Kyosho Airium Spitfire Receiver Ready

One of my favorite planes in my hanger. Looks good, flies good, and repairs are easy. The only reason I give it 2 stars is due to the poor availability of the 3 bladed propeller. You need it in order to fly this thing..lol. Kyosho's motor uses a hub with a molded nut, and the back of the prop fits on top of this "nut" squarely. It's difficult to mod an aftermarket 2 bladed , $1 gws blade to it. Most people I've seen, have gone ahead and replaced the motor entirely, but then you run into fit issues, and of course..you cannot use the OEM spinner anymore - it just ruins the look of the plane which is one of its strong points.

I am just finishing up doing a detailed review of this plane for RC groups that should appear there soon. I have given this plane a five star award as I found it an excellent parkflyer for an Intermediate pilot or better as posted. At the current special price it is a bargain as well. While I got the RTF version I also flew it with a Spektrum receiver and flew it with one of my transmitters. I agree with Mr Gamble that the propellers are brittle and will break easily if they touch the ground to early in the landing but with a nice flair just before touch down there is no problem. The plane does nice axial rolls, loops, split Ss and all warbird type maneuvers I have tried. The detail of the guns in the wings and the antenna really add to my pleasure of watching her in the air. Using low rates to launch with the included transmitter or with exponential on with my transmitter I had very stable performance and smooth launches that have been trouble free. Once at altitude I swtich to high rates and start doing aerobatics. With a two cell battery I found the speed to be acceptable and she really moves with a three cell pack. I prefer the two cell pack and doing a lot of aerobatics that she can do quite quickly. She is a real eye grabber in the air or on her stand in my office. Mine still loks like new but i have broken one prop when I accidently flew a bit tail heavy and messed up my landing. While not for Beginners she is a very nice little warbird for intermediate and better pilots.

The plane is easy to put together and looks terrific, fine detailing, especially the decals. I love the size, which is between the micro flyers and the more hefty brushless motor planes. As an only modestly capable flyer I am a bit nervous flying the latter around people and dogs, but need a bit more excitement than offered by the micros outdoors. My maiden flight started off smoothly enough although at launch I had to be quick on the ailerons to avoid a cartwheeling crash. While the miniature brushless motor is a marvel of engineering and provides plenty of power, the plane is a bit tippy at low speeds. The plane looked great in the air and handled well high and at speed (I was really enjoying the flight), but when I lowered the altitude and speed I got into trouble and hit the ground in what I though was a relatively gentle crash. Unfortunately, the non-EPO frame and propeller are unforgiving. The propeller broke and the fuselage snapped in half. I am fairly talented in repairing planes and had it back out to the field shortly thereafter, but couldn't get in into the air and under control on my second flight. Although I brought it down carefully and without body damage, it turns out that anything but a nicely flared landing snaps the propeller. I cannot recommend the plane for that reason. The three prong plastic propeller is just too fragile. I have already gone through three and despair in ever getting a damage free flight out of this bird. My opinion at this point is leave this bird to the experienced flyers only.

Outstanding performance very stable plenty of power and speed