I admit you have your hands full. Good Luck !

Id really love to buy a Venus 2 Ive had a Venus 40 for about three years now and its a great little plane and I guess its big brother will be just as good but over here the price is some $580 USD yeah you read that right ! five hundred and eighty bucks, no way Hose' [:@][:@][:@][:@][:@]

$580??!!! Neither would I pay that much![>:] Hmm... Customs and VAT??

I've got to think that there are some great airplanes available there, however, from Czech Republic, etc. Czech airplanes and engines (ZDZ) have a big following here.

-- Bob

What would be wrong with someone buying the plane here and sending it as a "gift" ? I don't really know much about it but double the price seems a bit extreme.

I would imagine one would still have to deal with customs declaration and taxes. (?)[>:]

-- Bob

Don, I finally got to program the transmitter for spoilers and it has definitely improved the landing "stick". Not nearly as floaty. I didn't have the tx manual with me at the field, so it took a while to figure out since I hadn't done such programming for a long time.

I was quite puzzled the first time I deployed the spoilers when the nose of the airplane actually rose![X(] I had initially programmed in a bit of up elevator, but I found I had to take out that much and more just to get it to fly level with spoilers. Seems the ailerons were acting like ailevators. Hmm... weird... Well, I'll get that worked out, and it's nice to have gotten a handle on the float-on-forever tendency. Also leaned out the idle a bit and got the rpm's down a smidge, which also didn't hurt.

-- Bob

Glad it worked out for you. Yes you need to program a bit of down in it. I actually have enough in mine that it drops a bit when I hit the landing switch. I keep a bit of pressure on the stick to maintain level flight on final and just before I reach the runway I release the stick and it hids for the runway nice as you please and I flare a bit just before touching. I find I don't need the Spoilerons on a windy day. But then again I have more runway than you.

Did you try the 15 - 8 prop ?

I just went back and read my post about setting up the spoilers and I did say to put in a bit of UP. I'm not sure now what I did [&o] but you got it under control anyway.

Bob was nice enough to endulge me a flight with his Venus today. What a great airplane! Flew the masters schedule with no problems. Really no comprimises with this plane.
Didn't need spoilers or anything now that the engine is breaking in and the idle is close to where it should be.

[sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif]

Thanks much, Anthony! Seeing what this airplane can do in capable hands was a valuable lesson in itself. I flew 2 or 3 more times after you left and I think I was actually better. Going to increase the roll rate a tiny bit on low rates, but not mess with it other than that.

-- Bob

I was thinking about using a setup similar to yours. I looked at the OS 120 FS right angle headers at Tower...they show two right angle headers that look identical, but with different part numbers. Also, it appears that you used the short flexible extension...is that correct? Have you considered using a pump on your OS? I've never tried an external pump....not sure how user friendly they are. Did you mount your servos in the tail to make it balance?

Here are the parts you need

Header --------------- http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0001P?&I=LXCA97

Flex Pipe ------------ http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...=++&search3=Go


I have never used a pump on a 4 - stroke, except of course my YS engines. My engine works absolutely perfect inverted the way it is and the only advantage to the pump in my opinion would be the option of moving your tank back - not a bad idea. I just think the addition of a pump would not be worth the hassles. If I was buying an engine for this plane it would be a pumped OS120 or a YS 110

If you invert the engine make sure you lower the fuel tank. I dremeled out the former as much as possible and turned the tank sideways. all in all I lowered the top about 3/4". It idles a bit rough with a full tank but smooths out in one minute or less. Yes I put the servos in the rear and the battery as far back as possible without cutting a hole in the fuse and it is still a touch nose heavy. This is an ideal engine for this plane and will give you unlimited vertical, burns very little fuel, looks better if you invert it and there is nooooo sound like a 4 - stroke. I gave up on my 2 - strokes long ago and although I dabble in gas engines I just can get used to that awful sound. I just spent $175.00 for a muffler for my Brison 2.4 in order to make the sound level "acceptable". I hate them but they are a necessary evil if you want to fly big stuff. I have a Saito 270 twin but it is only good for about a 15 lb. aerobatic plane.

Good luck.

Well guys I managed to aquire a Venus 2 off that well known auction site, it was from the USA but looks like Ive managed to get it here all taxes paid for less than half of UK price. Now the bad news it has a couple of parts missing[] I knew that when I purchased it by the way but it was very cheap Now what I need is for one of you really kind guys to draw round the horizontal stabilizer and elevators and get the drawing to me somehow[] the only other problem I forsee is getting hold of matching covering I can get close to most of it but the green is impossible can I buy a couple of square feet off one of you guys with a Paypal account, I know its a big favour but Monokote is not available in UK[&o]

If it is the tail set you need what about ordering this. Surely something like that could be sent fairly cheaply and save a huge amount of problems.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLLC3&P=Z

Youre probably right in fact Ive ordered the part from Tower will cost me a few bucks but at least it'll be the right part lol rather than a home produced effort would be a shame to spoil the ship etc

For those with the Venus II, do you use the CA hinges? Or install barrel hinges? I'm thinking of doing the extra work and putting in barrel type hinges. More for longevity then anything else.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Jim

CA hinges last essentially forever. I don't remember seeing any pattern airplanes with barrel hinges, and we fly more than probably anyone. CA hinges are also lighter.

