This is a very good video and explanation, plenty of comments as well. There were three of us that founded the company, my dad, Jim (after leaving Piper) and Ed MacDonough (retired before joining) and me. We all had specialties and worked very well together. I was mostly involved in Stability and Control, IT and CAD/CAM designing and machining operations. Those of you that have flown in the Venture know of the up and away handling qualities, I'm proud of the efforts we put into getting it to fly the way it does. I know we designed the aircraft to meet Part 23 requirements, but actual FAA certification would have been expensive. That was an eventual goal (see Cirrus) but other events got in the way. Comments on the comments: 1) Carbon would not have been lighter, but would be more tooling intensive, 2) The ration of MAC from Wing AC to HT AC is 3 to 3.2, sweet spot for good design (mentioned in the video), 3) Tandem seating would not be faster, just skinnier and longer (gear placement, wetted area of the aircraft, ...) and you would lose the center console, 4) I could have done better on the header tank (Part 23 requirement) and fuel selector, 5) The Porsche PFM 3200 was the original (thanks Ken), but it was a weekend of relofting to fit the IO-550G, good choice for speed. The video mentioned a skinny wing, the tip was 10% T/C and the root was 17% T/C, average 13.5%, relatively thick, but the tip fooled the viewer eye.
I'm honored to have you here in the comments! And many apologies for my oversight in not including your involvement in the program, I only took knowledge once the video was nearing completion. And also thanks for providing the additional insight for the viewers here. It's a plane with a ton of misconceptions for sure!
@@aircraftadventures-vids - Thank you for making the video, no issue at all about the recognition. I have connections with a number of owners/builders and interested folks, they know who I am. I've flown in the Venture for over a hundred hours and I love the comfort and ease of flying. I'll try to respond to comments as I see them. Doug Griswold
Things like this are the best part of youtube. If you were making a version 2.0 today are there any significant changes you'd incorporate?@@DougGriswold-w6n
@@DougGriswold-w6n Thanks for the input Doug. You know Dan and I love the Venture. I have flown over 10 different Ventures and the prototype Spirit. My Questair Venture hours are now over 2000 and there is not a finer flying or more efficient single engine in the air that can burn 5 GPH @ 150 KTAS or 10.3 GPH at 17,000 ft truing out at 235 KTAS. My current Venture with your Dad’s name as the builder has been to over 35,000 ft. I regularly make 1000 nm trips non stop with about 250 nm reserve. My cruise climb is 160 KTS indicated and approx 1800 rpm depending on the temps. In a hurry to get thru a layer of ice just set the airspeed on 120 KTS indicated and climb at 3000 FPM. Thanks for the wonderful airplane you helped develop!
Meant to say 1800 ft per min @ 120 KTS indicated on a high performance climb to avoid ice. Also N27V carries 10 extra gallons of fuel beyond the standard 52 gallons.
I am neither a pilot nor plan I ever to become one, I am just a YT-consumer interested in all kinds of topics. And I kept watching till the end! Because the video is well done, good footage, good pace and nicely narrated. Thx!
Thanks for your kind words! I'm my own worst critic (aren't we all?) and feel there's lots of room for improvement, but I'm trying to get there with each new video.
I totally agree with the original comment. It’s a perfect video. The friendly, conversational narration and relaxed pace made it a pleasure to listen to. The research, excellent visuals, and clear animations made it fascinating. Bravo!
I got to fly in in one a long time ago and it was amazing! The climb attitude and climb rate were just crazy. It seemed more like a jet than a single engine piston GA aircraft like a Cessna 182. Jim Griswold the designer was mentioned a lot in the video, as the designer, but Ed MacDonough was a great engineer too. He was involved with the design of the inboard gull wing section of the F4U Corsair fighter from WWII. I remember I was with Ed looking at an F4U parked at Oshkosh and he discerned that the plane we were looking at came from a GoodYear factory and not Chance Vought, just my looking at the rivet patterns on the aircraft. That amazed me.
I knew a wealthy cardiac surgeon who was an experienced pilot. He loved the airplane during VFR and minimal crosswind landing conditions. He said to me that he would never fly it in IFR conditions. Because without a properly operating auto-pilot? It was too unstable to hand fly an IFR approach if there were any problems at all. I respected him for telling me that. I believe he sold the airplane soon after our conversation? Personally, I believe there is a reason that there are no high speed common aircraft that look like this short-coupled narrow landing gear airplanes that last the test of time. Your mileage may vary.
At our flight school there was a guy we called " Dr Death", our theory was he had a god complex, always flew in ridiculous weather, one time he actually was scraping ice off the windscreen through the storm window on approach with his family on board, Because of him I jkind of generalized all doctors as having the same attitude & not really having time to keep up on flying.
The cardiac surgeon knows the other reason there are few high speed aircraft for recreation. Old pilot guys who can afford such things, have hearts which can't keep up with them. They die in the air and crash into someones house.
My grandfather built one of these (Tail Number N-129). He was a retired crew chief in the Navy and Air Force serving in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He worked on just about every piston engine and jet engine aircraft made during those eras. I flew in it numerous times and still have the VHS tapes of video I took. He modified the engine with turbos and more. I was amazed how fast the thing would climb. The Sumter County Airport was home base. Shaw AFB (F-16's) was just a few miles away. Was awesome to see those pilots looking at us zipping around. Once we did an all out speed run about 100 feet off the ground at a local airport. An FAA guy saw us, and chastised us when we landed but fortunate he gave us a pass since he had known my grandfather for decades.
