is anyone considering the cost difference here? 30% vs 15% or 10%...and an OS 120 AX sucks fuel, no need for the extra nitro or for turbo jett mufflers on this setup, it is over kill...

I totally agree. Normally I would run 15% nitro in my OS stuff, but since I'm a YS guy, most of the fuel I buy is 30% Heli, so that is what gets run in all of my engines.

Arch

I agree with the extra nitro comment, but muffler choice is not always about increasing power. I offered the Turbo-Jett as an alternative because it fits wholey within the cowl and is 2oz lighter than the stock 1.20AX muffler with extension piece. The Venus II tends to me nose heavy and anything you can do to reduce the weight up front helps considerably.

In my case, the Webra is not supplied with a muffler, so i purchased the Turbo-Jett which was cheaper, better fitting and higher performing than the available Webra Options. Power wise, my engine falls somewhere between a regular .91 and the 1.20AX but i will be a half pound lighter in weight which i hope will make up the shortfall.

If i need more power i can always move up to the 1.20AX.

I have the basic Venus II with a basic OS 120 AX with standard muffler, no pumps, no turbo jett mufflers, no nitrus oxide switches, no superchargers or 427 Chevy big blocks up front and the thing will climb to the moon when I put it in a vertical climb.

To the moon Alice!

I was talking to one of my buddies last night about this and I think he hit the main point, it is a guy thing or the Tool Time Tim Taylor thing, pump it up, super charge, turbo charge the dishwasher, put a 427 big block in the riding lawn mower...I get it...LOL.



I also have a YS 110 in an Edge and that thing acts sick unless I put a minimum of 20% Pro Pattern in it, YS likes Nitro.

Chuck

Chuck,

Will you be at the FARM contest next weekend in Northern VA?

Arch

Hey Arch,

No I'm not planning on it, I'm more of a soul pilot...kinda like a soul surfer...I just fly to fly for the enjoyment vs. competing. BTW, I looked at some of your pictures, some amazing pictures and flying!

To hover as low as you were with those big planes takes nerves of steel and tons of skill!

Chuck

Thanks,

I appreciate it. I now live in Southern MD...granted we are on the peninsula and really can't get anywhere from here, but let me know sometime, I'll have to come fly with you guys. At this moment, none of my big planes have made the trip from San Antonio to here, but I do have my pattern stuff with me.

Arch

I suppose I know the answer to this question, but I really like the Venus II and haven't found a suitable airplane for my OS 75AX. Do you folks think this airplane would be too underpowered with the 75? I am a sport flyer that is working on my pattern flying skills. I have just had my second US 60 self destruct. This time the ailerons buzzed and it ripped out a wing mounted servo. I loved the way the US 60 flew but the 75 was a bit much. Those are very powerfull little engines. If you guys do think that the VenusII would be too large for that 75AX, have you any suggestions? I guess I could use the .75AX and if I am not happy I would change to a 120AX.

I have not tried the 75AX on the venus, but i beleive it would be under powered. That might limit the wonderful potential this ship has to offer, never allowing you to experience the real Venus II in its glory. Remember it's a 90 size ship. OS now makes a 95AX as well, that might be a nice option for the Venus. As for the perfect engine, the 120 AX is it, abeit it is out of spec for that plane. I have proved to myself the airframe is ample strong enough to handle the 120 perfectly. With that said we cannot blame Great Planes for a failure in the airframe once you go out of spec.

As far as buzzing ailerons, i have seen some guys at the field with that problem. cheap servos caused this problem with lots of gear lash can do that amung other things. In my opinion dont spend less than $50 on servos for the Venus II. I spent $85 and would not change it for anything. Thousands of flights have proven that. A bunch of grumpy men have sneered at me for using pricey digital servos. This as they spend most of thier time at the field on the bench tinkering with old junk while I am enjoying flying. Not that price is the reason for successful servos, but usually its price that drives guys to put inferior servos into a plane. In the end they pay for it in a lost plane or at least inferior performance. Hitec digital Karbonite servos are made exactly for a plane the size and style of the Venus and suit it perfectly.

75 ax would be under powered and you would not do real justice to the Venus II by under powering it, you want to put an os 120 ax in it and set her free....

Thanks Chuck...I just ordered a Phoenix Extra 330 from Tower for this engine. The Venus II with an OS 120AX will be next.

I was going to say i used a .75AX in a Great Planes Super Skybolt and it was a great combination. It turned a 14x6 at an even 10,000rpm which is a couple of hundred more rpm than the recommened .91 4-stroke.

Im taking my Venus II up for the first time on monday. I got it off of RCU and i think i have everything ready. I put the throws to what the book said is that ok? also i have it perfectly balanced 6 1/2" back. Ive never flown anything this size but i have many flights on a tower hobbies kaos 40. Is it much different?

