Spitfire MkIX 1200 mm (PNF)

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Customer Rated

Dec 29, 2013

Maiden today, flew fantastic, only on 3s but plenty of power for where I fly, belly landing only and hand launch. Very happy with this plane!

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Customer Rated

Aug 27, 2013

I like this Spitfire, it's one of my favorites. Flies really well on 3s, but rocks on 4s. Upgraded the ESC for 4s. Raking the gear forward is a must. I also made some stiffer wing attachments for it. For belly landing I use an 11x8 folding prop, it is quite a good match. Had it been available at the time, I would have bought the Durafly version. The Durafly one seems to have fewer problems.

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Customer Rated

Mar 03, 2013

When I got my Spitfire to the field every one commented on how great it looked and flew very scale on 3s. I had only flown it about 6 times when the wing folded in flight in the middle of a turn. I now no longer have my lovely Spitfire. If I buy another one I will be adding carbon fibre to the wings to stop this happening again. I would still recommend this plane but do the few changes that the other people say to do.

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Customer Rated

Dec 05, 2012

Great plane, went together super easy, one of the retracts DOA , well what can you do,but it looks great in the air. I'm running 4s 2200mah flies great, easy to hand launch, don't pull to hard on the elevator the wings will flex a lot, also just make sure you fit the battery right at the front, needed to trim the foam a little to make the battery fit, but overall great plane.

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Customer Rated

Nov 22, 2012

I have finally maidened this plane now. I'm somewhere between a beginner and intermediate flyer.
First flight. Lifted off and I thought it going to rise too quickly so dropped power and crashed. Nose half torn off. Glued back together.
Flight 2 and 3. Both short flights, max of two minutes each. Just gentle laps. All good.
Flight 4. Just after previous flight. I think the flap servo came loose after take-off. Plane just wanted to come down and turning woeful. Crashed missing the long grass I tried to fly over and hit the hard gravel. Result was broken wing and nose.
Flight 5. Heavy landing in long grass and broke other wing. Spent more time repairing as by now the wing mounting screws were loose and wing to fuse rather loose.
Flight 6. A short fly to see that all was well.
Conclusion. The wings are fragile and likely to break from the guns back. I've now put some carbon rod in wings to reinforce. I'd say this plane is not very crash proof but sure looks good out of the box. The canopy also needs something extra to hold it on as it came off twice so put some velcro next to the magnet.

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Customer Rated

Sep 26, 2012

Got mine today. Looks really good and the pilot fills the cabin rather than looks like the midget in the photo. Only downer was that it didn't have an XT60 connector fitted to the ESC so I had to take the fitted connector off and install one to match up with my batteries. Assembly instructions are quite good. Maiden flight tomorrow.

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Customer Rated

Jul 16, 2012

Did the same mods as others have reported before the maiden flight; that is, raking forward the LG, ejecting Howdy Doody and making and installing my own Biggles, and painting the inside of the cockpit and exhaust stacks. Note: I did the exhaust stacks with a black felt marker and it gave them a nice blue/black look that is very scale. First flight from grass on a zero wind day using 2200 3S 25C and HK 6DF TX/RX. Full power resulting in standing on its nose. Feeding it in slower with full up elevator until things got rolling worked OK. Was taken by surprise when it lifted off sooner than I expected. This bird flies on the wing, not just the power. No drama, just a couple of clicks more right aileron and rudder and she was cruising around nicely. Gear up and you can notice the slight speed increase and better performance. Seems a bit pitchy on elevator but not too bad. Stall is not drastic, spins are pretty normal but fairly nose down with quick rotation so leave plenty of altitude, but recover is very quick. Lovely loops, immelmans, split S's, and of course the obligatory victory roll. Brought is round the circuit, dropped the gear and lined up for the moment of truth. Kept on a tiny bit of power through flair and greased it on. It rolled out and stood on its nose just as it stopped. Same on second flight but they've since cut the grass and it now rolls out fine. This is a beau

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Customer Rated

May 19, 2012

I have four flights on my Spitfire now, and out of the five planes that I have, this one is the best flier, period. I upgraded mine with a 50am esc and am running 2800 4cell 30c batteries. On this setup, with a bit of carving out orchid battery compartment, the battery sits up against the firewall, the cg is slightly nose heavy and perfect to penetrate through the air.

It needed a touch of up trim and right trim, and then it flew like it was on rails. On a 4cell setup this thing is lively, and has near limitless vertical performance. In terms of outright speed, it is quite fast, but there is not a huge increase from 3/4 to full throttle. I think tue propellor is beating as much air as it can, but you do notice tue extra throttle when climbing.

On the 2800 batteries I am getting 7min flights with heaps of battery left. Next time I am google to set the timer for 8mins.

I added more rake to the lg, took out tue midget pilot and put a nice WW2 one in. While I did that, I painted the inside of the canopy dark grey, as well as the exhaust stacks and cannons. Looks heaps better.

This is such a great flyer that I just had to let everyone know as if you don't have one, you are missing out.

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Customer Rated

Apr 22, 2012

Well I maidened my spitfire this morning, and all I can say is WOW! This is my best flying plane...period.

The battery I used for both flights were Zippy Flightmax 2800mah 4cell 30c. With these batteries stuffed against the firewall the cg was perfect.

Like some others had mentioned, I too was really nervous about flying the spit, and I can't see how such a reputation is warranted. This plane flew like it was on rails. I did a few stall tests and she does drop a wing a bit, but nothing crazy, and it doesn't snap. Moreso, it is a progressive stall.

I guess what gives the spitfire it's reputation as being hard to fly and responsive as a model, is also exactly what made it so fun to fly today. It just cuts through the air like a warm knife through butter.

It was probably the most uneventful maiden I have had. It needed a bit of down trim and and left aileron. On 4cell batteries, with stock prop and motor (but upgraded 50amp esc), it was fast enough for more than scale flying. Vertical performance is fantastic. It just climbs and climbs.

As I was operating from a grass field, the forward rake mod was a must. Even with this mod, it still wanted to nose over when landing. Takeoffs were ok as long as you feed the power in carefully. Too much throttle too quickly on grass will result in a noseover.

I promised that I would give a report of how it landed with flaps. This is the fir

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Customer Rated

Apr 13, 2012

This is a really nice flier guys, flies on rails and landings are a breeze. I flew her on a calm day so I'll need to fly her on a windier day just to see how she goes. I used everything stock and she flew OK, I do think a little more power is needed to make her perfect. I also agree with ohters on this discussion the 3 blade prop looks lovely but, a good two blade on 4s would do the job. Stats......Everything stock with 3 blader 2200 3s lipo gives 190W of power, at 18A. Two blade APC 12x6 gives a bit more, 212W, at 21A. I flew on both and on the two blade she was a bit faster and positive, not much though. I've already put in an order for a 4s ESC, and then give her another test.