When I first got the E-Flite Valiant 1.3m for Christmas in 2023, both the airplane and I have changed and been through a lot. As for the plane, I have swapped the default landing gear tires with wheel pants for more suitable-for-grass (semi) bush wheels while removing the wheel pants entirely. For me, on the other hand, things were much more complex. Long story short, I didn’t fly R/C from early 2025 when I crashed my F-22 to mid-2026 when it was the fun of the Valiant that brought me back into flying R/C.
How it Flies
From my experience, the E-Flite Valiant flies like a Turbo Timber 1.5m, but with a higher top end and lighter controls. This does mean worse STOL capability, but unless you are flying like Tail Heavy Productions with their Fun Cub, it can take off plenty short and land decently short (not to be confused with short). On top of this, the Valiant can be plenty aerobatic when you crank Rates all the way to the max. It can do snap rolls, rifle rolls, inverted flat spins, and even hover, all on a 3S 2200mAh 30C LiPo. As mentioned earlier, the Valiant can land decently short, but it also can do extremely smooth landings. Especially if your Expo is high, the precise, smooth landings you can get from this plane are insane and feel SO awesome to do. They make you feel like a full-scale pilot buttering an A330.
Ease of Use
This will be a short section, as the Valiant is just small enough to easily fit fully assembled in my family’s minivan without requiring the removal of any rear seats. Furthermore, to fly it, you just turn on your remote and connect the battery, and the Valiant is ready to fly. The only quirk of this plane is the fact that it is a bottom-loading airplane and thus (ideally) requires a table or a friend to hold the aircraft in position for you to plug in and unplug the battery. The IC5 battery connector makes it not a feat of strength to pull the battery plug out of it, provided you use Spektrum 3S batteries like we do.
Verdict
When it comes to an easy-to-fly airplane with sporty characteristics and a cheap price point, the E-Flite Valiant is the plane to get. Whether you’re flying three 1.3m planes at the same time in a small park, at the flying field practicing landings, or just doing slow, swooping s-turns in a clear sunset sky, the Valiant will do all the things a park-flyer should, plus much more.
