Seems like most people I see posting here use wood glue. CA is nice for those awkward joints, but wood glue is fine for everything else. Most people can't stand the CA fumes long enough to build an entire plane out of it.

Monokote/Ultrakote is going to come out lighter than other options. I'd recommend one of those for a Venture. It's a sporty plane meant for light aerobatics and less weight makes it perform better. However, if your flying style is OK with a little extra weight, then use whatever you want! I'm sure even silk and dope would work fine.

LowVoltage, I still say the Saito .82 is a fine choice for the FK. I've been flying my original prototype this summer with an old Saito .80 and it has plenty of pep for me. Doesn't climb like a rocket, but it certainly loops and rolls without effort, will hold inverted no problem, and the sound is a perfect match for the style of plane. That said, it's a great choice for the V60 too. The V60 is a much lighter design than the FK, so you'll have lots of power for aerobatics. If I were picking an engine for a V60 today, it would probably be the Saito .82.

Thanks for weighing in airbusdrvr and Bruce. Well, it looks like the Saito will be going into the Venture 60. I am going to break the Super Tigre in on the bench andstore it foruselater.

Joe

I will always defer to Mr. Tharpe. He is, of course, the FK expert. My FK was a bit on the heavy side as it had a Saito 1.20 four-stroke and a bomb bay built in. Of course there is that old axiom, "There is no replacement for displacement."

Great kit/plane!! I'm Curtis from Michigan - http://www.venture60.com/

peace

Lowvoltage,
I have, as has airbusdrvr, built both the Venture and the Flyin'King.
The FK is powered by a Saito .91. It was built as a taildragger with no modifications from Bruce's design. The .91 is more than ample power for it. With flaps, on thick grass, the takeoff roll is a few feet and rarely is a power setting above half-throttle used while the plane is in the air.
Both of my ventures have been powered by Saito .82s. It is a nice match to the airframe with power above half-throttle being required for takeoff and aerobatics only. It does not have unlimited vertical with this engine. However, the engines are run on 15% nitromethane fuel and are turning wooden ProZinger propellers. A lot of people use higher-nitro fuel in their Saitos and APC propellers seem to be popular. Personally, I am a little too attached to my fingers to use a plastic or composite prop. And, I like the looks of wood. Perhaps a penalty is paid in performance.
Both planes operate from thick grass and were built as drawn. No modifications to gear position.
With the Venture, when operating from grass, propellers greater than 13" in diameter tend to be problematic due to ground clearance problems. I use a 14" on the FK with no clearance problems at all.
Enjoy your machines.

On the plan I measured 4-5/8" from the firewall to the back side of the spinner backplate. I don't think I can hold that dimension with the Saito engine. If Imeasured my Saito .82 correctly, the distance from the back of the prop hub to the back of the bolts on the carb is right at 4-5/8". Add 3/8" for the thickness of the Hayes motor mount in back (carb assembly will hit), and 5/16" for the Saito prop hub, and Icome up with a dimension of about 5-5/16" out from the firewall. Does that seem correct? Can I ignore the 5/16" thickness of the prop hub? That would bring it back to right at 5" from the firewall to the back of the spinner. The Saito would stick out 3/8" farther than the motor on the plan.

Joe

I do that all the time dropping 4 strokes in kits designed for 2's. Don't worry about it.

You may even have to mount a bit more forward to give room for the throttle linkage to work.

Just be sure you hit your correct CG balance.

Tom

Well, the Saito .82 is lighter than the Super Tigre .61 by a few ounces, so it shouldn't matter much if I move the Saito out a little. I didn't want to leverage the motor like a counterbalance, but it does need to be considered. Thanks

Joe

I haven't been able to find a Hayes engine mount that is advertised to fit the Saito .82. Ihave a Hangar 9 aluminum mount, but it is heavy. My local hobby shop recommended an Ernst mount instead. Any recommendations? It looks like the web on the Sig mount will interfere with the throttle arm.

Joe

You should be able to find an appropriately sized mount from this list. Dave Brown mounts are good: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...SM&C=GMH&V=DAV

Lowvoltage,
Both of my Ventures have Ernst adjustable (for width) mounts that work very well. You will find it helpful to use a DuBro, or make your own from an old servo arm, 4-Stroke throttle linkage. The throttle arm on the Saitos ends up so close to the firewall, or the mount, that a direct connection to throttle pushrod may be difficult.

Thanks for the help with the mount. My local hobby shop has the Ernst and the Dave Brown mounts, so I'm sure I'll find what I need. I do like the fact that the back of the Dave Brown Mounts can be cut. That may help with the throttle hookup.

The piper pawnee Ihave has the throttle right up against the firewall also. I used a cable with a quick connector on it at the throttle arm, and will probably do the same with the V60 if possible. Icut the cable and tinned the end with solder, and then shaped the end with a grinding wheel in my dremel to get the cable to go into the connector.

