The Venture kit I found through RCU( http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_67...tm.htm#6702680 ) is started. I read several other RCU Venture build threads and asked opinions about improvements or changes( http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_67...tm.htm#6748923 ). This one will be built with 1)each wing shortened one rib, 2)landing gear moved forward 1/2" instead of facing them forward for grass operation, 3) OS 70 SurpassII, 4)Sullivan tailwheel, 5)planning to install fuel tank hatch, 6)dual aileron servos, 7)and of course, a pilot(yes, I am over 5 yrs old so I could buy her at Walmart).

But what will the other 5 year olds say when you cut her head off. Boy are you in trouble. LMAO

tstotts, I really wanted to separate her a bit lower than the neck and retain more of her adult anatomy. However, there is just not enough room below the canopy. The neck up is all I can squeeze into the space.

looking good so far i just wish i was in your shoes with that kit,oh well one day ill get mine hands on another one,good luck keep us posted,did you get your wing warp straightened out yet?

theo63, the warp is not that significant. I just like the parts to be exactly straight. I think I will try what some suggested by trying to remove it during the covering shrinking process. I'm just a bit disappointed in that I used the same board to build my BTE Delta Vortex and the Vortex is perfectly straight. However, the Venture wing has no method to prevent warping. If the wing is held at each end, the wing is very flexible when it is twisted. Bruce says in his directions that the covering is what gives the wing its torsional strength. Time will tell.

Ron,
Is that pic of the framed up plane the kit that I just sold to you? If so....WOW....you did jump right on it....LOL. Man, I wish I could retire soon so i could get more of the kits that I have stocked up finally built!!! Someday......

Steve

Yes, loser, that is yours.

The wing bolt attach points were drilled tonight and a final plan for placement of the major parts is settled. The elevator and rudder servo go in the tail. That way I will eliminate the pushrods and will only have the receiver, battery and throttle servo in that huge radio compartment. If I decide to go to the slightly more weighty 91 four-stroke, I will only have to move the battery aft in the radio compartment a bit. If anyone wishes, I can send plans for the CG machine shown below. Three plates and an empty Ultracote roll lined up with the main spar(CG point)can be such a simple solution.

Looking good, keep up the good work. Shes gonna be nice!!!

It is December 26 and you can see we in Florida are suffering through the same cold you guys up north have. These pictures were taken about 5:00PM today. I decided to wear the long sleve shirt to keep all the balsa dust off me, but the shirt made the afternoon sun even more warm. Today saw the final sanding completed on all parts. The engine controls and engine mount positioning need to be finalized, a final dry assembly will be done to confirm the battery location for proper CG, and then the covering begins. My Horizon order of four rolls of Ultracote and two rolls of pin striping arrived today. I would imagine no more than two more weeks should have her assembled and ground tested. I have my fingers crossed for good operation of the OS 70 Surpass II that I bought used from a club member. He said it runs fine and my engine test stand run with it was good. Time will tell.

While the canopy is dyeing in the kitchen, I thought I would post one pic of the nearly finished Venture. More pics and final info before the first flight coming soon.

Nice job Airbusdrvr. I'll second Loser, you really did put the kit together fast.

By the way, did you build a stock plane or did you make any modifications?

I modified it as mentioned earlier in this post. I'll have final pics in a day or two with comments on the mods. It is even cold here in Florida so I've got no excuse to go outside and do other things. I should have it ready for flight by Friday.

My goodness, that was fast. Nice color scheme. I like your frugal CG apparatus too!

- Jan

Lookin' good. I really notice the 6" shorter wing. Good luck on your maiden.

Nice looking Venture 60, Airbusdrvr! Do you happen to have any photos of how you made the hatch for the fuel tank? I would be interested in seeing exactly what method you used.
Thanks.

Photos are coming today or tomorrow. I'm waiting for the canopy glue to dry a bit more before taking the final photos. I will include the hatch and tank compartment.

Final report, prior to first flight, of the "Christmas Venture Build." 1) I have installed an OS 70 Surpass II four stroke engine, 2) a removable tank hatch was fabricated from balsa stock, 3) the landing gear attach holes were moved 1/2" forward of the plans location(hopefully to make operating on grass less tippy), 4) radio installation includes a Spektrum AR7000, four JR DS821 digital servos for the controls and a Futaba 3004 servo for throttle, 5) the elevator and rudder servos are mounted in the tail, 6) five cell battery is mounted under the fuel tank, 7) a Sullivan tail wheel installed instead of kit supplied tail wheel, 8) covered with Ultracote with vinyl red stars from local sign shop, 9) pilot is a Barbie doll head with cockpit lined in funky cloth to match her colors, 10)installed dual aileron servos, 11) used nylon screws to hold landing gear(even though the gear mounting plate was reinforced with lite ply and epoxy, I don't want to rip the mount in case of a bad or off field landing), 12) shortened each wing one rib. The unfueled weight is 7lbs 4oz with no lead added for balance.My CG came out a bit tail heavy per the plans. However, Bruce Tharpe had a RCU post at http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_57...tm.htm#5947454 in which he stated, "BTW, I recommend a 1/2" CG range for the V60, which is basically the width of the main spar. I, and many others, have settled on a CG that is actually further aft, maybe 1/4" to 1/2" aft of the spar." As shown in the attached pics(blue tape on wing with pins showing CG location), my CG is just aft of the main spar by about 3/8". I am not going to use the wheel pants included with my kit. I don't know if they are the BTE supplied ones or not as I bought the kit from an individual who had bought the kit at a swap meet. They would just not be a good finished product. So the wheel pants will have to be installed when I find a suitable set. Final engine test run on the aircraft and first flight are still to come. Hopefully by next week if the weather gets warmer.

PS to post #5 above about the wing warp. After covering, the wing was perfectly straight. No twist at all.

Hareman, here are the fuel tank and hatch cover pics. Just hard wood triangular blocks for screw mounts and sand a piece of balsa to match profile of fuse.

Elevator and Aileron servos, landing gear moved forward just a bit, and my little puppy watching the picture taking session.

Almost forgot to show the pilot!

airbusdrvr,hey man very nice venture build you sure work fast must be retired lol,i finnaly got a venture 60 and it was a older kit when he had the decals with them,i am really happy to have it but now my building table is full but i still want to get going on it soon as i like building this model,let us know how she flys,id have to put on snow skies here to fly

An interesting point about the CG. In post #8 above are pics of my taping everything in place to make sure the CG would be close. It was. Then after final assembly, the airplane was very tail heavy. I couldn't understand how I could have screwed up so badly. I planned to install about 5oz os lead weight to the nose to correct this when I notice this instruction in the assembly manual. Balance the airplane at the main spar next to the fuselage not at the wingtips. You will notice that in the above pics in post #8 the plane is balanced at the fuse. When I had finished the plane, I lifted it at the spar but at the wingtips. Even though it appears this is a straight wing, it must be a little off perpendicular to the fuse and must be balanced at the fuse and not the wingtips.

Thanks for an informative build thread and photos. I especially like your recap of the project and the balancing tips. Good luck on the maiden flight and keep us informed of any modifications that may ensue.

Very nice! [sm=thumbs_up.gif]

You sure did get that done quickly, and the modifications turned out well. I like the covering scheme too. I wish you and your new model many happy flights.