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From: Paul In Mass.
Product: Build Story
Date: 17 Aug 2001
Time: 14:51:37
Remote Name: 209.58.192.222
Thanks for the comments from Mark Ewert (9/29/00). The plane gets comments from everyone that sees it. Especially Buzz in the cockpit. he seemed appropriate for the paint scheme which I decided on shortly after I started building.
After reading all the postings about the Venture It's good to know that I'm not the only one modifying things. Isn't that what this hobby is all about?
I installed dual aileron servos with 4-40 pushrods. For the elevator I used a carbon fiber arrow shaft with split 4-40 ends so I could adjust each elevator separately. Servo and control horn connections are made with ball joints. There is ZERO slop in elevator and ailerons. Rudder is a 4-40 pull-pull cable system.
The wing was shorted by a rib bay on each side for a total of 6". Reduced dihedral by 1/2 the amount shown on the planes.
The pipe was added because the original muffler for the old OS is broken and I couldn't find an inexpensive replacement that looked decent. Besides, more power can't hurt can it?
Since the pics were taken I've changed the landing gear to a one-piece 60 size aluminum unit. I attached the gear with three 1/4-20 nylon bolts.
The stits lite covering system was chosen because I really like to paint airplanes and it seemed like the modern way to do it. I had also read a lot about it and it's strength is well known. The strength has come in handy but the weight penalty is too much for my taste.
The plane flies nicely but it requires intense concentration at full throttle.
A couple of weeks ago while cartwheeling the plane about 300 feet up, I ended up in a full throttle flat spin (done this lots of times before). Usually the plane stops spinning instantly as soon as the controls are released. This time it didn't. Full throttle, full down elevator, full opposite rudder but no dice. A nice tight spin into the mud!
The landing gear sheared off cleanly with only one wheel pant a bit loose. I'm so glad I used Nylon bolts. The fuse sheeting under the chin is cracked slightly but no other fuse damage! The wing didn't detach and LOOKS fine. The covering is indeed very strong. However, I can see where a couple of ribs are pushing against the inside of the covering and when shaken the right wing panel sounds like a thousand loose pieces rattling around.
Instead of rebuilding the wing (and making it even heavier) I'm going to build a new one as soon as the new wing kit arrives.
A few changes are in store for the new wing. I've got to get the weight down so I'll be covering it with 21st Century iron-on fabric. I'll also use the correct dihedral. The plane had a tendency to roll towards the canopy during knife edge. I fixed this with a little aileron mixed in to high-rate rudder but I'd rather not have to do those kinds of band-aids. I'm also not going to install two aileron servos. They were necessary for flaps to get any kind of reasonable landing speed but also added more weight.
I'll try and finish the new wing soon so I can get back to flying my favorite plane!