Originally Posted by Jackson Stone

Gord,

You are correct on the music. I pulled it from a collection of Hans Zimmer's music.

BTW, I am working on a new version of flying the Ventus at Pradera Ridge. Should have it shot, edited and posted to Vimeo within the week.

JumpySticks - You will be intrigued to hear that I caught a beautiful thermal with my Ventus last Monday and climbed several hundred feet. You are correct that the wing loading is pretty high, I think I calculated 17 oz per ft2 for mine. It also has small control surfaces which can make it tricky to fly. And watch out for that nasty tip stall! But, if you keep the speed up it flies quite nicely. The Ventus is better at slope soaring than thermalling, however it has a wonderful look about it in the air that is compelling.

Am going to build a 2.3 meter Fox EPO glider next.

Cheers,

Jackson

Got video?

JumpySticks,

I do not have video of the Ventus soaring in a thermal.... yet. I am actually working on a video right now featuring the Ventus slope soaring at Pradera Ridge. I think you will like it.

Conditions should be good for soaring tomorrow. If they are, I will make a point to go out and get some Wingcam video of the Ventus soaring in a thermal so you can see what it would be like. Here's the thing: we have pretty strong thermals here in Colorado. I think you could soar a bathtub in them if you got it cored. So, I can prove a point but it may not apply where you live in Louisiana.

All the best,

Jackson

JumpySticks,

I have a sad story to report. Was out to get some video of the Ventus soaring and had the canopy fly off resulting in a too far aft CG. Ended up in nasty crash landing.

A couple of thoughts for you:

One, the Ventus is a remarkable value as a kit for $55. It was my first high-performance glider and I enjoyed producing a nicely-finished plane and learning how to fly it.

Two, the Ventus as I finished it had a fairly high wing loading, but if you check the high-end glider websites there are lots of gliders that do. High wing loadings translate into faster ships. As such, the Ventus was great fun for slope soaring which you will see in an upcoming video.

Three, the Ventus can thermal but this is not its best calling. I have been thermalling alot lately with my DLGs and the Minimoa. Both have much lighter wing loadings are are well suited to both signalling and working lift. With the Ventus you really need to hit a boomer to see that you are in lift and be able to work it.

Four, the Ventus was challenged by having scale-sized control surfaces. This meant that you really need to have some speed to have good control effectiveness.

Five, the Ventus really looks spectacular in the air and I have been willing to put up with her shortcomings for this reason.

Getting back to the status of the Ventus, the canopy is still lost as I was not able to find it, even after I organized a small search party. My plan at the moment is to put the Ventus on the back shelf and work on finishing the Fox 2.3 meter sailplane I have in the works. My sense is that the Fox will be a much better overall flier than the Ventus. I am going to equip her with plenty of power, cover the wings and tail surfaces with film, and finish the fuselage with polyacrylic for a smooth, glass-like look.

Regards,

Jackson

I expect that the Ventus is a lovely slope flyer. I really wish I had some slopes around here. Since i don't, my Venus is relegated to a display model. I fly my Radian Pro for thermal soaring.

Originally Posted by Jackson Stone

JumpySticks,

I have a sad story to report. Was out to get some video of the Ventus soaring and had the canopy fly off resulting in a too far aft CG. Ended up in nasty crash landing.

A couple of thoughts for you:

One, the Ventus is a remarkable value as a kit for $55. It was my first high-performance glider and I enjoyed producing a nicely-finished plane and learning how to fly it.

Two, the Ventus as I finished it had a fairly high wing loading, but if you check the high-end glider websites there are lots of gliders that do. High wing loadings translate into faster ships. As such, the Ventus was great fun for slope soaring which you will see in an upcoming video.

Three, the Ventus can thermal but this is not its best calling. I have been thermalling alot lately with my DLGs and the Minimoa. Both have much lighter wing loadings are are well suited to both signalling and working lift. With the Ventus you really need to hit a boomer to see that you are in lift and be able to work it.

Four, the Ventus was challenged by having scale-sized control surfaces. This meant that you really need to have some speed to have good control effectiveness.

Five, the Ventus really looks spectacular in the air and I have been willing to put up with her shortcomings for this reason.

Getting back to the status of the Ventus, the canopy is still lost as I was not able to find it, even after I organized a small search party. My plan at the moment is to put the Ventus on the back shelf and work on finishing the Fox 2.3 meter sailplane I have in the works. My sense is that the Fox will be a much better overall flier than the Ventus. I am going to equip her with plenty of power, cover the wings and tail surfaces with film, and finish the fuselage with polyacrylic for a smooth, glass-like look.

Regards,

Jackson

sorry to hear

While I was balancing my Ventus I removed the canopy and was absolutely shocked at how far back the cog moves..

after your experience I'll definetly secure the canopy with a tape as well as the magnets...

