Trainstar Tough Trainer. Flying Around.

...a little fun Trainstar-style


For a while now the Trainstar has been grounded due to increasingly-bad prop vibration.

Initially I thought the front fuselage was flexing from fatigue and installed stiffeners, which made no difference. Then I got a prop balancer & did the prop which likewise had a nominal effect.

It turned out that it was just the bell mount grub screws which, although I'd tightened them, were a little loose as the hex drive had stripped. Fixing this was tricky and painful as I couldn't get the originals out, and I couldn't tap new holes for fresh grub screws as there wasn't enough depth.

Eventually it has been fixed, well enough anyway, and now the Trainstar is back in the air again, still full of character...

Trainstar Tough Trainer EPO 1400. D4023 850kv Replacement Motor.

...fitting the Trainstar replacement motor

Having struggled to get a replacement prop adapter for the Trainstar, I finally decided to get a whole new motor, the D4023 850v from Hobbyking.

This seemed rather wasteful as I only really needed the adapter, but anyway. The D4023 comes with a steel prop adapter, hopefully more durable than the Volantex aluminium item but is otherwise pretty much a direct equivalent replacement.

The D4023 does actually have a different mounting pattern on the bell  mount, three holes instead of four, but fortunately the Volantex saddle mount has a multi-hole configuration which accepts the three-hole pitch with no rework required, which is great.

So the installation is a pretty simple switch-out; even the wire length is just right. The only extra work required is that the D4023 doesn’t come with any connectors, but a few minutes soldering got some 3.5mm bullet connectors fitted just fine…

Trainstar Tough Trainer 1400 EPO. D4023 Motor Test Flight.

...test flying the new motor

Fortune smiled this afternoon with the growing cloud cover holding up just enough for a scenically sunny afternoon for flying. Conditions were a little choppy but, given the lovely afternoon, we were going to give it a try anyway.

As well as being the test flight with its new motor, this was also the first time I’d flown the Trainstar for months after its collision with a light pole, so it was perhaps not surprising that it was out of trim.

As soon as it took off, it was evident that the Trainstar had become very floaty, in contrast to the nose-down attitude I’d been flying it previously. Nevertheless, it was still fun to have it back in the air.

After having a bit of fun floating it around, I brought it in to check trims, and then it was back in the air, flying a bit flatter than before. It was still not smooth flying though, with gusty conditions and wind shear above tree level turning the Trainstar into a kite of sorts.

The new motor performed very well, at least as powerful as the OE unit, and perhaps a little more. Considering its modest cost and ease of replacement, it’s a viable alternative to Volantex’s dodgy prop adapter…

Fun with the Trainstar

...I've changed my mind

This morning, cool and overcast with just a hint of a northerly, I took the Trainstar to the field for its second fly back on its wheels. Having suspected the large battery, fitted to give it a little extra punch and duration in floatplane guise, to be a bit heavy it its native guise, I switched to the regulation power pack and sent the Trainstar on its way, needing to give it a nudge to get it rolling in the longish damp grass.

As before the Trainstar was flying nose-down, needing a few clicks of up trim. However, flying it whilst in the process of trimming it, I discovered that it's actually quite entertaining flown needing a little up elevator, like I do the Radjet. What this does, instead of it wafting around the sky, is to change the high-wing cruiser into a ground-hugging machine, flying in low and purposely, not unlike its high-speed brethren except at about a third of the speed.

The lighter battery, also located further back to balance a little better, seemed to make the turns a little cleaner as well, although the Trainstar still drops like a brick as it turns as well as tightening turns as well both of which make it challenging to fly.

I understand that this is a trainer and that good training aircraft challenge you so that you can learn. Nevertheless I'd be amazed if someone could actually to teach themselves to fly with this plane, its got that many quirks...

Trainstar Launch

...getting the taildragger airborne

Launching the Trainstar is always entertaining; it's such a characterful aircraft that it's always fun to fly. It does, however, does take a little experience to get it right, and I still can't get it to launch perfectly straight.

The battery location is excellent, housed under a clip-off cover under the nose. The battery is held in place, inverted, by the provided velcro as well as a velcro strap. So connecting power is easy, although you do have to flip the old girl for a second!

