papajeff

Stuart,

You are not alone, as the "V" tail configuration is a little confusing. Try this; from the back of the plane,
twist, on the axis, slightly to the right. Now, the top (left "V" tail) becomes the rudder and the right "V"
tail becomes the elevator. Then set up your receiver (I used a Spektrum AR 6100) as follows;
ESC to Throttle position
Aileron servos to Aileron position
Top (left "V" tail) servo to Elevator position
Right "V" tail servo to Rudder position

Depending on your transmitter, (I use a DX-7) you may have a "V" tail setting mode that has to be
enabled. This sure worked for me, so give it a try and let me know if it turned out OK.

Also, there are 4 servos needed; 2 for the ailerons and one for each of the "V" tails.

the-borg

Papajeff

Thanks for that makes sense kind of.

I'm using a Spektrum D-x7 as well I have set up Elivons on my Flying wing but not V tail.

I will let you know how i get on and post sum pictures


Stuart.

blfischer

Hobbycity.com just got a batch in. Looks like there are 12 left. Raidentech and Nitromodels have been out for some time... I picked one up for spare parts.

[link]http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/...?idProduct=5455[/link]

I guess I can't post links...

RC_AVIGATOR

My Feedback: (1)

I can't seem to get there site to work hobbypeople.com is that right

RC_AVIGATOR

My Feedback: (1)

HELP ME FIND ONE FOR SALE === HELP HELP

blfischer

H O B B Y C I T Y . C O M

Search for 62inch spyplane and it should come up... for some reason it isn't listed under their planes.

Sidifan

blfischer , Thanks for the heads up, I went and purchased one just because. I've been checking Nitoplanes.com seems forever and they still don't have the predator, again thanks for the information.

OnTheRock

I'm sure glad that I get these messages sent to my email address! Thanks guys for the tip on this plane, I've been waiting over Three months to find one. Bought one last night and just checked again this morning, only 3 left now!

Tom

papajeff

I am pleased that some company got some Predators. You would think that they would have gotten
a gross of them, with all the positive comments about this unusual little RC UAV. I don't get it, the
popular models keep selling out quick and they take forever to get another dozen or so.


NITRO.........get a few HUNDRED of the big sellers..........you will sell them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OnTheRock

Once I get mine, I'm going to make sure I make notes so I can scratch build one, this model takes way to long to find!!! Thanks Papa Jeff for all the good notes and pictures on this A/C that you and others have left here! I've been looking at them for the past 3 1/2 months...

blfischer

Out of stock already... man they went quick. Maybe I should put my extra one up for auction to see what it brings... [sm=rolleyes.gif]

papajeff

That's just what I had expected...........a dozen gone in a day or two! Nitro, Hobby City,
Banana whatever and all the others just don't seem to get it.

IF IT'S POPULAR..........GET A HUNDRED OR SO............AND THEY WILL SELL!!!!!!!!!

That's not so difficult to understand, is it?

Sidifan

Here's one more site that I found our beloved Predator ..... Let's blow that site up also

http://store.hobbyall.com/rc-arf-rq1-predator.html

GenesisFactor

so YOU'RE the guy who's stuff i'm bidding on...

I just wanted to see what the guy's max bid was. Did you get my question?

Can someone do me the favor of measuring the inside canopy for me? I am a robotics student and i want to see how much stuff i can cram in there. I will be building this with my neighbor, who is very experienced, but with gas powered stuff only.

My questions at the time are
What is the maximum weight this thing can carry? I did the RCAdvisor calculator. I set it to Sport, as when it drops the payload, it will be back to normal weight. i am going to take papajeff's advice on the 2" for CG thing and mount the payload there.

at 3.2lbs the wing load is 18.295 oz/ ft^2, and the thrust .308 pounds force.

Battery- A123 M1 4x1
Motor- Extreme flight RC torque 22T/930
Prop- APC Sport 7x7

It said no need for a speed control or a gear box.

it said that it has 36.869 minutes
I hate being a newbie at thing.

brownlab

i think i saw the predator at towerhobbies.com while looking for something else, i may have been wrong ill check again.

papajeff

GenesisFactor,

The inside of the canopy is about 2" X 6" but it is necessary to fit the battery, receiver and wires
inside and there is not much space left over. I don't get the part about not needing a speed controller
as, for sure, you need one. Maybe they are including it.

GenesisFactor

Hmmmm...its long enough, but not wide enough...i need 3"-4". I wonder if i can orient the items vertically instead of horizontally, if that will help my cause. I noticed some of you made hatches. I was hoping to push the smaller things through the fuselage and make a few cuts here and there (reinforcing with CF rods if i have to cut a rib). I just don't want to mount some of this stuff outside for obvious reasons.