I went to work at Cessna as a young engineer in 2000 and had the pleasure of meeting Doug Griswold, son of Jim Griswold. Doug was also involved in the development of the prototype Venture aircraft and he let me borrow a set of plans and photo album of the prototype construction. It's kind of a funny looking aircraft on the ground but looking at the total wetted area vs. piston area you can see why it's a rocket. It's an absolutely brilliant design. I'd love to see the kit put back in production again with modern assembly techniques like the Van's aircraft series.
There is a line of plastic plane models by Japanese maker Hasegawa called the Egg Series in which all kinds of famous plane types are re-modeled into, well, egg-shaped planes. Seems like the designer of this plane was a great fan of that series.
Questair was a neat bird. Interestingly, didn't know Griswold designed it and how it was designed, so thanks for that as I have some time in Malibus. But you made a mistake listing the Malibu at 3,000 pounds, that's its empty weight, no fuel, no pax. But today to get Questair performance in a great shape one has to look at the Lancair Legacy, essentially just as fast with similar power and longer range. Hard to beat a Legacy. It's issue is its construction material, but it can be built relatively quickly. I fly a very fast, totally stock V35B.
I worked with the designer’s brother, Mike Griswold, when The Flying Egg first came on the scene. Mike was the chief engineer of the AFTI F-16 program. The admin made cookies for each member’s birthday. Their choice as to the kind of cookie. Mike let it be known that they could have any cookie they wanted as long as it was snickerdoodles.
Very nice video. I fly a Questair Venture. It is incredibly efficient (flat plate drag area of only 1.46 feet^2) and has outstanding performance. It is a beautiful plane to fly. The controls are well harmonized and feel solid. Looks can be deceiving. It is quite stable in terms of both static and dynamic stability. What else would you expect from an aircraft designed by Griswold and McDonough, both professional aircraft designers. The high aspect ratio wings give it excellent performance at altitude. It handles x-winds just fine. The retractable landing gear was perhaps the most challenging part of the design. It can be finicky, but works well when properly rigged and maintained. The Venture is a thrill to fly. Makes a Bonanza feel like a Cessna 172 in comparison:-)
Uh oh, Bonanza owners will be storming in soon! Thank you Will for your support in this video and also dispelling some myths. I had a lot of fun producing this video and Jim's an outstanding guy, that helped me connect all the dots to the story also.
Greetings from Ireland 🇮🇪,, a very enjoyable video, wow what an exciting little aircraft....don't like the landing gear though ,could be a handful in a cross wind 😁
I'll never forget seeing Tommy Rose's Venture dive in when his stabilizer folded during the 2002 Reno Air Races. He exceeded several of the manufacturer's redlines, so not the aircraft's fault. RIP.
I was there. Crashed in front of me. Not only Rose, but as the rest of the racers were recovering , another one [Forgot his name] ground looped his Venture on landing Rwy. 8 and ended up in the weeds. I'll never forget it.
I remember when these were still racing at Reno. I think 3 crashed in the same year. Their tails couldn't handle the stress. They were incredibly fast.
What a beauty! A true hotrod. I'll take it (with the fixed gear) I remember this aircraft and looked into buying/building one, just couldn't afford it at the time. Missed out on a good deal. I love these planes. Thanks for sharing, fly safe, J. 🤠🫡
As a Varieze owner, my next step I was thinking would be a LongEZ or a Cozy MKIV, but this could be a great contender, with a top end like that. But 13 gph makes it a bit less economical considering I currently get 4.5 gph at 145 ktas. Nonetheless, that top end is sweet and the side by side cockpit is a wife pleaser. Great vid, since I did not even know this was a thing.
Very pleased to introduce you, it's definitely not a mainstream aircraft and am very happy if more people can learn about it (whether they like the plane or not) FYI, I'm not 100% sure but I think the green Questair in the video is for sale. You can email Jim (see my description) if you want to inquire about it. I want a $5 finder's fee if that happens 😂
I got to fly N62V with Rich Gritter (Questair test/demo pilot) many years ago. The airplane flew very well. He let me explore the low speed end of the envelope. Rich told me to stay off the rudder and use ailerons, which seemed a little different to me. It worked well. I had been flying a Grumman Tiger with similar steering, so the differential braking/steering was a non issue. Any "bad habits" of this plane are likely from commenters that never flew the plane. That thing was rock solid and probably a great IFR platform.
Yes it was designed on cad cam. We had licensed the cad program from McDonald Douglas to build the Malibu and the “baby Malibu” was designed by the same team as a bit of a pet project. Griswald leaving with the plans was part of his severance package. So when the Baby Malibu got the big NO from the ever changing corporate structure at the time (I think Lear Sigler owned us then) gave the project a big NO, Griswald took his toy and left. I was really hoping he would make it as that was / is a nice plane.
An excellent video! Thank you!! I got to fly in a Venture in 1999. On departure, we hit 160 mph prior to the end of the runway! Then, we flew 53 miles from 10,000' at the MOA above Lake Isabella, CA back to the Porterville airport (KPTV) in 7 1/2 minutes (400mph + - downhill all the way). Blew me away!
