The cause of an air crash in which the pilot died is unclear, an inquiry has found.
Trevor Bailey, aged 68, from Cheltenham, was killed when the replica Spitfire crashed into a field near the A44 in Enstone at around 3pm on August 22 last year.
The aircraft was severely damaged in the impact and caught fire.
Mr Bailey died before the fire took hold, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.
The Spitfire Mk 26B3 was a kit-built scale replica based on the original Spitfire.
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Construction of the aircraft by a small team began in 2013 and the build had been finished in 2019, the AAIB report said.
Mr Bailey was part of The Spitfire Club, a group of enthusiasts based at Enstone Airfield, who launched a mission in 2018 to build the first modern Spitfires in Europe and get them flying over the Oxfordshire countryside again.
He was conducting the 20th test flight on the aircraft as part of the process for obtaining a permit to fly.
During his flying career he had regularly flown aerobatics and practised spin recoveries, but he had not done this recently.
The report ruled out a mechanical failure.
It concluded: "Control of the aircraft was lost during a test flight towards the grant of a Permit to Fly.
"Despite the damage sustained during the accident, there was no evidence of a malfunction or failure of any of the aircraft flying control systems."
It said although there were defects on the plane these were "not considered to be a causal factor".
"The aircraft was found to have been built with a misaligned fin and rudder. This misalignment made a wing drop at the stall more likely, but it did not prevent or restrict a recovery from the stall nor any subsequent spin or spiral dive that might develop.
"The pilot had conducted numerous stalls on the aircraft during its flight testing and was familiar with the wing drop in the aircraft and, therefore, it is unlikely that he was startled by the behaviour although the subsequent entry into a spin or spiral dive may have.
"There was sufficient height for a recovery from a spin or spiral dive."
Nor did the report rule out a medical cause for the crash.
Mr Bailey suffered a heart attack in 2005.
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It said: "Although the pilot’s medical history indicated the possibility of an incapacitation this could not be confirmed by the pathologist. "
Mr Bailey's wife, Kate Dove, said: “He lost his life following his passion. We are all devastated.”
His four children said their "lives will never be the same" after the loss of "our hero".
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