I took that Super Tigre out of the box and ran it this weekend. The motor was so tight it wouldn't hardly turn over. I thought Iwould have to run a belt off the spinner to an old furnace motor or drill motor and lap i it in before I could start it. I did run the sullivan starter on it with fuel in it and the gloplug out until it loosened up a little. After I got it started and ran 2 tanks of fuel through it, it was turning over good, and it transitioned from idle on up very well. Now it starts easy and runs great, but it is still tight. I'll run a gallon of fuel through it on the bench and then put it up for another project.

Joe

I ended up using a Sig 2 piece mount, and it installed just fine.Per the directions I useda piece of 1/8" music wire to keep the sides lined up. Theholes for alignment (music wire) are notthe thrust line. They are the center of eachside of the mount, and can be used as a support fora nose wheelwire if needed.A Dubro 4-stroke throttle linkage enabled me to maintain the 4-5/8" dimension from the firewall to the prop hub. I had to grind a little of the web for throttle clearance. I was on vacation last week (work at home) so no otherforward progress was made.

Sig has Koverall fabric and thinner, but no nitrate dope. Practa nitrate dope is the same as Sig. I ordered enough fabric for at least two projects (2 fifteen ft. pieces 60" wide).

I did get a chance to tour the Horizon Hobby warehouse last week. It is located on the west side of Champaign, IL. Very clean and the people that work there are very nice. Over 120,000 sq. ft. of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

Joe

Have decided. Just have to bash the kit somehow. So am going to power it with a Saito 90 Twin.

Will carve a cowl.

Tom

I think the Saito Twin would look to cool to cover up with a cowl.

I put the fuselage sides (aligned at the tail) and doublers, formers, and bottom together with no glue, just a couple of ruber bands to hold everything tight. Then I traced around the openings in the doublers to make sure it was in the correct position when glued. I cut a couple of pieces of balsa scrap the same length as the distance that F3 is used to separate the doublers to hold that dimension when disassembled. After applying glue I located the doubler with the marks I had made and put a few staples in each side to keep the doublers from wandering as Ipiled on the books and magazines for wieght.

I would like to install the landing gear with nylon screws to avoid tearing the bottom out of the fuselage with an inevitable hard landing. What size should I use (10-24 or 1/4-20), and should Ijust drill and tap the landing gear block or use blind nuts or nylock nuts above the landing gear block?

I also bought a Sullivan tail wheel bracket.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
Joe

Anyone thought of making the V60 into trike landing gear? instead of a tail dragger.I think I may need one of these kits
stefanP

I think trike would be easy. If I figure right, just turn the main gear around and add a nosewheel mount.

Maybe Bruce has time to comment?

Tom

To make it a trike you would have to mount main gear wires in the wing and beef up the wing structure to take the load. Sorry, I don't have any details on how to do it, you would kind of be on your own with that modification.

Thanks Bruce. That is how they do it on the Goldberg Tigers. It is a complicated set up.

Tom

Because of the design, it doesn't need to be a trike. It is very easy to control on the ground, taxi and takeoff.

I always thought the Venture was perfect as is. There was never any problem with it being a tail dragger.

I assembled the fuselage and glued the formers and sides to the bottom from F3 back, and glued F2 with the cockpit floor setting in place. After all that dried I took the cockpit floor out, epoxied the firewall in place and mixed alcohol with epoxy and lightly painted the area behind the firewall and the sides back to F3. That might seem a little excessive, but the area around the fuel tank had to be sealed anyway and the area in front of F3 is open when the wing is removed. I did a test fit of the landing gear mounting block, but have not decided whether to mount the landing gear with the supplied 6-32 screws and blind nuts or install nylon 10-32 screws. I would appreciate an opinion.

The instruction manual has a warning about covering the wing with fabric. It states that the wing must be covered with plastic film for strength because it is not as strong as a wing with a bunch of sheeting, cap strips, etc. I would like to use Sig Koverall applied as follows:
1. Dope the exposed wood of the wing including the rib edges with two coats of nitrate dope.
2. Dope the koverall down to the perimeter of the wing to make it activate the nitrate dope underneath and stick.
3. After the dope dries heat shrink the koverall.
4. Dope the koverall to the ribs, spars, and the rest of the wing sheeting and all exposed fabric.
5. Follow up with a second coat of nitrate dope, and then start painting when you can't smell the dope anymore.

Maybe the koverall won't shrink tight enough to provide the necessary strength. If anyone has used koverall on the wing please respond.

Joe

Joe, Koverall is totally fine for the V60. The stuff to stay away from is 21st Century Iron-On Fabric.

How about doped silk? Will that be OK?

L.