Handy, you are aware of the 250 knot speed limit below 10,000' Maybe there is no speed limit in a MOA, but I think it would apply to non military aircraft. But I think that's a good question, time to look it up. But great fun!!
This will always be one of those.. "damn i should have" airplanes.. when we chose the Glasair this was one of the kits we looked t getting.. along with a lancair.. RV.. and a handful of others.. in the end, we Built a Glasair... and it was the right move.. solid, fast, sexy, nimble, and FUN..
Both are incredible planes. Both perform well, and to many pilots, the Glasair / Lancair look more "conventional" and that alone probably helped boost their success.
I desperately wanted one of these back in the day...still do. The only kit plane that can do 400MPH, this was with a TSIO550 producing 350HP at 25000', this is TAS. Then the owner and engine builder died in a tragic accident and the company basically lost it's drive.
I met and had lunch with Alan Tolle and his wife at The Spirit of San Luis restaurant back in the days right after he built his Venture. The gear was tweaky. He was a great guy.
As a DAR, I issued several Experimental Certificates to these aircraft at the Windham, CT Airport with the late Henry Boulay. It was a very interesting project.
Thanks for the video. That's crazy 5,000 hours build time for such a small aircraft. I mean it has so many pluses with the engine and cockpit. But taking up to 10 years to build had to be 10 years of frustration for pilots. If they lived that long. lol
I've flown in the two prototypes and a kit built airplane. The Venture was a great airplane but with two faults. One is that the gear and flaps were linked together. Not necessarily a problem, but the flaps were full span and included the ailerons. On landing, with the flaps down and the ailerons less effective, and the tiny wheels, when the wing was tilted, the lift vector would pull the plane off the runway. (I obviously don't remember all the details.) Second, the fuel system had (I think) header tanks, and there were circumstances in which that could lead to fuel starvation. A friend lost his due to this. As an aside, the control systems had spring to give the control feel, and those needed to be adjusted properly. On the prototypes, the plane flew like a truck, exactly what you want for an IFR, X-C plane. And the very sharp leading edge on the horizontal tail could accumulate ice easily, according to all the theories.
I wonder if you are referring to my grandfather, Bob Schmidt’s plane. His suffered a similar fate with an unfortunate off runway excursion at Mechum in ‘02. Had an amazing run leading up to it, even qualifying at Reno in the late 90’s. He walked away from the accident (likely because of his uniquely designed canopy) but unfortunately never rebuilt.
I saw one of those static at Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ a little over 10 years ago. I couldn't stop staring at it. It was such a cool design and ya, that gear setup made me think you'd need some fighter jet training to land it. Boy would I LOVE to fly one of those.
Thanks! And it's funny you mention that - my last video (Helio Courier) was text-to-speech, but based on my own voice. (it makes the process of scripting and recording so much smoother). Check out the last video and see what you think of the voiceover.
@aircraftadventures-vids You'll get better with practice. It's more personable, relatable, and genuine to hear a real dude talking. I can tell you liked the subject. Now, here you are, actually replying to a comment. I'll subscribe and watch more of your videos.
Even as a complete layman, this was a completely enjoyable and informative video. Heck, even I could afford to buy a ride on this plane for a weekend trip given how fuel efficient it seems to be.
It takes about 6,000 hours to build one. If you count factory parts production and builder final assembly. Experimental aircraft are built for two reasons. Cost, and performance. But rarely performance at any cost. Therefore, the market for these types is in the double digits at best.
The Vans RV series set the standard for build time, so unless a quick-build is offered which substantially cuts down build time, it's going to be hard to compete.
TY! Becoming a pilot has always been a dream of mine, yet life has gotten in the way! Anyway, in 2012, I had a head-scratching experience, which wasn't solved until 2021. What I saw, I knew dam well that I saw it. Yet, even I thought I was crazy, and didn't actually see it. Until, in 2021, home-bound by Coof-protocol, I Googled the kit-planes, and there was what I saw in 2012. Not your Venture, but similiar. Obviously, I'm just a poor country bumpkin!! But, I would still love to fly one of those rascals!!😊
Fantastic Mini Documentary! This video made me smile. Thank you for making this! Great airplane. That plane reminded me of my little Mazda Miata. (at least in spirit)
This is designed just like the Gee-Bee or GB racer from the 1930's air racing days. Both R1 and R2 were hard to fly but very fast as they were built with a Bumble Bee as the base for the design concept. One was built as a replica and flying out of Creswell Oregon if memory serves. I can't remember the name of the pilot but he could make that aircraft dance in the sky. It was a real joy to see a plane going that that fast but the wings were only 2.5 inch's thick and very short. But this looks very similar in it's proportions to the GB.
I'm nearing 65 and not a pilot with no plans to take it up. That said if I was a young man and had seen this video I'd be encouraged to get my license and aspire to buy one of these planes that seems to offer so much fun with just the smidge of practicality (like owning a Porsche). It sounds rather safe and just in my experience in owning multiple automobiles of both the turbo and normal aspiration types, I definitely prefer the naturally aspirated engines for better longevity and less complexity to which, I assume, may bleed over into aircraft engines?