Won't be a problem. Your kaos is a perfect plane to lead into this one...make sure you have trusted friend (and hopefully an experienced modeller) look it over with you prior to flying it.. Write (or lookup on the net) a pre-flight checklist if you need it.

You'll be amazed how much "bigger flies better".

Richard...

yeah ive been flying for about 10 years maybe longer. Im only 23 now so i never really got out of those .40 sized planes. But im hoping this will be a good step for me. Ive had alot of bad luck this year i lost a 80in cub due to a battery failure, not4sale high speed crash due to high speed flutter and monday night right after take off the kaos lost engine power and fell from the sky into a corn field that was being cut down; after about 2 hours of looking i found it 10 feet up in the corn with out a mark on it... tell me that isnt a once in a life time thing

but this coming monday im going to step up and i hope it goes well.

Venus II was something like my third plane after a low wing trainer. Piece of cake to fly, really. Start with the settings in the manual and you will love it, eventually you might want to move the CG back a touch. Flies really nice, you are in for a treat.

I just finished putting a Venus II together for a buddy, and we put up four flights with it yesterday. This one has a .120 AX up front, and it REALLY pulls! Compared to my Venus II, which is powered by an OS .120 four stroke, it offers quite a bit more performance. There is a gigantic increase in the vertical, as well as greater overall authority in all maneuvers. The trade-off is a dramatic increase in fuel consumption. Here is a picture of the airplane with it's happy owner.

The 120 AX was a typical O.S. quality experience, starting with the first bump of the starter, and never missing a beat. I can see why it is such a popular set-up with this airplane.

After over 6 months on the building board i have finally found the time to finish my Venus II and plan to maiden her tommorrow, weather permitting.

I was planning to use my Webra .91 but decided to go with the 1.20AX instead. I'm using a Turbo-Jett muffler which fits completely within the cowl. I used Dubro ball links on all control links and made my own pseudo carbon push rods by using some carbon tube over 4-40 threaded rod glued in with a small amount of gorilla glue. These are much stiffer than the metal rods and only add a few grams of weight.

Servos are Futaba 9255's on the Ailerons and Elevators, 9151 on the Rudder. Power is provided by a PowerBox DigiSwitch and Fromeco 2600mAh LiOn pack.

The dry weight is 3,900gm (8.59lb)

The balance came out almost perfect. I only needed 15gm (1/2oz) of lead weight near the tail wheel to get it on the reccomended CofG.

one thing that concerns me is that the landing gear has quite a bit of toe-out and i'm wondering if this will effect the taxiing at all?

Mine has that toe out, too, and it taxis fine. The holes in the LG are a little larger than the bolts and it tends to creep back, you may be able to bush the holes to elimnate some of the toe out, but it hasn't been a problem for me.

Mine looks like it has toe-out, too, but I wonder if it's just an illusion from the wheel pants. And I'm not even using the stock gear.

Even if it did have the toe-out, the thing is a piece of cake to drive on the ground; I can't imagine a little toe-out affecting it too adversely.

Gentlemen,
It's no illusion, the main gear out of the box has a bit of toe-out. I flew mine this way for a year and a half. Aside from wearing out some wheels, it was ok. Then I took the gear off, did some creative bending, and got everything pointing the right way. Bottom line, minor improvement in ground handling, no difference in the air. Looks better for sure. No more duck-foot!

-Robert

I maidened the Venus II today and flew 3 flights between rain showers.

It flies very well with only a click or two of trim required. I'm glad i went with the 1.20AX in the end. All that power is addictive and i probably wouldn't have been as pleased with my original plan of using a Webra .91.

By the end of the 3rd flight, my new plane jitters had gone and i was really comfortable with it. I put it through a few sportsmans class manouvers and i performs very well. I'm looking forward to entering some comps with it.

With a 15x10 it's almost too fast and it climbs to the moon. I really had to work on the landings. The plane wants to float forever and bounce on down the runway.
I tried the suggested spoilerons and they work a treat. With them the plane sinks nicely with no change in pitch and sticks to the runway like there's velcro on the tires.

The toe-out gave no problems at all.

Another happy Venus II owner.

I noticed mine likes to float on landings also, it gets into a ground effect and keeps going when it is close to the ground. If I start a descent before turning base and continue the descent to the runway, this seems to fix it and it sqeaks in. I've never tried spoilerons, how is that working? Is there a setup here for the Venus II spoilerons?

i have used spoilers on the venus.
Moved both ailerons upwards. this requires a mix of up elevator to keep plane level. venus still floats in though. if you want to learn how to land in smaller spaces try landing hot a few times. let the ship fly until close to the ground. at the moment the wheels touch, let go of the elevator, and it will land.

Some of us use spoilerons on our Extra 330s. These are the Phoenix 60 size airplanes. We lift the ailerons 10 to 15mm. On the Extra we have to mix about 2mm. of down elevator. Obviously that is different for different airplanes. The spoilerons do make it stick better after it lands.