GenesisFactor

I was curious, how much would making a 4x1.5x6 box to hold a few things and mount them where between the wings under the fuselage...how much would that throw off the flight characteristics? I mean, in terms of drag, i will try to make is as streamlined as possible...or should i just try and find another plane? i like this one because the motor is behind everything so i don't have to watch out for EMI as much with my computers.

BTW, there will be no receiver. doing this thing straight computer. I will be getting the ESC though.

chrishornby

Ah - no receiver, I guess it will be all robot then GPS guided and fly by wire. I dont know what the rules are in the US but we wouldnt be allowed to do this here in the UK. There would have to be a ground link and the aircraft has to stay in sight. DIYdrones.com has lots of these sort of projects but as far as I know none have dispensed with the receiver.
Chris

brownlab

yep, i was wrong. i saw a free flight predator

GenesisFactor

It will be wifi linked, with autonomous flight at times. I don't trust anything i program enough not to start a war accidentally lol. The nice thing about wifi is that you can measure your return levels so you know when you're about to be out of range. I am part of DIYdrones. love the site. Started a heli, coxaxial, so you now the thing is tiny, which caused problems with what kind of live uplink and control i can so with it, then i saw this. I just wanted to put something more powerful in there than a PIC.

Anyways, i weighed things out yesterday. If i include that 14.5-oz compstar lens, thing will have to carry about 39oz on top of the motor and servos and flight battery. I really need opinions on this. My local hobby shop guy said it should be fine, just won't be much of a glider anymore lol.

helomix

Well this is my first post here, mostly I've been trolling. I fly FPV and I lost video. I had to ditch my mini ultra stick with a FPV camera setup and had it stolen before I could get to it. I have decided to build another FPV platform using the Predator and I was hoping you could help me out on the setup with the extra weight. I want to order my motor/servos/etc and I would like to know what size motor to get. I read earlier in the thead about the Nitro A20-22L motor but I will be pushing an extra 3-4 oz with the FPV equipment. I'm not too concerned about tail weight as the FPV camera will go on the nose(1 oz) and the extra 500mah batt and transmitter can go anywhere to balance either way. I am concerned about total weight and power. Any ideas as to what motor to use? Thanks in advance, Michael

blfischer

I was just kidding about putting my extra one up for auction... I am keeping it.

As for my set-up, I put 4 hatches along the bottom - all the rx and co-pilot gear are distributed through the fuse. GPS and co-pilot sensors are on top. Currently I have a e-flite 480 with a CC 35amp esc w/CC BEC. I have a varioprop 5 blade with 8" speed blades - probably will have them at 7 or 8 degrees of pitch - will set them to max out at 30 amp burst. I am running a rudder and 2 servos for the elevators - no v-tail mixing as I have a co-pilot and the Dragon OSD autopilot to fly the thing when things go bad. I also am using a servoless retract front wheel - Not planning on having retracts, but the front wheel retract had steering built in and it looks good. Maybe takes up a little bit more room than just adding a steerable front nose gear, but I liked the clean packaging. All of this leaves a lot of room in the nose for the Dragon OSD, the camera tx, microphone, a TP2070 3S and a 800 2S to run the electronics. I am hanging the camera underneath in front of the front wheel... it is housed in a webcam round enclosure.

It is hard to get time to finish it (2 kids 4 & 2), but it's close. I will post pix soon.

helomix

I thought about this Hacker motor for my application: http://www.aero-model.com/motordetai...es=A30&style=M I will be sticking with a fixed pitch prop for simplicity and cost and I'm guessing flying weight will be right around 25-30oz. Any thoughts?

kaziki

In my opinion the Predator just doesn't have the wing area to support another 39 oz. That would more than double the wing loading to about 27oz/sq ft, before adding in the changes necessary to carry the added weight.

The fuselage and wings would need to be beefed up considerably. The extra weight would require a serious increase in thrust, which means a larger motor and battery, which just increases the weight that much more. A much larger prop would be necessary which would require new landing gear to increase the clearance. All up I expect the wing loading would pass 30 oz/sq ft. The airspeed required to generate the necessary lift would make it fly more like a guided missile than a UAV.

I recommend you look at some of the old floater style sailplanes like the Bird of Time. You need something with a LOT of wing area. These planes fly slow and don't mind a bit of drag hanging out in the wind. For power you could build (or buy) a power pod. It would sit above the center of the wing. This would place the motor above and behind your computer hardware.

If you are really concerned about EMF, I suggest a copper foil lined box around the sensitive equipment.