GP Venus II
 

Hi
Has anyone flown this plane. Does it fly as well as it looks?

Mike

RE: GP Venus II
 

See this thread:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3993257/tm.htm

Also see the reprint of my review from RC Report magazine on the Tower Hobbies website. The link is on the page for the Venus II.

Jon

RE: GP Venus II
 

Mike,

In the latest RCModel World there is a review by Dave Wilshere and if you're lucky you could win one in the RCMW competition. I don't think there were many criticisms and I've seen it flying and it looked OK to me.

Roger

RE: GP Venus II
 

Hi Folks
Yes I know about both of these reviews however I am very very skeptical of magazine write up. According to the RCMW they have never reviewed a bad engine. Funny how i cant get a MDS or a GMS to ever run properly without serious modifications to the carb. So I learned a long time ago to trust my fellow modellers experience and take anything a magazine says with a pinch of salt.

Mike

RE: GP Venus II
 

I have one with about 150 flights, OS 120 non - pump. I have had one plane in 21 years that flies better, as a matter of fact I still have it, a Typhoon / YS 140. But when you compare price, ease of maintenace, cost of operation, etc., etc. The Venus II wins hands down. If this plane bobs or wobbles while your flying it it is your fault not the plane. I'm sure they exist but I have no idea where I would find any equal at this price IMHO.

RE: GP Venus II
 

I can say that John Lowes article is straight forward as he see's it no BS, RC report "Gordon Banks" calls a turd a turd if he feels that is what a product is. I know Jon and Gordon personnally and have written for rc report.

gary

RE: GP Venus II
 

I am about to install an os 120fs in my V2, which engine mount would be best for lower vibration...I've heard of gator soft mounts, but hard for me to find.

RE: GP Venus II
 

I used a Dubro vibration mount on mine ( pictured above ). It is all the mount you need and the only one I use on on my glow engines. The one I used on the Venus II is a #686 which has a bit smaller footprint than the 688. I turned the tank sideways and dremeled a bit of the former out so I could lower it and mount the engine fully inverted - mine is a non - pumped engine. Looks and works great that way. Treat yourself and use an inside header and a flex pipe so the muffler exists under the plane as in the above pic. I get very little residue on my plane that way.

The 120 FS will give you unlimited vertical and only uses 10 - 12 ozs. of fuel per 10 min. flight.

RE: GP Venus II
 

Get the Hyde mount. Available at Central Hobbies.

RE: GP Venus II
 

Yep!--- I'll second that!---

RE: GP Venus II
 

After getting the OS 120 FS tuned up today -- I had it set way to rich at idle the first day I worked with it -- I can add that the Venus II does indeed have unlimited vertical with this engine. I had thought I would need the 120 FX (2-stroke) for this kind of performance, but the FS will get it done. I tried a few vertical snaps, some inside and some outside, and it just keeps going if you don't overdo it with the elevator and completely kill the momentum.

-- Bob

RE: GP Venus II
 

And they sound soooo much better than those tinny little 2 - strokes ;)

RE: GP Venus II
 

No doubt, they make an airplane sound like an airplane and not a chainsaw!:)

I think my only issue with 4-stroke at present is getting a consistent low idle. Still tinkering with the low end mix, though I think it will be much better after I have a couple of gallons of fuel through it. Using "idle down" on my transmitter settings, and I notice that I am able to get it lower and lower as I go along. But with all that torque the plane wants to continue flying an awfully long way before settling onto the runway.

-- Bob

RE: GP Venus II
 

I had the same problem with mine and dialed in some spoilerons. Slows it down in 1/2 the time. I tried flapperons but they don't work nearly as well. Try it if you have a computer radio, the difference is unbelievable. I keep a high idle on my 120 ( 2500 )because it is inverted and have no problem slowing down with the spoilerons. Use about 1/2" up deflection. Banking with the ailerons is hardly affected at all with the spoilerons in effect.

RE: GP Venus II
 

Okay, you hit the spoileron switch right as you touch down, or on the approach? Which switch do you use? Sorry for the dumb questions, but I've been flying only about a year and a half...

-- Bob

RE: GP Venus II
 

I usually hit the switch on the down wing leg before turning on final. I also have a bit of up elev. mixed in otherwise she'll drop her nose big time when you switch the spoilerons. I actually still have to hold a bit of up also on the stick. As I approach the runway I relax the elev. stick a bit at a time and it heads for the runway like a homesick dove. It drops and slows down veeery fast and of course I flare just before I touch down. Maybe it sounds complicated but after 5 or 6 landings it all becomes automatic.

What switch do I use ? Well I have not flown this plane since Sept. and I don't remember [&o] It is a JR 8103 and I THINK I use channel 7 as the activater. Make sure you mark the aileron wires because if you hook them up backwards you will have Flaps not spoilers. On the 8103 anyway. Hook them up and practice in your backyard.