That plane came on the kit plane market in the same era as Lancair and some others came with their fast buit kits that knocked down 1000's of hours wth composite molded frame ready to work on, I remember it very well 30 years ago, couldn't afford one and was looking for a more traditionnal Rand Robinson KR-2 with a VW beetle engine
Very nice. I have built many engines for the Lancair V and would have loved to have built a nice balanced high compression IO-550 for these little racers.
Lol, I didn't even realize that voice was in there till I cranked up the volume way loud! That was the owner Jim offering some history on the plane, and I forgot to edit it out.
Since you mentioned Reno, Tommy Rose was killed when the horizontal stabilizer failed under load and down fractured, resulting in him crashing on the home straight. No more ventures were allowed to race at Reno
Mooney driver here. I like things that go fast. Unfortunately, the Questair will always remain on my no buy list, despite the fantastic flight characteristics. I attended the 2002 Reno Air Races and watched one Questair tumble on landing due to a light crosswind. Sadly, later in the day I watched Tommy Rose perish on the main straight right in front of the grand stands as the tail on his Questair departed the fuselage.
Yeah, perhaps what made Cessna 150s and Piper Cherokees so popular in General Aviation was that you didn't have to take 10 years building them in your garage. Heck, I hate it when I have to build an office chair that I have to buy in a box.
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This is a very good video and explanation, plenty of comments as well. There were three of us that founded the company, my dad, Jim (after leaving Piper) and Ed MacDonough (retired before joining) and me. We all had specialties and worked very well together. I was mostly involved in Stability and Control, IT and CAD/CAM designing and machining operations. Those of you that have flown in the Venture know of the up and away handling qualities, I'm proud of the efforts we put into getting it to fly the way it does.
I know we designed the aircraft to meet Part 23 requirements, but actual FAA certification would have been expensive. That was an eventual goal (see Cirrus) but other events got in the way.
Comments on the comments: 1) Carbon would not have been lighter, but would be more tooling intensive, 2) The ration of MAC from Wing AC to HT AC is 3 to 3.2, sweet spot for good design (mentioned in the video), 3) Tandem seating would not be faster, just skinnier and longer (gear placement, wetted area of the aircraft, ...) and you would lose the center console, 4) I could have done better on the header tank (Part 23 requirement) and fuel selector, 5) The Porsche PFM 3200 was the original (thanks Ken), but it was a weekend of relofting to fit the IO-550G, good choice for speed. The video mentioned a skinny wing, the tip was 10% T/C and the root was 17% T/C, average 13.5%, relatively thick, but the tip fooled the viewer eye.
I'm honored to have you here in the comments! And many apologies for my oversight in not including your involvement in the program, I only took knowledge once the video was nearing completion. And also thanks for providing the additional insight for the viewers here. It's a plane with a ton of misconceptions for sure!
@@aircraftadventures-vids - Thank you for making the video, no issue at all about the recognition. I have connections with a number of owners/builders and interested folks, they know who I am. I've flown in the Venture for over a hundred hours and I love the comfort and ease of flying. I'll try to respond to comments as I see them.
Doug Griswold
Things like this are the best part of youtube. If you were making a version 2.0 today are there any significant changes you'd incorporate?@@DougGriswold-w6n
@@DougGriswold-w6n Thanks for the input Doug. You know Dan and I love the Venture. I have flown over 10 different Ventures and the prototype Spirit. My
Questair Venture hours are now over 2000 and there is not a finer flying or more efficient single engine in the air that can burn 5 GPH @ 150 KTAS or 10.3 GPH at 17,000 ft truing out at 235 KTAS. My current Venture with your Dad’s name as the builder has been to over 35,000 ft. I regularly make 1000 nm trips non stop with about 250 nm reserve. My cruise climb is 160 KTS indicated and approx 1800 rpm depending on the temps. In a hurry to get thru a layer of ice just set the airspeed on 120 KTS indicated and climb at 3000 FPM. Thanks for the wonderful airplane you helped develop!
Meant to say 1800 ft per min @ 120 KTS indicated on a high performance climb to avoid ice. Also N27V carries 10 extra gallons of fuel beyond the standard 52 gallons.
I am neither a pilot nor plan I ever to become one, I am just a YT-consumer interested in all kinds of topics. And I kept watching till the end! Because the video is well done, good footage, good pace and nicely narrated. Thx!
Thanks for your kind words! I'm my own worst critic (aren't we all?) and feel there's lots of room for improvement, but I'm trying to get there with each new video.
I agree completely. Very nicely done. New subscriber here!
Thank you! Means a lot 👍@@TheJaymon1962
I totally agree with the original comment. It’s a perfect video. The friendly, conversational narration and relaxed pace made it a pleasure to listen to. The research, excellent visuals, and clear animations made it fascinating. Bravo!
Oh and nice Jedediah Avatar!
I got to fly in in one a long time ago and it was amazing! The climb attitude and climb rate were just crazy. It seemed more like a jet than a single engine piston GA aircraft like a Cessna 182. Jim Griswold the designer was mentioned a lot in the video, as the designer, but Ed MacDonough was a great engineer too. He was involved with the design of the inboard gull wing section of the F4U Corsair fighter from WWII. I remember I was with Ed looking at an F4U parked at Oshkosh and he discerned that the plane we were looking at came from a GoodYear factory and not Chance Vought, just my looking at the rivet patterns on the aircraft. That amazed me.
