Well more than 12 months on and 60 issues later it appears Deag have success with many Spitfire maiden flights going on all over the UK.

Quotes via other forums:

'shocked on just how well the model flies'

'Flies smooth with no vices and no signs of tip stall'

'So by all accounts the model is fine, fair play to those that have sought training and to Deag for producing a model that does work as it should and not be a major let down to those who have followed the build'

The simple fact remains that anyone can walk into a model shop, via ebay or privately and buy any type of flying model with no experience to fly such a model, the responsibility has to lie with the purchaser in being responsible and not ignoring advice, there is no way a shop is going to turn down a sale if a customer has no experience but has the cash.
A thought comes to mind that may come about in the future, some kind of legislation that unless you can prove you are at a certain level of expertise then you are not allowed to buy potentially dangerous RC product unless you have undergone some kind of basic training.
A similar thing has come about in the UK within the motorcycle industry, you now have to undergo compulsary basic training before you can ride on the road and then pass a test before you can progress to larger machines.

Time will tell....in Spain & Italy there is already on sale an RC Bi-Plane Steerman partwork series on the go with a .40 engine, so it does look like there is a demand for such partworks, it would also appear they are also getting more complex.