I fly with the 3S 2200mAh battery; being a big heavy plane I certainly wouldn't recommend anything less, and I think a few people fly with larger power packs than this. Having said that, the 2200mAh will drag the Trainstar out of most awkward spots and gives reasonable flight times.

The Trainstar will launch off grass fields, as long as the growth is not too thick. If you're picturing launching from a wildflower meadow, it's not going to happen. The best advice is to have full elevator during the takeoff run. This keeps the tail planted on the ground until the wings are airborne, preventing ungainly, and potentially disastrous, nose-plants into the ground.

I find, for whatever reason, the Trainstar tends first to the right then, after it builds up some speed, to go veering off to the left. Anyway, I'd recommend getting it off the ground sooner rather than later; you can always hit max power if necessary to drag it up. That way you've got less chance of running into anything, or running off the runway, or disappearing down a rabbit hole...

Trainstar with Camera

...some wheel camera action

This morning a blanket of light mist lay across the paddocks and fields, and kangaroos quietly foraged on the far side of the field. There were there in numbers I hadn't seen previously; a few large adults and some really small joeys. As usual, at the first hint of activity on the field they melted away into the mist.

The covering of mist over the field was light enough to fly, so I hauled out the Trainstar for it's first flight in this regular location.

I had the  Trainstar outfitted with a wingcam on the right wheel cover - I'm not sure how good this would be due to the vibration of takeoff and landing but I thought it might be a more interesting view that on top of the wing. I expect it might be a bit quieter as well, out of the direct wash of the prop.

Anyhow, I have filmed a few take-offs, touch and go's, as well as a nose-plant! The latter was fortunately just a minor incident - I had aborted a take-off and cut power due to the  Trainstar veering left, and it had almost slowed to a stop when it gently keeled forward and rested on the prop. Most amusing and, as I said, no damage caused - the best kind of accident...

What to Learn to Fly With

...in my experience

AXN Floater Jet
Conventional wisdom suggests that pusher planes are ideal trainers, the mid-mounted motor and propellor being well protected.

However, my experience with this configuration in the Floater Jet has been annoying for two reasons:

• They want to fly into the ground when you launch them
• The flight characteristics vary with speed and acceleration

While the prop and motor are protected, the counterintuitive flight characteristics mean you end up crashing the nose. A lot. My example is now destroyed but the propellor and motor are still immaculate. My feeling is that if this thing flew more predictably you wouldn't end up crashing it so often...


Phoenix 2000
I had read somewhere that an important factor in choosing a training aircraft is to get a large one so that visibility and orientation is easier.

My experience with the Phoenix has been mixed:

• They head straight up if you launch them with too much power
• The flight characteristics vary with speed and acceleration

Completely alarming on takeoff to the inexperienced, it also responds very slowly to turns due to its long wingspan, and is susceptible to gusts for the same reason. Similarly, it's large frontal area and high-lift wings mean it doesn't do well flying into headwinds - it goes up as far as it goes forward.

Although an 1800mAh battery is the largest suggested, I'd definitely put a 2200mAh pack up front to weigh the nose down, especially for beginner pilots. It also gives you more power to manage tight situation easier.


Hobbyking Walrus

Someone made a comment on a forum that the Walrus wouldn't really be a trainer plane. I don't know why not, as this is the most benign of the three aircraft I've flown.

• They launch and fly as you'd expect, whether under power or not
• They're manoeuvrable but are as stable as you could hope

The standard propellor is crappy, but replacer that with a carbon 10x6 along with a 2200mAh battery and you have a nice performing all-rounder.

Lanyu Trainstar
The Trainstar is a fun and engaging plane to fly, however again I don't know that I'd choose this as a beginner's plane unless you are being tutored by an experienced pilot. 

The Trainstar is difficult to keep straight during takeoff, can give you a bend prop adapter if you don't keep the tail down and can be a little challenging to fly, like when it tightens in sharp turns.

Having said that, if you can negotiate it's peculiarities, you'll be rewarded with a fun and characterful plane to fly.

Programmable Transmitter
I've found it very useful to have a programmable transmitter, as this allows you to vary the stick sensitivity (expo), alter the transmitting power and also vary servo travel, none of which can be done with a basic transmitter. 

The expo helps make sensitive aircraft more manageable and the travel setting is great for things like setting flap deployment.