mvigod

filip - also looking forward to it...I'm doing a review for the RCU magazine on the Venus and also not comfortable with the wheel pant assembly method. Was going to use the Sig pant keepers maybe but would like to see your design.

Also where did the "new" manual say the CG should be?

bentgear

Marc, the new version is on their website. They corrected the picture for the actual shape of the wing and show 4 5/8" measured at fuse side.
Ed M.

cczarnik

My Feedback: (1)

About to start on Venus #2. First one picked a fight with a pole and lost.. (don't ask)....

If you don't do the sig thing on the wheel pants (I've seen that done on another successfully), at least put some 1/32 ply backing as a minimum on the inside of the pant that creates a bearing surface around the hole. Instructions don't call for this.

I built #1 per plans and the wheel pants were the only thing to go. What happened was the fiberglass failed around the perimeter of the bolt that sandwiches it to the gear. So in flight one of the pants rotated around and became a skid. A little ply backing would have prevented this.

IMHO, this kit has the best workmanship of any ARF that I've ever seen. I'm working on a patty extra right now, and it is sloppy compared to the venus.

Chuck

mvigod

Another method would be to epoxy a plywood plate on the inside of the pants and then drill 2 holes through the landing gear into the pants/plywood and put screws through it. This will stop them from rotating. The Sig thing is probably the easiest quick remedy.

Schuie Driver

Well this picture shows the plane in almost ready to fly mode. Still had to put the stickers on Definitely a sharp looking plane both on the ground and in the air. Got a lot of comments on the great monokote job the first time I brought her to the field. Just a shame GP had to choose pink for the bottom of the wing. Why they couldn't use one of the striping colors from the top I'll never know.

FilipM

Here is a shot of the rectangular cutout through which the landing gear leg passes inside the wheelpant - this keeps the pant from rotating no matter what.

FilipM

This is a hole you must cut out on the opposite side to insert the bolt/axle into the wheelpant, through the wheel, gear leg and to bolt everything together.

FilipM

Here is the finished wheelpant assembly.

FilipM

As for the ugly pink bottom.

FilipM

Some extras on top too!

FilipM

You talkin' to me? The "Harley" look of my Saito 72.

Mike James

That seems like a good method to me. Your "Venus" is looking good!

Ryan Smith

My Feedback: (25)

I NEED ONE!!!


Santa...

knpjdad

My Feedback: (2)

Now remember there are wants, and there are needs........ Well santa!!! I NEED one Too!!

LOL!

martin3737

Hi,
I just ordered a Venus. I've read of some issues with the inverted engine. In the standard installation, the fuel tank is placed about three inches higher than it ought to be; in relation to the carb. (This is what I read in the RCUniverse user comments.) Some folks decided to mount the engine at 45 degrees instead of fully onverted. Someone used a Perry Fuel Pump. Any thoughts.

JNorton

My Feedback: (2)

Wow resurrecting a 5 year old thread.

I've had two. Both had the engine at 45 degrees so the muffler came out the cooling tunnel. On the first one I used the stock muffler on the second I used a Macs muffler with an extension. I ran a Thunder Tiger 46 Pro. I never had a fuel problem. I did replace the aluminum motor mounts with steel. The aluminum one will break. I also reinforced the landing gear mounting plate with fiberglass. Mine was not ply but wood and the wood split on one of my less than perfect landings. Great plane, bad pilot.
John

shane.barton

I just got my Venus in the mail yesterday. I will be mounting a .46AX but not sure of if I will be doing the inverted mount or what yet. Has anyone used dual elevator servos on this, or is that totally unnecessary?? I haven'thad much time to totally look everything over on the plane, just open the box and see what's inside. The plane looks real nice from the little time I spent looking at it, but am looking forward to seeing how she flies. I plan on doing the mods to the wheel pants and trimming the wing hold-down bolts as others discussed. Is there anything else I should do to 'beef' anything else up? I fly off pavement, so grass is not an issue. Thanks in advance!

