready.

Andrew

Before your first flight, IF you have an instructor.

When you instructor says you are ready.

I took the training aids off when I felt like I had more than enough time to make adjustments during my landing approach - when I was able to use my rudder to steer the plane in line with the strip and still had some room to fly it in straight. Really what the training aids do is slow things down; they slow down the speed and the responsiveness of the plane. Removing them will make everything seem like it's happening faster (I went through all this just over a month ago, so it's still pretty fresh).

I was able to do loops, rolls, barrel rolls, and fly inverted circuits with my Nexstar (barrel rolls needed LOTS of altitude!) So yes, it will do aerobatic moves; any trainer will. The Avistar will do them much faster, tighter, and smoother. The Avistar will not fight you as much when you try to roll or use your rudder. After landing with the Nexstar, landing with the Avistar felt like the plane wanted to land itself, it was just so much easier. Saying the Nexstar will do aerobatics is like saying an old Cadillac will drive through an obstacle/road course. Sure it will, with some good driving and slow speed, but most cars will do it much better.

I lost my trainer plane, and wish I hadn't. Right now I wish I had a trainer to use after a few flights with the low-wing, for a relaxing flight. Also, when I banged up my low wing, I wished I had a trainer to fly while making repairs. I also wish I had a trainer to fly my friends on.

2.4ghz is really nice to have, but it's not a necessity. There are close to 40 guys in my club, and the only time there was someone on my channel was during a Saturday fun fly. If money is not an object, you should get one. If you want to save a few bucks, get a nice (OS) engine, the plane you want, and a good FM radio. It will last you for years, and setting up your second, third, and fourth plane with FM will be cheaper, too (FM receivers cost less).

Thanks, guys



TakingFlight96

Its worth it to build your own trainer. I went straight from the nexstar futaba 4ch to the JR X9303. Very good radio. Its overwhelming at first but once you learn the basics of it you can play with the other "junk" in it later. I went right ahead and bought a radio I knew I wouldnt outgrow anytime soon. The other option is to buy the next step up radio and upgrade as you go. Its just cheaper to buy a good radio up front if you know you are going to stay in the hobby.

I got the Nexstar ARF and got a 6 channel computer radio with it. I'm now on my second (or third if you consider the Avistar I flew for 2 days mine) plane, and finding that I still don't need more than 4 channels, and am finding the computer part still a little overwhelming, so am setting up the plane to not have to use it.

I got the OS 46AX with my plane, which was the best decision I have made in my 30 year life. It is so great I never want an engine that is not OS.

Oddly enough, I took mine off after I solo'ed. The big difference was that I needed to re-adjust the elevator (mechanical adjustment) but that was about it. It flew just fine and I had no problems with it at all without the gizmo's.

CGr.