junkjet

My Feedback: (55)

lejongleur, I have my nose gear on a AUX channel slaved to the rudder channel.

lejongleur

My Feedback: (10)

Thanks for the info Freddy - but doesn't that mean that, (using a v-tail), your nosewheel steers when you pull back on the ELEVATORS as well as when you use the rudder? Or are you using a separate vtail mixer device? I am using a DX6i, and the built-in vtail mix means that the rudder channel goes to one side of the V, and the elevator channel goes to the other. And... I am using the AUX1 channel for the second aileron.

Or am I missing the point? Sorry if this is all obvious already. I appreciate your help...Chris

mikesan

Hi Chris


i am working on the same problem although plane has not arrived yet. I am using DX 6i and AR6200 Spektrum 6 channel receiver and I have just tried the following setup which looks as if it will work ( all servos move to corresponding inputs)
ailerons in normal channels ail and aux - ele and rudd to tail using V TAIL on "wing tail mix setting" on transmitter . MIX 1 aileron with rudder as slave to get suggested opposite rudder MIX 2 rudder to gear for nosewheel. I am intending to use separate rudder as well and so have put a "Y" lead on gear receiver socket and put nosewheel and rudder servos on it. This seems to works fine however what appears to happen is when using ailerons the wing tail rudders kick in as programmed but the main rudder servo doesnt . I am also going to try out DIFFERENTIAL setting so down aileron doesnt go down as much as the up aileron goes up to prevent adverse yaw which happens on full size sailplanes and long winged sailplane models.

Hope this helps- It will be much easier to see when servos are in and attached to surfaces. but if there any glaring errors please point out thanks

Mike

junkjet

My Feedback: (55)

maybe you can try a Y harnes from the rudder channel if you dont have enough aux channels. I am using a JR 10 SXII

CaptainRandy

Hi Guys,

PappaJeff especially, you did a great job with this build thread.

I have been wanting something different for my fleet, and I know this is the one. After all, I already have a CVS camera that needs a new home. I have taken a lot of good video from my GWS Slow Stick, but now I want something with a cool factor.

I am into the more unusual type of planes also. I have a F-14 by Shumate with the movable wings, a Corsair with the famous gull wings, the A-10 with a pusher configuration, and a couple of gliders, and flat foamy jets.

I am going to order this plane from Nitro today, but I do have a question

What is the purpose of the upward V-Tail and downward Rudder? I have flown with elevons, but I guess I don't quite understand this configuration.

Why don't they just use the standard horizontal stabilizer, and a vertical stab. Could someone please explain this to me?

I have a little room left in the brain for this info.

Thanks guys

Capt. Pappy

jumper666

Google Predator and you will find it comes in several configurations.

lejongleur

My Feedback: (10)

Captain Pappy - Hard to guess why the RQ-1 designers used a V-tail AND a lower 'skeg'. I always thought that a vtail was used to fulfill the need for elevators and rudder, but with less drag as there were only two surfaces moving through the air instead of three. However, the Predators all seem to have three stabilizer surfaces. Maybe the designers were drunk at the time. Maybe the vtail is supposed to be less discernible in the air. My model Predator is certainly very hard to see.

However, the real ones are doing a good job of steathily providing surveillance, and dropping in the occasional unexpected armnament.

CaptainRandy

Jumper,

This one doesn't even show the vertical stab.


lejongleur,

I can see the v-tail without the vertical stab to save weight and drag maybe, but if you are going to have both, I haven't got a clue.

I finally got mine on order today, and it's not here yet

I ordered this motor from Hobby City

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idProduct=3883

I hope it does the job. I have the same motor in my E Flight Mini Pulse with a 10 X 7 prop and it flys great.

papajeff

Capt. Pappy,

I appreciate your nice comments and I'm pleased that you have enjoyed this build. It seems that
there are a few different designs in the Predator UAV series. The Nitro Predator has been designed
after the RQ-1B. The first photo below, has also been called the "Reaper." The second is the MQ-9
Reaper. The third is the MQ-1B Reaper.

Here is a great Predator site for your review; http://air-attack.com/images/single/...-Base-Nev.html

papajeff

Capt. "Pappy,"

The motor you chose to use should work just fine. With a 3S 1800 - 2500 pack you should be able to
get around 125W/lb. with a regular 9 X 6SF prop mounted with the numbers on the hub facing the nose
of the Predator.

