BTE’s
VENTURE60 By Larry Kruse
Classic great looks, quality engineering and easy construction will make this a great choice for a .60 size sport/aerobatic plane!
PHOTOGRAPHY: LARRY KRUSE W
hen designer Bruce Tharpe left Sig in the mid-90s to strike out on his own, his resume included such classic designs as the Sig
Four Star 40, the Four Star 120, and the Mid-Star 40, all of which remain staples of the Sig line today. As he began his own kit- ting venture, it just seemed natural that his first new product should be named the Ven- ture, and, because at that time there was no .60 size airplane in Sig’s Four Star line, Bruce’s first-born became the Venture 60 and achieved immediate popularity—so much so that the kit was in production for over a decade from 1994 until 2004 when other projects and the need to free up time for new designs put it temporarily on the shelf. Part of the Venture 60’s popularity came
from its sleek new profile and part from the improvements Bruce made over the Four Star series to make it a better flying air- plane. While the engineering improvements were subtle, they paid dividends for the many hundreds of builders who immediate- ly fell in love with the new plane. Specifically, to improve knife-edge flight, the stabilizer was positioned lower in the fuselage and the rudder hinge was swept back. Then the landing gear was also swept back to place the wheels under the wing leading edge for less bounce in the landing. From a construction standpoint, all parts were formed by machine sanding to their fi- nal shape—no die-crunching, splits, chips, or burned edges from laser cutting.
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Wing construction was simplified and strengthened by a structural re-design and the elimination of unnecessary and duplica- tive wood parts. Likewise, tail surfaces were pre-cut from hand-selected lightweight bal- sa with a spruce spar through the center of the stabilizer for added strength as well as weight savings. Control surfaces were pre- tapered for streamlining, flutter resistance, and weight savings, as well as being beveled along the hinge line to save time and effort in installation.
All of the above improvements are evident in the 2012 re-issue of the kit. Due to the precise fit of all of the parts, the thoughtful pre-fabrication and forming that goes far be- yond what one would normally expect in a kit, the excellent quality of the wood, and the well-engineered building sequence, the new Venture 60 kit went together more quickly and more accurately than any kit I have ever built in over half a century of put- ting kits together. It was just an incredible joy to build. In some instances, I spent more time showing my wife how precisely every- thing fit than I did actually assembling the parts!
What follows is a sequenced synopsis of the construction of the Venture 60 in an at- tempt to give readers a sense of what they can expect in building this beautifully ren- dered kit. Admittedly, however, this de- scription will fall far short of the personal satisfaction that will occur again and again as the plane takes shape for each individual builder.
AT A GLANCE
Type: R/C sport aerobatic/full-build kit Construction: Wing span: Wing area: Length: Weight:
Wing loading: Prop:
Engine: Radio: Servos: Requires:
balsa and ply 72 inches 876 sq. in. 54 inches
7–7.5 pounds 19 oz./sq.ft.
Master Airscrew 13–6
.65–.80 4-stroke or equivalent electric power
4-channel
4–5 standard servos Engine, engine mount,
16 oz. fuel tank; two 3″ wheels,
1″ tailwheel, 2¼″ spinner; prop to suit engine, three rolls of covering material, pilot figure (if desired), assorted glues, and common modeling tools
Manufacturer: BTE
8622 E Evans Creek Road, Rouge River, OR 97537 800-557-4470
www.btemodels.com Wing Construction
The wing is an open structure that gains its strength from its multi-spar design and the use of shear-webbing between the two main spruce spars. The wing is built flat on the plan in two separate sections, which is advantageous for folks with limited building space. The two panels are then joined after the center sheeting is applied, using a ply joiner and epoxy. Those familiar with the tedious task of cutting shear-webbing to fit between ribs
JANUARY 2013
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