RE: Megatech Airstrike - Any Good ?
A lot depends on your experience and skill level. The Airstrike is a heavy plane for its wing size and power, therefore it doesn't fly very well in stock form. It is definitely not a beginner's plane and should be considered in the same category as the ParkZone Cub and Decathlon, which are listed by the manufacturer as intermediate planes.
If you are a beginner, you should either return the plane and exchange it for a good beginner's plane, or set it aside and buy a beginner's plane to learn with, and then fly the Airstrike when you are at the intermediate skill level. There have been some flyers who started with the Airstrike and have been able to fly it successfully. But the cost, in terms of replacement parts, frayed nerves and time, is very high!
If you are an intermediate, the Airstrike will ROG if given enough room, and will fly for about 6 minutes with the stock set-up. Its a bit of a contradiction when flying, because it feels heavy and somewhat slow to respond, but once you put it into a turn, it tends to tighten the turn into a spiral.
The Airstrike uses standard full size servos, which is one of the contributing factors to it being so heavy. It has an undersized motor, and even with light electronics, the motor tends to burn out after about 30-40 flights.
The Airstrike was my second plane, which I tried to fly after I had been flying the 2-channel Firebird Commander for several months. The first flight lasted about 20 seconds and ended in a nose first crash. After replacing the prop and drive shaft I gave it another try. This time the flight lasted about 40 seconds with another nose first crash. This time I had a damaged prop, drive shaft, gear box, servo and crumpled fuselage. I set the plane aside and bought an Aerobird Challenger. No problems flying and virtually no crashes. I then moved on to the Cub and Decathlon. Once I was skilled at flying the Cub, I rebuilt the Airstrike with factory replacement parts and tried flying it again. I was able to take off, fly and land with no problems, but the plane simply was not fun to fly, compared to the Cub and Decathlon. After less then a dozen flights the motor burned out. I replaced all of the electronics with spare parts from the ParkZone planes and the Airstrike became a pleasant plane to fly. Still not nearly as nice as the Cub and Decathlon, but very pleasant none the less. The motor continues to be a problem, burning out after about 30-40 flights, so I am currently switching the plane to a brushless set-up. If you go the RCGroups and go on the ParkFlyers forum, you will find a thread devoted to the Airstrike. A flyer named BigDano has done the brushless modification and has posted photos of the mods. Basically, I am following in his footsteps.
Good luck! Let us know what you decide to do and if you need any further advice, please write.