Official Freewing de Havilland DH-112 Venom V2 90mm EDF Jet

[Phantom]

Guys, I've never had an issue landing this one, I used it to warm up with like my FW F-86. I use "barn door" flaps 75° to 85° nose down power off approach, then level off in ground effect, and a flare right before touchdown on the mains. There's not a high enough decent rate for a bounce, nor enough energy or airspeed for any additional unexpected flight. I do fly it only with an 8,000mah 6s brick from CNHL, so perhaps I have a different CG than most? But she's always landed like a docile trainer for me, stock gear, and zero mods.

[xviper]

If I ever master this I shall buy a new airframe and keep it pristine

I'm on my 3rd one of these and I'm still not at 100% greased. However, I'm happy to say that with this one, hanger rash has been the only thing keeping mine from being "pristine".

[Mikdys]

That's a very interesting/innovative mod. I have trailing links on mine and foam must be carved to make it work. I also had a lot of trouble greasing the landings on this plane, even after the trailing links went on. For me, it too practice and more practice and I finally got it 9 times out of 10. This was the same with my B2 but having the experience with the Venom (and other information), I left the plane alone and just kept practicing the landings and the same happened. Most, but not all, landings are good of late.

Thanks. I also plan to stick to full flap/gear down landings (I had been trying belly landings but the flaps get caught in the grass) and decide at the point the mains touch to either go full throttle and fly around or full down elevator to keep the nose down. I've used the "full throttle" and go around before but never the "elevator down". The damage from a bad landing seems to come from the subsequent stall once the plane has gone up into the air a few feet and I hope, by keeping it low, damage won't be so bad if its a less than perfect landing.

If I ever master this I shall buy a new airframe and keep it pristine

[xviper]

I've never mastered the art of landing this 'plane consistently without a "damaging bounce" and I can't seem to find any trailing link struts to fit so I decided to add RC car dampers to the existing struts to see if that helps.

I ordered some 100mm long shocks from Amazon and used some 3mm shouldered bolts to replace the existing axles and 4mm bolts to replace the gear cover retaining screws all spaced out with nuts as necessary and then cut to length. Testing the units there is no longer any "fierce rebound" when compressing and releasing the struts plus both compression and extension movements are damped so I hope it might also take a little energy out as the wheels first touch ( https://youtube.com/shorts/sAL1sUuqbwQ?feature=share ). I've filled the shocks with 60w oil as a starting point.

I'll post back here to let you all know if these make a positive difference but it may be a while before the weather is good enough to go flying again.

That's a very interesting/innovative mod. I have trailing links on mine and foam must be carved to make it work. I also had a lot of trouble greasing the landings on this plane, even after the trailing links went on. For me, it too practice and more practice and I finally got it 9 times out of 10. This was the same with my B2 but having the experience with the Venom (and other information), I left the plane alone and just kept practicing the landings and the same happened. Most, but not all, landings are good of late.

[Mikdys]

I've never mastered the art of landing this 'plane consistently without a "damaging bounce" and I can't seem to find any trailing link struts to fit so I decided to add RC car dampers to the existing struts to see if that helps.

I ordered some 100mm long shocks from Amazon and used some 3mm shouldered bolts to replace the existing axles and 4mm bolts to replace the gear cover retaining screws all spaced out with nuts as necessary and then cut to length. Testing the units there is no longer any "fierce rebound" when compressing and releasing the struts plus both compression and extension movements are damped so I hope it might also take a little energy out as the wheels first touch ( https://youtube.com/shorts/sAL1sUuqbwQ?feature=share ). I've filled the shocks with 60w oil as a starting point.

I'll post back here to let you all know if these make a positive difference but it may be a while before the weather is good enough to go flying again.

[Simon Bee]

I have the venom but lately she dont track well on takeoff.

If i goes 10% throttle seems straight, but when i accelerate she goes or lwft or right.

I need 2 or more trys to goes up.

Any well?

I had problems with my Venom wandering too during take off. I tried the gradual power application and it made it worse.
Now I just go full power straight away with half flap to get airborne quicker. Not really had a problem with it since but others may disagree with that technique.

[xviper]

I have the venom but lately she dont track well on takeoff.

If i goes 10% throttle seems straight, but when i accelerate she goes or lwft or right.

I need 2 or more trys to goes up.

Any well?

This plane has a very short wheelbase for it's size, so it tends to wander easily, especially if there's a bit of looseness in the nose strut or if the pilot even slightly over corrects. You can do what you can to tighten up the strut on the retract pin or you can use a low rate/higher expo for the take off and landing roll to help minimize over correcting. Failing this, consider installing an Assan steering gyro. Also, make your take off acceleration a bit more gradual.

[mribeiro]

I have the venom but lately she dont track well on takeoff.