They work very well on the Venus II but I tried them on my Typhoon and they don't work worth a darn. The Typhoon is better with flaperons. I f you think the Venus floats you should try a Typhoon. On a calm day you throttle back to idle when the plane is just a speck in the sky. Landing and getting stopped on a 300' paved runway becomes a fine art.

RE: GP Venus II
 

Thanks, Don. I'll play with this... very carefully.

So far I really like this airplane. Really stays where you point it, and I can't believe how clean the stall turns and snaps are. KE is the most neutral of any plane I have flown. The rudder is so effective that I think I'll actually have to tone it down a bit. I have lots of expo, but even the travel could be reduced. And I think my cg needs to go back just a bit because inverted flight needs just a bit more push than I would think necessary. I have a master's level pattern flier who will soon be helping me get it trimmed properly, so there is lots of fun ahead with this airplane.

-- Bob

RE: GP Venus II
 

P.S. Which prop are you using? I'm using an APC 14x10 pattern prop and it seems about right, but what do I know at this point?:eek:

-- Bob

RE: GP Venus II
 

Ah Ha ! That's another reason yours is hard to slow down. I use an APC 15 - 8, about 9200 safely. I have never tried a 14 -10 and it may well be a very good prop but it has less braking and more speed than a 15 - 8. Try a 15 - 8 WITHOUT the Spoiler thing and see what you think.

Mine is also a bit nose heavy but I have no feeling in my right thumb ( neck injury ) and I like a little down stick inverted because it helps me "feel better."

RE: GP Venus II
 

Okay, thanks again. I'll give that a try. I bought a couple of 15x8's at the same time I got the 14x10's. Weather here (downstate NY) just turned ugly again so I won't be able to fly the Venus again for more than a week, if then.

The only good thing about spring is that it's followed by summer!![:o]

-- Bob

RE: GP Venus II
 

Don't feel bad Bob I have been working 400 miles above the Arctic Circle since Sept and won't get outa here until July. It was -45 degree here yesterday and doesn't get consistently above freezing until late June. Finally after 15 years of working here 8 - 10 months of the year I'm going home ( Nova Scotia ) for good this summer :D

I guess we got a little off track from Buddies original post but it's all Venus II related and if he reads between the lines I guess by now he'll gather that for the money this is one sweet plane. Unless they come out with a bigger version I'll buy another if mine ever gets retired or dorked ;)

Oh as I got up this A.M. I remembered which switch I use on the transmitter. The 8103 has a "landing" switch into which you can program all kinds of neat things like flaps, spoilers, retracts, elev. offset, etc. I just throw this switch and everything happens automatically. Of course if your flying with Futaba Junk :D you may not have all these features.

RE: GP Venus II
 

Wow, Don, I hope you at least have a simulator to practice with!

Agreed, the V2 is probably the best bang for the buck when getting into pattern, though I gotta admit I don't really like the concept of a 1-piece wing. From flying elecrics I got used to plug-in wings and big top hatches, so in that regard the V2 is also lacking, but all its good qualities easily outweigh these minor quibbles, IMHO. The whole airframe is reasonably light for such a robust design. I had already committed to the V2 before the Fliton Inspire 90 came out, so I might have considered that airplane as well, and then the Seagull models also look pretty good. I ordered my Venus after the price dropped from $279 to $249 at Tower, and then there was a $30 discount on top of that for my entire order, so that's hard to beat.

-- Bob

RE: GP Venus II
 

Oh, and I can program in a "landing" mode with my crappy Futaba 9caps:)

I'll assign the spoileron set-up to a separate switch while figuring out the set-up, then assign it to my idle-down switch when it's dialed in.

A buddy of mine also suggested adding a slight bit of toe-in on the LG and maybe some little fuel-tube binders over the axles to slow it down a bit. Just gotta be careful not to add so much braking that it noses over when taking off and landing, and keeping it equal so that it doesn't pull to the left or right.

RE: GP Venus II
 

I think you'll find if you go to a 15 - 8 prop and spoilerons you can forget the landing gear mods. As stated before I fly from a 350 X 30' runway and my V2 will land and stop in 1/2 the runway with the spoilerons or a windy day. I also fly a 20 lb. P -51, now there's a baby to land and stop on our runway. Landing with the P - 51 has a pucker factor of 9.99 out of a 10.

Yes I do have a sim. up here. But it is nothing like the real deal [:o]

Here's a pic of my P - 51 and my Eskimo sled dog :D:D The native people are scared to death of her ( 13 lbs. ) and have nicknamed her "Killer"

RE: GP Venus II
 

I guess I need all the help I can get. Our runway is 27 feet wide and about 200 feet long, so I suppose it has made me a better "lander." I always land on the runway, but the roll-out doesn't always finish there.