Wow! Thanks for that info on Ed, I didn’t really have an intel on him but it sounds like the ultimate duo if you ask me.
Yeah, and Jim Griswold's son Doug also was an engineer on the project. I think he did some work on the General Dynamics F-16.@@aircraftadventures-vids
Yes in fact he dropped a comment here today to provide some more insight! @@moremetafeta
Flew mine yesterday. From sea level to 7k in 3 minutes at 145kts indicated. Two people and just over half tanks.
@@kruck96 wowza!
I knew a wealthy cardiac surgeon who was an experienced pilot.
He loved the airplane during VFR and minimal crosswind landing conditions.
He said to me that he would never fly it in IFR conditions.
Because without a properly operating auto-pilot?
It was too unstable to hand fly an IFR approach if there were any problems at all.
I respected him for telling me that. I believe he sold the airplane soon after our conversation?
Personally, I believe there is a reason that there are no high speed common aircraft that look like this short-coupled narrow landing gear airplanes that last the test of time.
Your mileage may vary.
I personaly dont fly......
Reason being.......
The bible plainly tells us
"Lo and i am with you"
You get up there, you are on your own
Amen
At our flight school there was a guy we called " Dr Death", our theory was he had a god complex, always flew in ridiculous weather, one time he actually was scraping ice off the windscreen through the storm window on approach with his family on board, Because of him I jkind of generalized all doctors as having the same attitude & not really having time to keep up on flying.
The cardiac surgeon knows the other reason there are few high speed aircraft for recreation. Old pilot guys who can afford such things, have hearts which can't keep up with them. They die in the air and crash into someones house.
@@class2instructor32 All doctors have the same attitude. ;D
What a delightful little creature!!
My grandfather built one of these (Tail Number N-129). He was a retired crew chief in the Navy and Air Force serving in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He worked on just about every piston engine and jet engine aircraft made during those eras. I flew in it numerous times and still have the VHS tapes of video I took. He modified the engine with turbos and more. I was amazed how fast the thing would climb. The Sumter County Airport was home base. Shaw AFB (F-16's) was just a few miles away. Was awesome to see those pilots looking at us zipping around. Once we did an all out speed run about 100 feet off the ground at a local airport. An FAA guy saw us, and chastised us when we landed but fortunate he gave us a pass since he had known my grandfather for decades.
Awesome experience! Thanks for sharing
Your Grandad sounds like a very cool guy!
I went to work at Cessna as a young engineer in 2000 and had the pleasure of meeting Doug Griswold, son of Jim Griswold. Doug was also involved in the development of the prototype Venture aircraft and he let me borrow a set of plans and photo album of the prototype construction. It's kind of a funny looking aircraft on the ground but looking at the total wetted area vs. piston area you can see why it's a rocket. It's an absolutely brilliant design. I'd love to see the kit put back in production again with modern assembly techniques like the Van's aircraft series.
Cool experience, thanks for sharing! Had the honor of Doug dropping some commentary on the video yesterday.
Too bad Vans doesn't pick this plan and sell it.
@@RhaspunThey’re having their own issues.
The engine in those things sounds fantastic!
There is a line of plastic plane models by Japanese maker Hasegawa called the Egg Series in which all kinds of famous plane types are re-modeled into, well, egg-shaped planes. Seems like the designer of this plane was a great fan of that series.
There is even an egg language. Eggywan. Yeggou adeggdegg anegg egegggegg afeggteggeregg eachegg veggoweggelegg. Uneggdeggereggseggteggoodegg?
Cool little buzzer. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for watching!
Questair was a neat bird. Interestingly, didn't know Griswold designed it and how it was designed, so thanks for that as I have some time in Malibus. But you made a mistake listing the Malibu at 3,000 pounds, that's its empty weight, no fuel, no pax. But today to get Questair performance in a great shape one has to look at the Lancair Legacy, essentially just as fast with similar power and longer range. Hard to beat a Legacy. It's issue is its construction material, but it can be built relatively quickly. I fly a very fast, totally stock V35B.
Not a mistake, I listed both out with empty weights, so orange to orange comparison.
Venture will cost half…
I worked with the designer’s brother, Mike Griswold, when The Flying Egg first came on the scene. Mike was the chief engineer of the AFTI F-16 program. The admin made cookies for each member’s birthday. Their choice as to the kind of cookie. Mike let it be known that they could have any cookie they wanted as long as it was snickerdoodles.
You are gifted in passing along your enthusiasm about aircraft. I am enjoying your videos.
This plane looks extremely fun to fly, awesome video!
What a funky looking little plane, I like it! But what struck me the most is how it almost sounds like a war bird buzzing by! So cool!
Very nice video. I fly a Questair Venture. It is incredibly efficient (flat plate drag area of only 1.46 feet^2) and has outstanding performance. It is a beautiful plane to fly. The controls are well harmonized and feel solid. Looks can be deceiving. It is quite stable in terms of both static and dynamic stability. What else would you expect from an aircraft designed by Griswold and McDonough, both professional aircraft designers. The high aspect ratio wings give it excellent performance at altitude. It handles x-winds just fine. The retractable landing gear was perhaps the most challenging part of the design. It can be finicky, but works well when properly rigged and maintained. The Venture is a thrill to fly. Makes a Bonanza feel like a Cessna 172 in comparison:-)
Uh oh, Bonanza owners will be storming in soon! Thank you Will for your support in this video and also dispelling some myths. I had a lot of fun producing this video and Jim's an outstanding guy, that helped me connect all the dots to the story also.