-Shane

shane.barton

Well I am slowly beginning work on the Venus. The first thing I did was to iron out all the wrinkles in the cvering. Has anyone had any problems getting the white to shrink properly? All the other colors (i.e. the pink) shrinks nicely, but the white is giving me troubles. I also held up my engine (O.S. .46AX) to the firewall at the approximate location (side mounted so the the muffler exits on the underside). It seemed that I amy need a muffler extension so the muffler (Stock muffler) will clear the fuse, is this correct? After tightening all the covering except for some of the white, I began to install the hinges on the wings and tail surfaces. Come to find out I was all out of thin CA. Is there an acceptable substitute I can use (like thin super glue from the store) or use medium CA?? All-in-all, I am pretty happy so far with the plane. My original question with dual elevator servos still stands; is it overkill and just plain unnecessary?

submikester

My Feedback: (6)

You need to use Thin CA for the CA hinges unless you want them to fail of course.

I've been flying a Venus with an OS 70 4 stroke for a couple of years now. It's a fantastic plane though the primary modification I made was to remove the tank floor and lower the tank as low as it would go. Otherwise it is just too high for any reliable inverted solution that isn't pumped or regulated. Once I did that my engine would idle extremely well where as prior it would constantly flood out and no matter how lean I made the low end it still never really was reliable.

I don't know why or how they get away with always making the tanks on ARFs too high...

bentgear

There is no need for dual elevator servos in the Venus 40. As you stated, it is overkill and just plain unnecessary. One thing I always did tho was to solder the 2 control wires together after I had installed the collars and set screws. That was the only overkill I did in building the plane as far as I can remember. I have flown it with a 46 FX, 50 SX and
Saito 72. Flew good with all.

As far as CA, the hinges work good, but get some good quality thin CA to install them with.

Ed M.

shane.barton

Thanks guys for the advice. I still think i'm gonna mount the engine sideways for ease of glow plug access. I'll have to get some thin CA tomorrow then. All I have to do is make it over to the hobby shop (wherever that is) and pick some up.
I ran into another snag with the covering. I was using my covering iron to iron out some wrinkles on the aileron (top side) and when I turned the wing over the pink covering on the bottom had pulled back and shriveled. The same thing happened on the wing tip. I am almost contemplating on just totally recovering the underside, but then again, I may just get some smaller pieces and patch it up.

Off subject question. Lately my starter batt pack charger (http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXL354&P=V) light has been acting up. It will light up for a few minutes when plugged into the battery (http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXL372&P=M) and then the light will slowly go out. I took my multimeter and measured the output of the charger. The reading on the DMM said it was just over 17VDC. Is that correct for a 12V charger? The specs on the charger itself says it should be 12V output. Is this normal? Or has my charger gone bad?

WMB

My Feedback: (1)

My Venus was short lived and I have wanted another, but didn't want the engine hassles that came with the high tank height. Lowering the tank floor looked like major surgery as it tied into the former that the wings plugged into. Could you explain how the tank floor was lowered.
I tried three engines inverted. The Saito 65 was the only one I could get a reliable idle with. Do you ever want more power than the 70 puts out?
Thanks, MikeB

redproxy

Hi! I installed a YS63S on the venus inverted. As problems arise with the alignment of the fuel outlet and the carb, I came upon an article from rc airplane many months back which recommends the use of a Uniflow system. Basically it needs an extra clunk line; 1st clunk to the carb, 2nd clunk to the exhaust with a one-way valve and top line is for overflow. First time I tried this set-up on my Groovy F3D, it works very well with reliable idle and never had a deadstick up till present. You guys might want to do a research on this matter. Good luck.

LeeHunt

HI all
Just joined this thread, 6 year old not bad???
Says alot for the plane I suppose. Would really like to to see what submikester did with the tank???? I have just bought this plane for a practise plane.
Iam going to run a OS46AX and is the 45deg the best way to mount this. Again to anybody, would a SAITO 72 be a better engine inverted As I have both
Kind regards
Lee

alfredbmor

I have flown this plane with a Saito 72 (cool power 30% nitro) and an APC 13 x 6 prop. I changed the engine for a Saito 82 (Cool power 20%) and a 14 x 6 Top Flite wood prop. I have experienced lean mixtures and several death sitcks with both engines. Even that I have not seen a flood carb. I have had a very hard time with the tunning. I tried the Uniflow system some time ago with other kind of plane with bad results but I will try it again with my venus and see what happens, I will try to post the results here.