Jon

I have several planes with CA hinges ( including a Venus II ) never had a problem. Installing anything else on a plane of this size would be a waste of time IMHO.

Ditto... CA hinges work just fine.

The only problem I've had is with the bottom hinge on the rudder breaking. However, this was not the hinge's fault but the brass tailwheel steering fitting and the plastic bracket (Sullivan tailwheel). I landed a little hard a couple times while landing on a very windy day, and it appears that the bracket flexes and the brass fitting hits the rudder, thereby breaking the hinge. I thought this might be the fault of inferior hinges from Great Planes, but I used some Radio South CA hinge material and had the exact same thing happen, which made me suspect something else. Anyway, I bent my own tailwheel wire from 3/32" piano and made a little ply pedestal to move the bracket farther from the rudder and have had no problems since.

-- Bob

Ok, thanks! I'll go with the CA hinges and save myself the work. Thanks for the rudder tip. Maybe I'll just build that right in.

On a related note: I'm new to pattern (flew controlline precision aerobatics for years) so I have some general questions.

How is the longevity of Venus II or ARF's in general? Anything I should beef up? Do you bother to glass the center joint of the wing?

And as I will be flying sportsman this year, is the O.S. 91FX ok? Or should I spend the extra dough and go for the 120AX... I did read your excellent review on the Tower site Jon, but I wonder if I will notice the difference at this stage in my journey. It sounds like it's easier to balance with the 91.

Thanks,

Jim

Go with the 1.20. You won't regret it. Even Sportsman this year has a couple of power manuevers, such as the vertical on center. Yo can't have to much vertical performance, and you have a throttle. The 1.20 is a sweet, modern generation engine. The .91 is a last generation engine. Move it back on the mount 3/4 to 1" to help with the CG.

I found that the Venus II is sensitive to CG changes as the tank level drops, and you end up retrimming during the flight; very annoying. I put a Perry VP-30 pump on mine and moved the tank over the CG. Helped a lot.

I didn't glass my center section; no need, plus it is added weight. Weight is the enemy of any pattern flyer, so be sure to leave out the heavy pilot they give you! Actually, the longevity of modern ARFs is pretty good. If anything, landing gear mounts are a weak point on many arfs, but the Venus mount is relatively strong. You need to grease landings anyway for maximum points!

Jon

Jim, the OS 1.20 4-sroke also works well. Mine has unlimited vertical and keeps tractoring straight up even after a lively snap roll. I mounted mine at an angle per the GP motor template, but I like Don M's inverted mount with the inside header and the flex pipe. I would have done that had I seen it before doing the angled thing. The inside header and flex pipe are going to add a few shekels to the cost, for sure, but it would be a nice winter project to get the parts and a new cowl to do the conversion.

Yeah Jon that pilot figure must weigh 2-3 ounces -- insane!!

I also upgraded to the CommonSense RC rx battery, the 2000 mah 7.4-volt lipo with a voltage regulator. The whole shebang weighs about as much as a 1500 mah nicad hump pack. I have checked it very carefully a couple of times and can get 10 flights per charge (analog servos, absolutely no stalled ones), and can recharge in one hour if I still haven't had enough for the day.

-- Bob

PS if you use the 1.20 4-stroke you'll want to have all the electronics as far aft as possible. I have all 3 servos in the tail (not as pretty, I realize) and have the battery Velcro-strapped to a little battery plank I added just in front of the rear cockpit former, and I still had to add 2 oz to the tail to get the CG right. Even so, my AUW is 8 lb 10 oz, which isn't bad considering the engine and muffler weigh 30.5 oz!!!

Hmm... come to think of it you might consider Saito engines, which are a good 20-30 percent lighter...

-- Bob

I had a brand new Saito 125 in mine at first and after 3 days I pulled it and installed the OS. The Saito was lighter but 500 rpm LESS than the OS, burned 50% more fuel than the OS and to boot the engine rusted up after 3 days of using Castor oil in the fuel and after run oil at the end of the day. I was not a happy camper. The OS now has about 300 flights on it, 5 years old, gives me 9400 on a 15-8 APC and is still 100% original.

To say I am not a fan of the 125 would be an understatement []

Ouch![X(]

As with most things, some people swear by them, and others swear at them...

-- Bob