Thank You for informations:
Could you tell us where more are located?
Are there any in Bend, Oregon?
James--
Greetings from Ireland 🇮🇪,, a very enjoyable video, wow what an exciting little aircraft....don't like the landing gear though ,could be a handful in a cross wind 😁
@@countrichardvoncoudenhovek8855 greetings from Florida! Thanks!!!
Thanks for watching! This was a fun video to work on for sure @@countrichardvoncoudenhovek8855
I'll never forget seeing Tommy Rose's Venture dive in when his stabilizer folded during the 2002 Reno Air Races. He exceeded several of the manufacturer's redlines, so not the aircraft's fault. RIP.
ruclips.net/video/4x1PDYG3ieA/видео.html
I was there when that happened. RIP.
It was ugly for sure.@@incargeek
Dude I was there! So sad
I was there. Crashed in front of me. Not only Rose, but as the rest of the racers were recovering , another one [Forgot his name] ground looped his Venture on landing Rwy. 8 and ended up in the weeds. I'll never forget it.
Great vid, you deserve a much wider audience!
Thank you! Working on it...
I used to have a neighbor who was a fabricator and welder for the shop in Greensboro. He really respected Griswold.
I remember when these were still racing at Reno. I think 3 crashed in the same year. Their tails couldn't handle the stress. They were incredibly fast.
THAT LIL PLANE IS FREAKIN AWESOME
What a beauty! A true hotrod. I'll take it (with the fixed gear) I remember this aircraft and looked into buying/building one, just couldn't afford it at the time. Missed out on a good deal. I love these planes. Thanks for sharing, fly safe, J. 🤠🫡
Agreed, and thanks for watching!
That sir , is one badass little aircraft!👍
yes it is😂❤❤
As a Varieze owner, my next step I was thinking would be a LongEZ or a Cozy MKIV, but this could be a great contender, with a top end like that. But 13 gph makes it a bit less economical considering I currently get 4.5 gph at 145 ktas. Nonetheless, that top end is sweet and the side by side cockpit is a wife pleaser. Great vid, since I did not even know this was a thing.
Very pleased to introduce you, it's definitely not a mainstream aircraft and am very happy if more people can learn about it (whether they like the plane or not) FYI, I'm not 100% sure but I think the green Questair in the video is for sale. You can email Jim (see my description) if you want to inquire about it. I want a $5 finder's fee if that happens 😂
@@aircraftadventures-vidsHeck, you got a deal...I may even up it to $5.99, AND give you a ride; But, I would not hold my breath, either.
Time is$ abd in 3 hrs you'll be barely 430 mi but the Egg will get you 540 mi in 2 hrs, sure its a bit more fuel but itll be close.
I got to fly N62V with Rich Gritter (Questair test/demo pilot) many years ago. The airplane flew very well. He let me explore the low speed end of the envelope. Rich told me to stay off the rudder and use ailerons, which seemed a little different to me. It worked well. I had been flying a Grumman Tiger with similar steering, so the differential braking/steering was a non issue. Any "bad habits" of this plane are likely from commenters that never flew the plane. That thing was rock solid and probably a great IFR platform.
Yes it was designed on cad cam. We had licensed the cad program from McDonald Douglas to build the Malibu and the “baby Malibu” was designed by the same team as a bit of a pet project. Griswald leaving with the plans was part of his severance package. So when the Baby Malibu got the big NO from the ever changing corporate structure at the time (I think Lear Sigler owned us then) gave the project a big NO, Griswald took his toy and left. I was really hoping he would make it as that was / is a nice plane.
That's fascinating! Thank you for providing that unique on the Venture. I had suspicions he wanted to certify the plane after all.
It was
An excellent video! Thank you!! I got to fly in a Venture in 1999. On departure, we hit 160 mph prior to the end of the runway! Then, we flew 53 miles from 10,000' at the MOA above Lake Isabella, CA back to the Porterville airport (KPTV) in 7 1/2 minutes (400mph + - downhill all the way). Blew me away!
Glad you got to experience that, tx for sharing
Handy, you are aware of the 250 knot speed limit below 10,000' Maybe there is no speed limit in a MOA, but I think it would apply to non military aircraft. But I think that's a good question, time to look it up. But great fun!!
Just check, when a MOA is active, military aircraft are exempt from the speed limit below 10,000'.
@@larryweitzman5163 the rule that most GA pilots have to memorize, but never get the chance to break…. 😃
@@AC-jk8wq😂😂😂 yep!
That looks like a fun little plane.
This will always be one of those.. "damn i should have" airplanes.. when we chose the Glasair this was one of the kits we looked t getting.. along with a lancair.. RV.. and a handful of others.. in the end, we Built a Glasair... and it was the right move.. solid, fast, sexy, nimble, and FUN..
owning a Questair and having owned a glasair, I think the composite plane with a more conventional gear system is better.
Both are incredible planes. Both perform well, and to many pilots, the Glasair / Lancair look more "conventional" and that alone probably helped boost their success.
