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

[xviper]

V3 vs. V2? I notice on the Motion site they are offering a Venom V3 But the specs for the V3 look exactly the same to me as the specs for the V2. Does anyone know what changes they have made?

I can't tell them apart either. I think the V2 silver version went out of stock for a while. Now that they've come back, maybe they just call it a V3. I know from V1 to V2, they went from an outrunner to an inrunner.
Perhaps when the current V2 red version sells out, they'll bring it back later as a V3.

[BikeMike]

V3 vs. V2? I notice on the Motion site they are offering a Venom V3 But the specs for the V3 look exactly the same to me as the specs for the V2. Does anyone know what changes they have made?

[mrxw393]

Yes BikeMike your not wrong, it's not easy keeping the moisture out of the esc but I'll get it.
It's funny, a mate of mine commented that the plane didn't seem as big as thought, but when he saw it in the air it certainly has some presence, I tend to agree with him.
I do like it even more with a centre burner and three coats of clear just to make that red and white really pop.

[BikeMike]

Thank goodness for the UBEC to continue power to your radio or your control surfaces would have stopped working too! That was my thought both times my motor stopped from dew.

[mrxw393]

I got to do the maiden this morning, it was worth the wait. This edf goes and looks so good and that sound wow. I did have the motor stop after a big climb, water again. I'm glad the control surfaces and landing gear still worked so the landing wasn't a problem.
I need to make a cover for the esc as our runway is grass and normally has dew on it, but no big deal. I just need more batteries it's so much fun to fly.

[BikeMike]

Well, I was ready for my maiden flight this morning. Did the usual checks everything was good to go, started to get the plane to move off and just as I was applying some more throttle nothing??
Now the grass was quite wet (early morning) so unfortunately the esc copped a heap of water and took about an hour and a half before it would power up again. Bugger!!
I'll have to wait until the early morning dew has dried off and try this again.
I was so close lol

I made a cover to go over the ESC vent on the bottom and that took care of the problem.

[mrxw393]

Well, I was ready for my maiden flight this morning. Did the usual checks everything was good to go, started to get the plane to move off and just as I was applying some more throttle nothing??
Now the grass was quite wet (early morning) so unfortunately the esc copped a heap of water and took about an hour and a half before it would power up again. Bugger!!
I'll have to wait until the early morning dew has dried off and try this again.
I was so close lol

[BikeMike]

Ok mate, good to know, thanks :)
I just hate it when you think it's all good to go then as soon as the plane gets off the ground it's tail heavy then it's a sh!# fight to get it back down in one piece.

Compared to my other jets, it's a pretty gentle plane to fly. Not super fast, but looks cool and sounds awesome!

[mrxw393]

I find that there is a fairly wide range of OK balancing points. I've balanced mine at 110, 115 and even a little back of that and it didn't seem to matter that much.

Ok mate, good to know, thanks :)
I just hate it when you think it's all good to go then as soon as the plane gets off the ground it's tail heavy then it's a sh!# fight to get it back down in one piece.

[BikeMike]

I find that there is a fairly wide range of OK balancing points. I've balanced mine at 110, 115 and even a little back of that and it didn't seem to matter that much.

[mrxw393]

Ok, I actually didn't stop to think that it is a mid wing, oops lol.
As far as the weight goes, it took me a several attempts to sort out the balance, so I opted for 110mm and that was when I got it.
I was just a bit suprised at how sensitive the model is when balancing it goes from tail to nose heavy very easily. Some of my other planes are a bit more forgiving I guess I could say.
I guess it's a little obvious I'm still reasonably new to the hobby hey?

By the way I just had a proper look at your avatar, hahahahaha

[xviper]

Those marks are purely for reference. You balance a high wing plane right side up and a low wing plane upside down for the most stable position. A plane like this one, being a mid-wing plane, can be balanced in whichever way that makes it the most stable. There really isn't a "should" in a case like this. Wheels up or wheels down, depends on which configuration you want it to be balanced ------ do you want it balanced for when taking off and for landing or do you want it balanced for when it's flying, which is likely the majority of the time you are operating it. If it's nose heavy, why are you putting more weight (your 40g of lead) up front?

[mrxw393]

Do you balance it right side up or upside down? I find doing it upside down makes it less "teetery" and much easier to get it to balance level.

Hi there xviper, I balanced the plane inverted and wheels up. I balance all my planes this way but I noticed in the manual it shows under the main wing for the cog which made think perhaps I should try balancing it from under the main wing.
I'll be using a Prime 6s 5200 mah and with 40 grams of lead up front it's slightly nose heavy.

[xviper]

One thing I noticed is when checking the cog this jet is very sensitive to being tail heavy or really nose heavy

Do you balance it right side up or upside down? I find doing it upside down makes it less "teetery" and much easier to get it to balance level.

[mrxw393]

Hi all, I've been reading this thread and decided to sign up to the forum.
I have just finished putting together my red and white Venom. Can't wait to maiden it!!
I have found some great info in this thread so thanks guys for sharing some wisdom it's been a big help to me and I'm sure to others.
One thing I noticed is when checking the cog this jet is very sensitive to being tail heavy or really nose heavy, I reckon I have it sussed out now.
Have a good one,

Darren

[Chalredline1]

Can you show us a picture?

Sorry it took so long. Here you go. You can see where I relieved some of the foam for the gear to fully retract.

[xviper]

Is the nose wheel supposed to turn sideways when it retracts? Mine doesn't so it pushes up against the fuse and stalls out. Doesn't work so great. The trouble started when Motion sent me a free replacement and I think they sent me a wing retract instead of the nose retract.

The wing retract and the nose retract should be the same. The primary difference is the pin. On the main retract, that pin is secured so it doesn't turn. On the nose retract, that pin spins freely (so it can steer).
Whether or not the nose strut turns depends mostly on how the steering rod interacts with it. If the steering rod is mounted correctly, the strut should NOT turn and simply operate straight the whole time. If the rod is not mounted or installed correctly, then the strut can turn a bit or a lot if really out of shape.

[BikeMike]

Is the nose wheel supposed to turn sideways when it retracts? Mine doesn't so it pushes up against the fuse and stalls out. Doesn't work so great. The trouble started when Motion sent me a free replacement and I think they sent me a wing retract instead of the nose retract.

[wp5tty8]

Go to the webpage for the plane and look at the spare parts section. In there, you'll see the front gear doors and the spring. That should give you enough information as to what's involved. The door itself is held in place by those 2 prongs at the leading edge. It's the spring that goes between the door and the strut that keeps the door pressed up against the strut as it goes in and out. You should see where the spring attaches on each end (door and strut). I can't take a picture of it open as the plane is stored away for the winter.

Thanks for the help.. I found a spring in my spare parts that did the job.. Got it installed and it works well.

[xviper]

No the spring is gone. I'll take a close look and maybe I can rig something from your description.

Go to the webpage for the plane and look at the spare parts section. In there, you'll see the front gear doors and the spring. That should give you enough information as to what's involved. The door itself is held in place by those 2 prongs at the leading edge. It's the spring that goes between the door and the strut that keeps the door pressed up against the strut as it goes in and out. You should see where the spring attaches on each end (door and strut). I can't take a picture of it open as the plane is stored away for the winter.