LSPlanes's Venom-S 64mm EDF

davidk · February 07, 2026, 02:49:41 PM

Venom-S in a box. The Venom-S is by Lorenzo Sardo (LSPlanes) and is the 64mm EDF version of his original Venom 90mm EDF. It's hand launch and will be the first 64mm EDF hand launch I've tried. Lorenzo has built in 3 finger holds so launching should be good. Lorenzo conscribes to the design philosophy of infill which produces strong, but light weight parts. I normally like 5 to 6% infill (Planeprint is always around 6%) but the Venom-S calls for 3% in the fuselage and 5% in the wings... so that's what I did. It's good enough but I'd add a bit more next time. Lorenzo has a Fiat G-91 that I have my eye on. In meantime, on with the Venom-S.

davidk · February 08, 2026, 12:27:03 PM

Fuselage parts are together... and all control surfaces and the canopy. The design of this plane includes alignment tabs. As much as I may like the look of a plane... and how it flies... I won't touch it if it doesn't employ alignment tabs or pins. Lorenzo uses large tabs, which were good, but I made them a tiny bit bigger for a very snug fit. I need to clean out each pocket well before using the tabs. Without some kind of alignment system you end up fighting with parts while the glue is drying... it's not worth it.

I'm going to hold there for today until a new stabilizer shows up that should solve a couple of issues with hand launching and dual elevators.

davidk · February 09, 2026, 01:33:18 PM

Stabilizers are part of our world today, not always needed, but usually welcome. My Planeprint JetWing almost shook itself to pieces with a stabilizer turned on... even at the lowest rates. The stabilizer was a Spectrum AR630 and I had Gains assigned to a knob and so I was able to turn it off completely which, I think, saved the jet. With the Arrows 50mm Jets the stabilizer includes a Self-leveling, or SAFE, or Hand Launch Mode which simply levels the Jet and then you flip a switch reverting to a stabilized only mode. Not everyone needs this, but with my limited hand launch skills, I do... and it's saved my little Arrows a bunch of times.

At the very least we have the ubiquitous Black Box... the TL-70 3-Axis stabilizer, which you'll find in many planes at our field. It's simple to set up and tweak and just stabilizes flight... no others features... it just works. You can turn it off if you have an extra port on your Rx.

But these stabilizers, like everything else, have improved and some offer some compelling features. Spektrum now has Hand Launch Assist (HLA), a Self-Levelling, Positive-Pitch Offset, Timed, and G-Force controlled stabilized feature. It doesn't kick in until it feels a G-force you set, and then switches to simply stabilization after a user set number of seconds. This is in one of my printed models to be tested in the spring.

Another option is from HobbyEagle which offers a few different models. One model I have is the A3Pro V2 which is a 6-Axis Gyro with 6 difference Modes including Off, Level, and Normal. Level is the important one here which is the self-levelling feature. Assign this to a switch and you have the equivalent of the Arrows gyro. Like most basic gyros this one has 3 Output ports... Aileron, Elevator, and Rudder.

HobbyEagle also has the A3 Super 4, the next step up from the A3Pro V2. This one is interesting and does solve a potential problem with elevators. This gyro offers all the modes and features of the A3Pro but has 5 Output Ports. 2 Aileron, 2 Elevator, and 1 Rudder. This is cool because many of my printed models have 2 Elevator Servos... but I don't always have a Reversed Servo to use. You can use Positive Servos on 2 ports on the Rx and then Reverse one Elevator Servo in the Rx, but you cannot then use our standard black box stabilizer... and you're down an Rx port. The TL-70 only has 1 Elevator Output port and doesn't know what to do with the 2 different signals coming through. The A3Pro also only has 3 Output ports.

The A3 Super 4 has 5 Output ports and is designed to understand Positive and Reversed Aileron and Elevator Servos. If you're using only Positive Servos for the Elevator, you can get into this gyro and reverse the Stick and Stabilized direction of one of the Output ports. This is exactly like the Spektrum Rx Reverse function... but it's at the Gyro output level. This is very cool. You can into the A3S4 either through your PC or through a Program Card box the same size as our Lipo Cell testers. This Program Card can be used easily at the field.

So, the A3 Super 4 will let me build with 2 normal elevator servos, gives me hand launch assist, and saves me an Rx port.

Oddly enough, the price of an AR620 + A3S4 is EXACTLY the same price as an AR630... hmmmmm. Actually, for a one-time cost, if you want the Program Card, the HobbyEagle is more upfront... but you only need to buy the Program Card once. At the end of the day there is no difference for a hand launch model between an AR630 and a AR620/A3S4 combo since there are usually no flaps and no landing gear Rx ports needed. They are equivalent because the A3S4 requires 5 Rx Ports... A, E, R, Gyro Gains Up/Down, and Mode Selection (Off, Level, Normal). Once flying well, trimmed, etc. you could free up the Gyro Gains port on the Rx since that usually doesn't change once set properly.

Overall, it's an interesting time for Gyros and whether you believe in them or not (heard enough, not interested in hearing more), the tech is compelling. Now that I have the A3S4 setup up for the Venom-S, it's back to building.

piker · February 09, 2026, 03:17:34 PM

Thanks for all that information and detail, David.

It's an Interesting time for sure! I'm still thrilled that we have servo reversing on our tranmitters now. Didn't have that when I started out.

davidk · February 10, 2026, 03:08:24 PM

The Wing Fence is part of that wing section. I start out in that colour and put in a colour change at the layer above the fence. The AMS (Automated Material System) unit of the printer handles retraction of the first filament and loading of the 2nd. This seemed like such a natural way to produce a 2 colour wing part. On some next build I'm going to put stripes into the wing and/or fuselage.

The wings are done. I'll start looking at the EDF next.

davidk · February 10, 2026, 04:11:32 PM

As an aside... I use XT60 connectors for small to medium build. Last week, while finishing the LJ 50mm I went looking for my stock... I needed 2 Male XT60 connectors. You almost know where stuff is after a move. I did find them... many of them... all female save 1. 30 female, 1 male. Yikes. I had to steal one from an old ESC.

So, I ordered some. Amazon doesn't have male only so I ordered 10 Pairs on Feb 3... 2 day delivery. I also ordered 20 Male from AliExpress. I got the AliExpress order on Sunday... that's 6 days from China. Yikes again. Today I got the Amazon order... 8 days... from Canada.

GuyOReilly · February 10, 2026, 04:23:10 PM

I went to John's Hobbies and got 10 male, I too have many female connectors.

davidk · February 14, 2026, 12:52:41 PM

All ready to go... waiting for this punishing winter to finish up.

Weight without battery: 885g
EDF: FMS 64mm 4S
LW-PLA: colorFabb Red and 3DLabPrint Green

The alignment tabs in this build were really good. The control horns were designed so that each one would only fit in one pocket... so you couldn't confuse where they went.