I desperately wanted one of these back in the day...still do. The only kit plane that can do 400MPH, this was with a TSIO550 producing 350HP at 25000', this is TAS. Then the owner and engine builder died in a tragic accident and the company basically lost it's drive.
I met and had lunch with Alan Tolle and his wife at The Spirit of San Luis restaurant back in the days right after he built his Venture. The gear was tweaky. He was a great guy.
This thing reminds me of the Gee Bee aircraft of near 100 years ago. Small and fast.
Exactly!
As a DAR, I issued several Experimental Certificates to these aircraft at the Windham, CT Airport with the late Henry Boulay. It was a very interesting project.
Oh, that Dam airport.....took many walks there.
Well done! Jim wouldn’t know me, but he seemed nice in passing at GSO.
Great little plane!
The sounds are fantastic.
What a special bit of kit, even with it's minor drawbacks
Thanks for the video. That's crazy 5,000 hours build time for such a small aircraft. I mean it has so many pluses with the engine and cockpit. But taking up to 10 years to build had to be 10 years of frustration for pilots. If they lived that long. lol
I've flown in the two prototypes and a kit built airplane. The Venture was a great airplane but with two faults. One is that the gear and flaps were linked together. Not necessarily a problem, but the flaps were full span and included the ailerons. On landing, with the flaps down and the ailerons less effective, and the tiny wheels, when the wing was tilted, the lift vector would pull the plane off the runway. (I obviously don't remember all the details.) Second, the fuel system had (I think) header tanks, and there were circumstances in which that could lead to fuel starvation. A friend lost his due to this. As an aside, the control systems had spring to give the control feel, and those needed to be adjusted properly. On the prototypes, the plane flew like a truck, exactly what you want for an IFR, X-C plane. And the very sharp leading edge on the horizontal tail could accumulate ice easily, according to all the theories.
Don’t have flaps and the drag of the gear both have the effect to push down the nose. Should the cg not move backwards? Wheels stored in front?
Thanks for your perspective on that!
Ĺ II@@ArneChristianRosenfeldt
I wonder if you are referring to my grandfather, Bob Schmidt’s plane. His suffered a similar fate with an unfortunate off runway excursion at Mechum in ‘02. Had an amazing run leading up to it, even qualifying at Reno in the late 90’s. He walked away from the accident (likely because of his uniquely designed canopy) but unfortunately never rebuilt.
Nicely done.
I saw one of those static at Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ a little over 10 years ago. I couldn't stop staring at it. It was such a cool design and ya, that gear setup made me think you'd need some fighter jet training to land it. Boy would I LOVE to fly one of those.
Would love to see Mikey Patey get ahold of one of these and mod it like he does everything
That is an amazing little plane.
Nicely done. I appreciate that you use your own voice instead of text-to-speech.
Thanks! And it's funny you mention that - my last video (Helio Courier) was text-to-speech, but based on my own voice. (it makes the process of scripting and recording so much smoother). Check out the last video and see what you think of the voiceover.
@aircraftadventures-vids You'll get better with practice. It's more personable, relatable, and genuine to hear a real dude talking. I can tell you liked the subject. Now, here you are, actually replying to a comment. I'll subscribe and watch more of your videos.
That landing gear must be vicious in a crosswind.
Docile, maybe not. But vicious? The owners I spoke to told me it behaves quite well in xwinds actually
Oh cool another plane to add to the list of planes I desperately want.
Likewise!
Even as a complete layman, this was a completely enjoyable and informative video. Heck, even I could afford to buy a ride on this plane for a weekend trip given how fuel efficient it seems to be.
Glad you enjoyed it!
They should bring the design back in Carbon
Love to see it with a 400hp Allison 250!
Should be built again in the current market it would be very competitive.
My thoughts exactly. No piston powered aircraft on the market today can touch it except perhaps the Thunder Mustang.
@@handy335and Darkaero 1.
It takes about 6,000 hours to build one. If you count factory parts production and builder final assembly.
Experimental aircraft are built for two reasons. Cost, and performance. But rarely performance at any cost. Therefore, the market for these types is in the double digits at best.
The Vans RV series set the standard for build time, so unless a quick-build is offered which substantially cuts down build time, it's going to be hard to compete.
Wow, fantastic video! Great editing and narrating. You are good at it!
TY! Becoming a pilot has always been a dream of mine, yet life has gotten in the way! Anyway, in 2012, I had a head-scratching experience, which wasn't solved until 2021. What I saw, I knew dam well that I saw it. Yet, even I thought I was crazy, and didn't actually see it. Until, in 2021, home-bound by Coof-protocol, I Googled the kit-planes, and there was what I saw in 2012. Not your Venture, but similiar. Obviously, I'm just a poor country bumpkin!! But, I would still love to fly one of those rascals!!😊
Fantastic Mini Documentary! This video made me smile. Thank you for making this! Great airplane. That plane reminded me of my little Mazda Miata. (at least in spirit)
Glad you enjoyed it! Miata with 500hp would be a good comparison, lol
I don't fly very much,I am not a pilot but this looks well thought out. Nice job!
