Does the Venus have enough ground clearance for a .91 4 stroke prop?

Trust me, the Venus does NOT need a .91 4 stroke. I flew one with a .46FX the other day and it had so much power it was unbelieveable. This is a really light plane MAYBE a .63 4 stroke wouldnt be too much.

do not put a .91 on the venus. way too much...even for those who like heavily overpowered planes

I flew my Venus with a YS 63, 25% nitro, vertical unlimited. You don't need more power than that--especially you don't need the weight of a big engine. Much of the flying quality with the Venus comes from keeping it light.

Well, crap. Are there any other ARF pattern planes that would be a good match for a .91 4s?

Try the Swallow, it is a REALLY nice entry level pattern plane. Theres a thread going titled Quest 90, the couldnt get a Quest so he bought the Swallow and he is very pleased. I think you will be too. Of course you could get a Zen 90 but they are pretty expensive.

Where can you find the swallow, or these other planes?

The YS is 17.4 oz, my engine is 22.5 = 5oz difference. I could use a lightweight spinner and move radio gear as far aft as possible. I don't think that small of a weight difference would make a significant difference.

Only thing Ptarp is the POWER, Im telling you its going to be so grossly overpowered with a .91 it isnt funny. These things barely weigh 4 pounds, and it just feels VERY light for its size. Im a power junky, I have a Saito 1.20 on my U CAN DO and its a bruiser but this plane with a .91 may not be any fun to fly. The Venus is extremely quick and flies extremely light with a .46, even at that it moves through the air so quickly that its a little tricky to fly. Another great plane to consider for a .91 is a Ultra Sport, its a little antiquated but it makes a good 90 size starter pattern plane. I have one I recovered for a friend that I have been flying, but it weighs about 7 or so pounds with a .91. I still think the Swallow is by far the best bang for the buck with a .91 4 stroke.

The Swallow is made by Giant Scale Planes, It has foam core wings and an airfoil stab. Its a REALLY nice little plane for $200.

[link=http://www.giantscaleplanes.com/Swallow_66.htm]click here to buy the swallow[/link]

What kind of covering does the swallow have? I simply am not going to settle for crappy covering like Kyosho puts out. Basically, either ultracote, or Monokote is about all I go for.

What kind of retracts will fit in that plane? Could you provide some links to tower? I really appreciate it. I'd love to have a good pattern plane

Hmm, Im not sure what brand of covering they use. But it is a really nice covering job. Both of the ones I know of that are in service are not new but seem to be holding up very well to exposure to fuel and the elements.. I really think for that size its as good as any for that price for an ARF.
The Zens are even better but they are quite a bit more pricey. There are lots of options for 90 size pattern planes, do your homework and you will make the right choice. [8D]


My main thing based on personal experience would be to NOT put a .91 on the Venus, either run a smaller engine or move up to a bigger plane. Ultimately you will make the best decision though.




I agree Kyoshos covering isnt the best, I bought a Flip 3D and brought it back. The woodwork was nice but the covering sucked. Too thin IMO.

Im not sure both of them I know of have fixed gear. I hate retracts, they are heavy and you run with so little ground clearance you ding props a lot. I have them on my Prophecy, I am giong to convert to fixed gear after pattern season.

Mike

Ok, thanks for the info

I think I'm about going ahead and getting the Venus. I have been doing research on the Venus and have heard many people saying it is tail heavy with .46 sized engines. So, the extra weight of a .91 4s might make it balance just right. And if it does come out a bit nose heavy, I'm sure I can move something around to make it balance. Great planes suggests a .71 4s as the high end engine. I don't think moving to a .91 is going to make such a huge difference that it will shatter the plane because of its immense power. I am not a newbie, and I know throttle control. I won't put a 10 pitch prop and try to break the sound barrier or anything. I will have plenty up upline power however. I do have a Thunder Tiger .46 pro sitting around too if the four stroke doesn't work out. I was just really looking for a good home for the .91. Previously, I had that engine in a [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXS641&P=7]Kyosho .40 sized cap[/link] that suggested a .52 as the biggest 4s and I had no problems with it. I'll let you know how it turns out.

I have a tower gift certificate that is burning a hole in my pocket

Have fun! [8D]

Well, I ordered it along with vairous supplies I HAD to have I'm going to mount a monstrous .049 engine on my sailplane, wohoo!

