All,

I'm strongly considering getting a Venture 60 as my 2nd plane. And currently can get a very good deal on an OS .61FX engine...

Does anyone have a good advice re. this? Is the OS .61FX a good engine (I think so from what I've read) and will it be good for the Venture? I'd rather like to be a bit overpowered if possible....

Welcome you advice!

Johan

The OS .61FX is a good engine, but will be just enought motor to fly the Venture adequately. If you wanted a bit more power, the OS .91FX would be a good choice or other brands in the .90 to 1.20 range. Personally, my choice would be a Saito FA-100 four stroke.

Ditto. I have a great old OS .60 of my Dad's & it's a real runner! I originally planned on using for the Venture 60. But was too late for last year's run of kits. By the time Bruce emailed me a few weeks ago to tell me he had a new run of kits ready my wife had allreadu got me a Dragon Lady. The .60 would have flown it ok, but was at the low end of the engine reccomendations for that model. So instead it's wearing a new Saito 100 & she looks good in Saito.

Mine is getting a Saito .91 in her....

The good thing about putting a bigger 4 stroke on it..is that it will be a little nose heavy...and instead of adding weight to balance, you can put the rear servos in the rear...and need almost no weight...and you dont have to worry about 30 inches of servo rod...

I most strongly disagree with this. The Venture I flew was powered
by a ringed OS 61 SF and it was more than enough engine for
this plane.

This is a plane that flies by virtue of its wing not by
hanging on the prop. It does not need nor does it
warrant overpowering.

Read what Bruce Tharpe recommends for this plane.

" I know that modelers love to over-power their airplanes, but that's simply
not necessary (or recommended) for the Venture 60. This is a sport model
designed for sport .60-size engines."


A good 60 two stroke or 90 4 stroke is all the power
this plane needs.

Mike Hammer

It will work with a 60, thats correct...

But remember....its impossible to overpower a plane...its only possible to over-throttle one...as long as the throttle is a linear motion stick, and not a button...we're still in control of it

RJM,
There are more issues with overpowering a plane than just not going to full throttle. One issue, among many, is dealing with the extra weight of a bigger motor. The extra weight puts stresses on the airframe that it wasn't designed to handle. In an ARF this isn't good because your hands are tied when it comes to beefing up the airframe to handle it. If it's a kit build you can beef up the airframe as you build, as long as the builder knows what they are doing, but that adds more weight to the plane which increases the wing loading of the plane which changes the way the plane flies. Another issue you have to deal with is the ground clearance issue. A bigger motor needs a bigger prop, so you then run into having enough ground clearence to put that bigger prop on. Some planes you can put larger wheels or taller landing gear on, but then again you are dealing with the same weight issues. More weight again means higher wing loading. It's kind of a Catch-22 situation when you start down this road.

I understand why people that fly 3-D have huge engines in their planes, but for the rest of the pilots out there overpowering a plane isn't a good idea IMHO. Overpowering a plane makes of a less talented pilot in my mind. As XTOL said above, the planes need to flown on the wing and not on the power of the engine in the plane. The current trend of stuffing the biggest motor you can find into a plane is one that I just don't agree with. When I am planning a plane I always look at what the manufacturer says for the engine sizes and I will usually put in the largest motor that the manufacturer recommends. In almost 10 years of flying I have never had a plane/motor combo that I was disappointed with doing it that way.

Johan_nl,
The OS 61 FX is a powerhouse of a motor for it's size. It's one of my favorite motors. I think that you'll find that the combination of that motor and a Venture 60 to be a good choice. You should be very happy with it.

Ken

I have a 61FX from new. Its very reliable and fairly quiet running but I consider it to be a weak motor for its size. Its smaller brothers the 46FX and the newer 46AX are powerhouses so why the 61 isn't a screamer as well is a dissapointment. What is a great motor and the low price is just a bonus is the Tower Hobbies 75. A pitts style muffler is also available if you need to mount the engine sidways. If you want a strong running 60 size engine, then get a TH75. Weight isn't a concern either as the TH 75 weighs 23 oz. with muffler which is 0.6 oz. less than the OS 61 with muffler. The TH 75 is also $75.00 cheaper.

We were in complete agreement ken, until you got to there. [&:] I find the OS 61 FX to be quite mediocre in the power dept. It can be hot-rodded for sure, but out of the box it is at the low end of the 61 spectrum. []

You are still entitled to like it, of course.

Hmm, maybe powerhouse was too much of a adjective. But I still like it though

Ken

Thanks for the advice everyone....For now I let the deal on the .61FX go, I'll make up my mind on what engine to use later.

Too many choices :-)

http://www.kangkeusa.com/

Big power, small money, it's just that simple! These are nice strong running engines, & Kangke's customer service policies rank among the best I know of. They come with the performance pipe too. Check out the sale prices of the .70 or .80 $79.99 !! I had they're .80 & then traded it back for a TS .56 they had with the pitts to go with it. He wouldn't even let me pay for the shipping on the return. I did the trade back when I saw the .80 & realized I was in way over my head with a .46 size plane.[X(] But I believe the .70 or even the .80 on the Venture will carry it nicely with out over stressing the plane too much.

I do remember Bruce saying something about not needing to hang too much engine on the Venture, but you could probably get away with either of these two nicely. Here's Bruce's quote from his site on the Venture engine size.


I know that modelers love to over-power their airplanes, but that's simply not necessary (or recommended) for the Venture 60. This is a sport model designed for sport .60-size engines. At the design weight of 7.25 pounds, most sport .60s will pull the Venture straight up as far as you want to go. To me, reliability is much more important than raw power. A lot of my flying is done at reduced power to fully explore and appreciate the wonderful low-speed ability of the Venture. You can't do quarter-throttle inverted passes over the runway with an engine that might flame out. Stick to the recommended engine range, get a reliable idle, and you'll be able to fully enjoy the airplane.


I think the SK .70 will fit the bill nicely, not too much overkill, but enough for that little extra something when you want it without straying too far from Bruces size range reccomendation.

And there it is. Mine flew superbly with a 70 Surpass four stroke. Still does; the new owner flies it regularly. I've flown two with the .61 FX; plenty of power to FLY the airplane.

Now, if you want to make a helicopter out of it, don't disgrace this wonderful design with that sort of activity. Get yourself one of those profile things, or a foamy, etc. This is an AIRPLANE, not a 3D flip-flop machine.

And if you ask, I'll tell you what I REALLY think...

I bought an SK80 engine and am not impressed. The power is less than my 61SX and very touchy and unreliable. After many trips to the field and hours of running and adjustments I got fed up and pulled the enine. I replaced it with a TH75 which was easy to break in and the power it puts out for its size is just scary! I have it on my 60 size Jug so I need reliability. [8D]

did ya send it back to them for a new one? Ya might of just got a bad one.