This is designed just like the Gee-Bee or GB racer from the 1930's air racing days. Both R1 and R2 were hard to fly but very fast as they were built with a Bumble Bee as the base for the design concept. One was built as a replica and flying out of Creswell Oregon if memory serves. I can't remember the name of the pilot but he could make that aircraft dance in the sky. It was a real joy to see a plane going that that fast but the wings were only 2.5 inch's thick and very short. But this looks very similar in it's proportions to the GB.
I'm nearing 65 and not a pilot with no plans to take it up. That said if I was a young man and had seen this video I'd be encouraged to get my license and aspire to buy one of these planes that seems to offer so much fun with just the smidge of practicality (like owning a Porsche). It sounds rather safe and just in my experience in owning multiple automobiles of both the turbo and normal aspiration types, I definitely prefer the naturally aspirated engines for better longevity and less complexity to which, I assume, may bleed over into aircraft engines?
Such a well done video. Good job, thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I love this aircraft, thank you for share the best content. I'd like more the Glasair 3 and Lancair IV-P
That plane came on the kit plane market in the same era as Lancair and some others came with their fast buit kits that knocked down 1000's of hours wth composite molded frame ready to work on, I remember it very well 30 years ago, couldn't afford one and was looking for a more traditionnal Rand Robinson KR-2 with a VW beetle engine
Very nice. I have built many engines for the Lancair V and would have loved to have built a nice balanced high compression IO-550 for these little racers.
5:36 that voice in the background scared the heck out of me. sounded like somebody standing behind me at my desk
Lol, I didn't even realize that voice was in there till I cranked up the volume way loud! That was the owner Jim offering some history on the plane, and I forgot to edit it out.
Ha ha. You thought your boss had caught you not working.😂😅😂😅😂
Good article. Wish I were younger.
Don't we all
Hey, a suppository with wings. Nice paint job too.
I've always said that about the new Goodyear blimp.
So super intrigued by this one
i'm still intrigued! (even after having sat in one)
Local Neuro Surgeon flew converted twin turbo prop til his 84th , when Happy Hunting Grounds called.
Claimed it was lest cost 300 mph cruise.
I WANT ONE ---WOW what a great bird -- I'm in LUV
Wow verry nice small Airplane !!! 😍🍀😍🍀😍🍀👌👍
I saw one ground loop at Reno, after one shed a wing! In the same race.
Terrific video and quality content.
Merry Christmas
🌏🌲
Thank you! Merry Christmas to you 👍
This just LOOKS fast.
Sounds strange, but in some ways, it reminds me in looks and the ideas of the Bell XP-77
Not strange at all. To me, it reminds me of the McDonnell Goblin
Since you mentioned Reno, Tommy Rose was killed when the horizontal stabilizer failed under load and down fractured, resulting in him crashing on the home straight. No more ventures were allowed to race at Reno
Cute I wish I had one
Looks like a fun plane.
Love your little avatar of the pilot from "Mad Max." He flew a different kind of egg.
Gyro captain. One of my favorite characters of all movies. Up to no good but had a good heart.
Mooney driver here. I like things that go fast. Unfortunately, the Questair will always remain on my no buy list, despite the fantastic flight characteristics. I attended the 2002 Reno Air Races and watched one Questair tumble on landing due to a light crosswind. Sadly, later in the day I watched Tommy Rose perish on the main straight right in front of the grand stands as the tail on his Questair departed the fuselage.
Forgot to mention, great video! Well done and love the history here. Thanks for putting it out there!
Thank you!
I think Mike Patey built one of these and set some records before building his Lancair.
Great informative video, very well done.
Sounds like Mike alright! And thanks for the kind words.
It's so cute! It looks like a chibi plane out of some anime...or something...I love it.
It does!
I'll bet the cross-wind landings are a lot of fun.
So I spoke to some owners and they claim it's not a big deal - the play in the gear struts helps keep it centered, as they explained it.
Pretty cool video, very informative
Thanks, appreciate it!
Amazing pocket rocket!!!
Actually it's Gorgeous
the rear landing gear retracting reminds me a bit of the cessna 172rg's rear landing gear
Looks like a blast to fly, I hope it makes a come back, someone should start producing them again, just re-engineer the landing gear!
I hope so too!
Looks like a blast.
Awesome
Looks like it got some inspiration from the B-GEE racer.
First thing I thought😂
Don’t see to many of these around any more. Most have been crashed. Primarily on landing.
"Most?" Out of all built?
The problem was a faulty main gear oleo struts design and the nose wheel shimmy. Both of these problems are now solved.
Good Video! It's A Shame To See It Just Become A Part Of Aviation History When It Should Still Be In The Present. Thank You.
I used to see these in the Aerotrader for sale all the time in the late 90s.
Hey, thanks for a well put together and informative video! I learned stuff!
My pleasure! And I do too!
The wing design reminds me of the Celerea 500L
I believe how fast it is. I clocked some left seat time. A very fine aircraft.
Nice work.
Good idea. This used to be the light twin domain now it’s faster on less fuel
Always liked this bird nice design cant deny that😊
Same here!
Excellent stuff bro
Much appreciated!
Met a guy who owned one when I was still flying.
Raceegg...😂😊
What a short coupled little speed demon!
Awesome! Nothing really comes close!
You got that right!
Yeah, perhaps what made Cessna 150s and Piper Cherokees so popular in General Aviation was that you didn't have to take 10 years building them in your garage. Heck, I hate it when I have to build an office chair that I have to buy in a box.