Now that I think of it, my original thread question hasn't been answered...
Will a 14-15" prop have enough ground clearance on the Venus?

With my Venus' tail held level I have 2 1/2 inches of clearance with my 12" prop.
IOW, it is 8 1/2 inches from the tip of my spinner to the floor. A 15" prop on my Venus would have about 1 inch clearance.

I guess I might be trimming the grass at my field then I'll probably use a 14" prop and see how that works. Thanks.

I have had a Saito 91 on my Venus for the last year and a half.
If you like Unlimited Vertical and Like to fly FAST, this is the setup.

I Love the Plane, it tracks unbelieveably for a 40 size ship.

Rick

Awesome!
skymasterick1- Can you give me your setup? What prop are you using, were you able to use the supplied engine mount, CG, etc. My Venus is on the FedEx truck scheduled to be delivered today. Do you think I'll be able to get it going by Sunday (is it a pretty quick assembly)?

Well, I got the Venus The quality is amazing. Every Great Planes ARF I've ever got has been very well constructed and covered.

The manual for the Venus is great! It shows you all the tips to make sure the plane is setup perfect and in alignment. I'm learing a lot of good tips that I will use when building kits in the future. I was planning on rushing the build process to get it done for this weekend, but I think I'll take my time and make sure it is setup perfect.

This thing looks pretty small! I know now why you guys said a .91 4s would be overkill But, I'm going to shove one in anyway and just use some judicious throttle control.

Some obervations:
--The elevator push rods didn't align very well, especially on one side. I pressed in a z-bend with my tool where one rod exited the plane to relieve some of the pressure at the horn so it slides a little freeer.

--You will probably need a fuel dot.

--The kit's plastic spinner probably won't work well with the 4 stroke, I always use alumimum spinners or at least those with metal back-plates.

--Everything aligned up perfectly, amazing!

--Very light plane, amazing!

Hey guys, sorry to chime in so late in this discussion.

I have a YS .63 on mine. Unfortunately, because I'm extremely slow, the airplane has yet to fly [] . I am running JR 811 digis on all the control surfaces and a JR 331 mini on the throttle. I have a 12x6 or 12x8 prop on it right now (I can't remember).

The ONE thing that I didn't like at all on this airplane was the elevator pushrod system. I have heard from guys that say it works good, but a wheel collar holding 2 pushrods doesn't sit well with me. I was nosing around on the internet one day before I started building it, and I noticed on Stephane Carrier's website there was a picture of the inside of a Kyosho Majestic that he had. I looked at the elevator pushrod setup on it and noticed that he had his two pushrods in a joiner that had a third section of a pushrod going to the servo. I posted a pic here and found out it was made by Graupner and is sold by Hobby Lobby. It's a little hexagonal block of metal that is about 1" long and 1/2" wide and has three holes drilled through it. It has setscrews to hold the pushrods in place and is very nice. I believe it was around $15 - alot more than the two wheel collars that came with the kit, but I would rather spend the little extra money and have a plane after 20 flights than wish I did get it.

Other than that, I love it. The covering is first class on it, the entire airplane is light and straight, and plus, it is one of the best looking airplanes I have seen. It is so simple to build it's sad, and the instructions are great. I need to finish a couple of little things on it and I'm gonna put it in the air to see how it stacks up to my 2 meter.

I don't think you'd have too much trouble with the .91 on the Venus. It's gonna have a hell of a lot of power, a buddy of mine has a Saito .91 on his UCD .46 and it rips. It will hover at about 1/8 throttle and blast outta sight. But, I doubt you'd be doing too much of that with this airplane.

Anyway, sorry to be long-winded. Have fun with it and let us know how it turns out!

And sorry to get off topic here, but has anyone had any experience with the OS .71 Ultimate? I think that would be a killer combo for this airplane.

First let me say I think the 2 wheel collars on the elevator pushrods work fine. If you feel a little doubtfull just ruff up the rods just before you line everything up and when its just right add a drop of solder between the rods, or slip 1 collar back, add a little 30 minute epoxy put it back in place and then do the same to the other one.

Had a 50 SX on mine and it hauled it around enuff to do large knife edge loops, so it had all the power I needed.

Ed M.

Good tips guys. I started on mine tonite, I have the wing done. I'm really looking forward to getting this bird in the air. The Venus manual says that it even hovers well I guess it should with that big rudder on there. I can hover my avistar with about 1/5 the rudder area. Its gonna be fun!