If i goes 10% throttle seems straight, but when i accelerate she goes or lwft or right.

I need 2 or more trys to goes up.

Any well?

[Icarus the 2nd]

Here's a nice full scale flight of a clubmember and good friend.

Enjoy!

[Jumper74]

Thanks xviper
I'll try to find a spring that could fit in.
Regards.

[xviper]

[Jumper74]

Another couple of great fights today.
unfortunately on the last landing I’ve lost the spring that holds the door of the nose landing gear.
Can please someone send a picture of how the sping is installed?
Thanks

[Jumper74]

Finally I've only painted the fuel tanks on wing tips. Factory paint is such weak that I could not put any mask tape so I decided to go for the "easy" way.
Added two strip decals on tail booms to cover some paint chips that appeared when removing masking tape 😑😑 .


Hope it will gain in visibility.

Have you ever thought about vent holes for battery compartment?

I've also added a 3D printed exhaust nozzle to reinforce that zone, so that I can handle the plane from there. If someone else needs that, send me a PM.

[xviper]

I changed my main struts to trailing links and sometimes, it still bounces. I'm getting better at it with each outing. I've had this plane for about 3 years now but with nearly 50, it gets rotated into service only once every couple of months. No other plane I own bounces on landing quite like this one. Some bounce but not like this. Luckily so far, the retracts have been very stout and have not needed replacement.

[Simon Bee]

Yes very much the same with me. My Freewing Rebel and Avanti, I can pretty much get a decent landing most times.
The Venom, I just can’t seem to get any consistency. A couple of decent landings, you think you’ve got it cracked and then a bouncer! It’s still the best looking and sounding EDF on the field though 😀

[xviper]

Thanks for the reply 👍 Makes me wonder if I checked the c of g last time, if not it must have been massively tail heavy, but it seemed to fly OK !
Maybe that’s why the nose used to bounce up a lot on landing ??

I have always found it hard to not bounce the landing. It takes more finesse than other planes I own. It also depends on the flaps I use when landing. I like to use full flaps as it looks more realistic but each flap setting requires just a slightly different landing style. My landings from last week was a mixed bag. One landing was a bit bouncy but manageable. The second landing using the same full flaps was picture perfect. In fact, after I had mentioned to those at the field that my landings with this plane can be quite bouncy, then landing it perfectly, they all applauded. It has to do with just the correct approach speed, the amount of throttle just before touch down and the flare at the end so it hits with the mains first. Touch down on the nose first or even with all 3 at once and it will likely bounce. If done right, every landing can be perfect. A small part is the plane but a large part is me.

[Jumper74]

Finally my Venom reached the sky yesterday
Here in Spain it's very hot, about 34 ºC for maiden flight. I was very worried about that, cause I've noticed the UBEC gets very warm.
But there's no glory without risk so, when the wind gave us a chance, I decided to maiden the Venom.
Powered by 6000mah Graphene 100C and 905g battery pack, CG on the panel line just before the warning triangle with black dot.
I needed to trim some foam on the battery tray and canopy, but could fit them.
No flap during take off, progressive power. Went straight as an arrow, just a little of elevator when reached full throttle. This thing has tons of power!
No major trim needed, just one click right aileron.
The only issue was that left main gear did not retract to full position. Just deployed landing gear again, and it worked. On the ground it worked good. I will check it.

All my friends at club were very surprised of the realistic sound of this beauty, fast low passes are just amazing.

Landing was not a problem at all, just 20% flaps and touch the ground on main gears. Sweet landing with no bounces.
After 6 minutes of flight, battery was at 25%, I will reduce flight time to 5 minutes to preserve my bricks.
I did not make a second flight because battery and ubec were hot.
Has someone made vent holes for battery and ubec?

I will also put some color strip decals for better visibility.

[Simon Bee]

Thanks for the reply 👍 Makes me wonder if I checked the c of g last time, if not it must have been massively tail heavy, but it seemed to fly OK !
Maybe that’s why the nose used to bounce up a lot on landing ??

[xviper]

Yes I have a CHL 5000 and it’s a bit heavier than my Admirals.
is it important to check the balance upside down ?

It depends on the plane. With this Venom, I find that most of the mass tends to be above the mid-line of the wing, so balancing it upside down makes it less "teetery", thus easier to do. Since this plane has its wing more or less in the middle of the airframe, it's a bit of trial and error to see which way is more stable to hold. With high wing planes, it's easy - you hold it right side up. With low wing planes, also easy - you hold it upside down. Even with a mechanical balancer, some planes are very unstable no matter which way you do it. You then pick the way that is the most stable or the least "teetery".

[Simon Bee]

Yes I have a CHL 5000 and it’s a bit heavier than my Admirals.
is it important to check the balance upside down ?