Hi. Sorry for bothering you guys, just want to ask where can I find the part for this glider? like wing or fuselage...thanks

Originally Posted by polycapman

Hi. Sorry for bothering you guys, just want to ask where can I find the part for this glider? like wing or fuselage...thanks

Polycapman,

Hobby King sells a complete kit for about $66 in the U.S. I don't think they sell individual wings or other components but the kit price is low enough that you could buy a kit to have extra parts.

Jackson

Thanks Jackson for your answer, yes I think the only way to have extra part is buy the whole kit.

Hi everyone... I just got the v2 version of the ventus..

Built it up as light as possible.. V2 wings are very heavy..
Whether the setup will allow me to ride medium to strong thermals is still questionable..

Heres what I did...

Removed the folding prop.. Wrong size and it weighed almost 50g...
New 10x 4.7 sf and collet 25g weight...
Ditched the landing gear and servo...
Ditched the canopy.. 52g really heavy
Made a new one from epp... Now 22g
Cut off all control surfaces and hinged with plastic hinges... It actually increased the wing area a bit because of the gap.. So I had to sand down the leading edge of the flaps because they were no longer flush with the wing..
Designed a new elevator surface with more area and put in removable bolts down the rudder fin to remove the tail.

Electronics...
2s 850ma nanoteh 49g
20amp esc 22g
Hobbyking 2824 outrunner 52g
5g hxt 500 servos all round 39g

Likely not a power horse.. But to shave weight it was very necessary
once I get up then the rest doesn't matter..

Almost finished the build.. Just waiting on some hinge tape and battery's..

Auw looks to be around 850-870 grams

Originally Posted by 3d addict

Hi everyone... I just got the v2 version of the ventus..

Built it up as light as possible.. V2 wings are very heavy..
Whether the setup will allow me to ride medium to strong thermals is still questionable..

Heres what I did...

Removed the folding prop.. Wrong size and it weighed almost 50g...
New 10x 4.7 sf and collet 25g weight...
Ditched the landing gear and servo...
Ditched the canopy.. 52g really heavy
Made a new one from epp... Now 22g
Cut off all control surfaces and hinged with plastic hinges... It actually increased the wing area a bit because of the gap.. So I had to sand down the leading edge of the flaps because they were no longer flush with the wing..
Designed a new elevator surface with more area and put in removable bolts down the rudder fin to remove the tail.

Electronics...
2s 850ma nanoteh 49g
20amp esc 22g
Hobbyking 2824 outrunner 52g
5g hxt 500 servos all round 39g

Likely not a power horse.. But to shave weight it was very necessary
once I get up then the rest doesn't matter..

Almost finished the build.. Just waiting on some hinge tape and battery's..

Auw looks to be around 850-870 grams

Interesting!
Curious to see where you will put the CG

Originally Posted by Galand

Interesting!
Curious to see where you will put the CG

Not to sure yet but judging from everyone elses, ill leave it a bit nose heavy and then dial it in...
I Have a huge cornfield out by my house that I fly in, so I should be able to toss out a few hand glides and get a feel for where im at .
Beautiful thermals out in that field also... Yesterday I just sat out there and watched the trees take a kicking from the cold air displacing the thermals..
ill be sure to update back here if this weight reduction and setup is the way to go, so others can follow suit if they want/like

Can this glider fit a brushless >28mm diameter.. say 36mm outrunner?

Originally Posted by sidman47

Can this glider fit a brushless >28mm diameter.. say 36mm outrunner?

Hi Sidman 47,
The stock motor on the ARF kit is a 28mmm outrunner, there is about 3 mm clearance.
At first glance, a 36 mm would not fit unless you move it back an carve some foam out on the inside of the nose. Outside diameter of the nose at the far end is 44 mm, inner diameter is 39 mm. It looks like it would fit but remember you need to install the motor slightly off center and pointing down a bit to compensate for prop wash.
With a bit of tinkering and a lot of patience, it is doable I think.

Originally Posted by sidman47

Can this glider fit a brushless >28mm diameter.. say 36mm outrunner?

This thing tends to result nose-heavy. a 36mm would prolly make that worse.

Originally Posted by Galand

This thing tends to result nose-heavy. a 36mm would prolly make that worse.

True that.
I installed a rudder servo right in the tail and moved the retract servo back, installed on the top tray. This lets me slide the battery farther back to achieve good cg without having to use any weights. I have the V2 ARF version.
I replaced all the servos including the retract servo.
The way the retract servo operates now, I have positive lock of the retract mechanism with the wheel down so there is no strain on the servo on landing.
Will post pictures of the mod soon.
Next mod: Trash the existing 2 Amp BEC, 20 Amp ESC and use a 3 Amp Bec, 30 Amp ESC, get a better folding prop and maybe replace the motor too.
I should have bought the kit version but it wasn`t stock and I really wanted this bird to get some flights in before the winter moves in.