Price? $69,900, with 25% down on order,
for the very complete Venture kit. This is for the airframe, including
landing gear and canopy, but not including engine, prop, instruments, upholstery,
paint, avionics. A new IO-550 engine is available at an OEM price of $49,500.
Other discounts will be available on propellers and governors.
Availability? Immediate for the complete kit Venture.
Consumer protection? Read the pilot reports. A well tested design (like the Venture) is your best guarantee that, after you've built it, you'll like what you get, and you'll be safe in it.
Construction - all aluminum. No fiberglass to sand and fill and sand and fill and sand and fill...
Aerobatics? While they can be done in the Venture, we don't recommend it. The speeds are high and the circles are big.
Crosswinds? 25 knots has been demonstrated.
IFR? Excellent IFR handling, and the plane was actually designed for IFR by folks who designed the Piper Malibu. As with all small aircraft, no icing conditions, and no thunderstorms.
Spin testing? This was not done in the development program, and the plane is placarded against intentional spins. However, the Venture uses leading edge cuffs and the leading edge slots, developed by NASA, for spin resistance. The same kind of leading edge cuffs are used on several recent factory built aircraft for spin resistance.
Flight test program? The Venture was extensively flight tested as part of its $5 million (1980s dollars) development program. For example, the wing leading edge devices were carefully tailored to give the Venture its excellent stall characteristics.
Flutter testing? Ground vibration tests were performed to insure freedom from flutter to above the 300 knot Vne.
Static testing? The Venture wing was static tested.
Insurance? We're working with Avemco, and indications are that insurance will be available.
Venture Stories and Jokes:
1. What was the name of the Venture that qualified fastest
overall in the 2000 Reno air races? Eggstra Special.
2. What do you call a Venture that hasn't flown yet?
Eggstra terrestrial.
3. What do you feel when you fly a Venture? Eggstacy.
4. How do you describe a Venture painted like a World
War I fighter, but with paisley interion and a walnut instrument panel?
Egg-clectic.
5. How does a Venture fly? Egg-cellently.
6. What do you call somebody who spends most of their
time with their Venture? Egg-centric.
7. Why did one Venture owner call his plane "Easter"?