Venture 60 - Suspended Plan (oz16711)

Suspended Plan

This plan has been suspended from Outerzone. No longer available to download.

About this Plan

Venture 60. Radio control sport model. Wingspan 72 in, wing area 876 sq in, for .60 engine.

Note main pic here showing very nicely completed Venture 60 model by Dave Swanson was found online at https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?3478919

Quote: "Venture 60 INSTRUCTION BOOK. INTRODUCTION by Bruce Tharpe. The Venture 60 is the flagship of what I hope to be an ever-expanding line of kits from BTE. I've been designing and building models like this for many years now and can honestly say that the Venture 60 is my personal favorite. It seems to have the smooth flying characteristics of a bigger model without the transportation hassles. It's designed to build fast, fly great, and provide its builder/pilot with a high sense of value and satisfaction.

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The steps in this book are numbered from 1 to 60. You should follow them in order in each main section (Wing Assembly, Tail Assembly, etc), but you can jump around from section to section as it suits your building style. At times, you'll need one part of the structure partially completed in order to continue with another part. Please read this book and study the plans carefully before you begin building.

This is the second printing of this instruction book, which means we've had time to hear from a number of builders. Most of them have loved the model just as designed, but there's always room for improvement. Some modelers like to clip off a rib bay from each wing panel. This brings the span down to about 66 in, making the wing a little easier to transport. It also gives a model that rolls and snaps faster with a slight increase in landing speed. Another common modification is a soft balsa cowl built onto the nose that fairs into the spinner. A number of builders like to use dual servos (one in each wing panel) for the ailerons. All of these ideas have worked out well, so plan ahead if you wish to incorporate them into your Venture 60. Your input is always welcome at BTE.

CHOOSING AN ENGINE: The recommended engine range for the Venture 60 is as follows: .60 - .65 2-Stroke .65 - .80 4-Stroke. To some modelers, the Venture 60 may seem on the big side for these engines, and I suppose it is compared to a lot of sport models. But the Venture 60 is also designed to be as light or lighter than those smaller airplanes, resulting in a very low wing loading. A typical sport .60 engine swinging a fairly low-pitch propeller will provide nearly unlimited vertical performance at the design weight of 7.25 pounds, so extra power is simply not necessary. Besides, bigger engines weigh more and may need tail weight to balance, which will ultimately raise the wing loading, increase in-flight stresses, and hurt the model's performance at low-speed.

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RADIO REQUIREMENTS: You'll need at least a four-channel radio with standard servos for each function. Be sure to use a radio system that transmits on a frequency approved for use in model aircraft.

GLUES: The Venture 60 can be assembled almost entirely using cyanoacrylate adhesives (abbreviated throughout the book as "CA"). These super glues usually come in three different viscosities: thin, medium, and thick. Use thin CA on tight-fitting balsa or to tack glue an assembly. Use medium CA on lite-ply, or on joints that have a small gap. Thick CA (sometimes called 'slow") is good for larger gaps or for applications where you need a few seconds to properly position the parts. When using thin or medium CA. the parts should already be in contact and positioned perfectly before application of the glue. Capillary action will pull the CA into the joint and allow it to soak into the surrounding wood.

There are several places in the book where the use of epoxy, yellow glue (aliphatic resin), and flexible white glue are specified. Epoxy is generally used in high-stress areas like the firewall and wing center joint. Yellow glue is nice to use on joints that will require sanding. Flexible white glue is good for adhering to plastics, like the canopy. Whatever glue you use, don't be stingy with it! The overall strength of every model airplane I depends on properly bonded joints. Let's build..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

For original listing of the Venture 60 kit on the (now defunct) BTEmodels site see: http://web.archive.org/web/20231004194036...

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See also the article 'About the Venture 60, BTE and Life' written by Bruce Tharpe at http://web.archive.org/web/20231004062846...

Update 24/4/2026: Added instructions for dual aileron servos, instructions for wheel pant installation, also a small 2-view drawing for working out your color scheme, thanks to DuaneHolliger.

Update 27/4/2026: Replaced this plan with a clearer copy, thanks to Bernd.

Update 27/4/2026: Added ribs in vector PDF format, thanks to Bernd.

Supplementary file notes

2-view.
Instructions.
Instructions, dual aileron setup.
Instructions, wheel pants.
Previous scan version.
Ribs.