I have read all the posts here, and have read the MAN article several times, as I am a Pitts fanatic anyway, and am considering one of these kits. I dont have many posts here, and have only been flying R/C about two and a half years, so if you choose to ignore this post, so be it. BUT, I have close to three thousand hours of actual flight time in real airplanes, and have some time in a real Pitts S-2, so I feel I can make a few comparisions here.

1. As has been stated several times, the model in the review was way overpowered. I know, I like big powerful engines on my models, too, but if you are going to ignore the manufacturers recommendations on engine size, you WILL be making mods at some point, or you will be picking up pieces eventually. Even in real aircraft, mods have to be made to handle larger powerplants. Those mods always include wing mods also. I have seen one of these GP Pitts fly just fine with an engine of recommended size. Why put added stress on the airframe for a few more cc's when the recommended engines are adequate?

2. whether or not you are talking about the real Pitts, or a scale model, the Pitts aircraft has always, and will always be an aircraft the pilots either love or hate. It is a small, short coupled nasty little airplane that will bite you in your backside if you dont stay a couple steps ahead of it. It is inherently unstable (as most aerobatic aircraft are) and lands fast. When you over power the Model, it will have the same characteristics, hence the hot landings everyone is talking about. Go to an airshow and watch a real one, and you will see the simularities. Also, the Pitts was never designed as an unlimited category aircraft, and it should not be flown or treated as such. To do so is inviting disaster, even with a model. If you are after unlimited type performance in a scale model, go with an Edge, Extra, or Suhkoi. that is what they are designed for.

3. As far as magazine reviews go, I dont buy into them either. I am always more apt to believe what is written here than in any magazine review I see. if these guys dont please the companies that advertise with them, they lose big money. Its just the nature of the game.

I know that real aircraft and models are a lot different. But, in the case of the Pitts, there are many simular characteristics that make this aircraft all the more real. BUT, if you want this model to do maneuvers it was never designed for, with more power than it was designed for, you should be prepared to make a few modifications, and accept some tradeoffs in flight characteristics.