CaptainRandy

PapaJeff,

Thanks for that link. Sure did make a few different models.

I am familiar with pusher planes, and just wanted to add that you need to have your motor turning clockwise of course, when looking at the shaft, along with putting the prop on back wards. (this way it is just like the tractor config but on the rear of the plane)

I fly a GWS A-10 with a $5.95 motor from Hobby City and it fly like there is no tomorrow. almost unlimited vertical, wow.

Anyone know how to choose a 3 bladed prop? If like you say a 9 X 6 2 blade, what would be the equal in a 3 bladed prop?

My Steve Shumate F-14 is also a pusher with a 2200kv and a 6 X 4 prop

lejongleur

My Feedback: (10)

Conventional wisdom says that going from a 2-bladed to 3-bladed prop you drop the diameter and keep the pitch, e.g. from a 2-bladed 9x6 prop you could go to a 8x6 3-bladed prop.

Here is a table and other details you might like to see:

http://www.zingerpropeller.com/_2_blade_.htm

Hope this helps!!...Chris

CaptainRandy

Chris,

Thanks for the info on the prop conversions. I book marked the site. I have never used a 3 bladed prop, but would like to try it.
I still use a two bladed prop on my Corsair.

Cheers

lejongleur

My Feedback: (10)

Capt Pappy - FYI, I am running my Predator with the following:

- RC Model 1200 outrunner - weighs <3 ounces (Compass Store - Ebay)
- 40A Super Simple ESC (Hobbycity)
- 8.5x6 2-blade counter rotation prop (Hobbycity)
- Two 1000mah 3S lipos in parallel (fits in nose very nicely with correct cg)

This setup gives about 235 watts @ about 22 amps - which seems to fly the plane just fine, using 100-125 mah per minute, so I could be good for 12-15 minutes of flight without problems.

I have just changed over to a 3-blade 9x7 counter rotation prop which appears to give about the same power and amperage, suggesting to me that this is about the maximum power I am going to get out of this motor. I have some 3-blade 9x5 counter rotation props coming (Hobbycity again) which may be slightly different in power, and are certainly MUCH cheaper.

9 inch props seem to be about the maximum you can use on this plane without expecting prop strikes - Papa Jeff educated me on how he put a wire loop below the rear vertical fin to extend its reach and prevent prop strikes. I went to the trouble to get counter rotation props so that the direction of the motor would tend to tighten the prop nut rather than loosen it (thereby ditching the propeller.) The only reason to consider 3-blades is because the actual Predators seems to use them.

What do you think?...Chris

CaptainRandy

Chris,

Sounds like you have a nice set up and long flight times. I never gave the prop nut thing a thought, but you are correct. I have a number of planes set up as pushers, and never had a nut problem, so far.

As far as the three blade goes, you right again, just for more ground clearance, and the scale factor only when not turning.

The tail skid is a great idea, and I will apply that to mine too. I am tracking it's progress across the country. Should be here on Monday. Yipee!

I also just ordered up some Turnigy 30amp ESC's with the program card. I never used them before, but they should work just fine for me. I have been using the Mag 8's till the last batch came with a 8.1v cut out for a 3s lipo, and it is not user changeable, bummer. I just have to watch my time more closely. I also tried the Acro 20 & 40 amp ones with the little program box. They work like a charm and you can set all the features with the cheap little box.

I have some 1800's and 2200's to jam in the nose hopefully.

How long have you been flying?

Pappy

lejongleur

My Feedback: (10)

Capt P - Your 1800 or 2200mah 3S lipos will go in the front, but you will have to create a tray or something similar as there is a bulkhead which gets in the way. That's why I use two 1000's, (or one 1000 and one 1300 to get the cg JUST right) in mine.

I had bad luck with a Mag8 (25amp I think) which quit unexpectedly - perhaps I exceeded it's rating. I have also used some other bargain priced ESC's without any issues, but I usually leave the features programmed to factory settings, except for making sure that the brake os off, and that it does not go to half throttle if radio contact is lost.

I've been flying rc for a little over a year - and of course a few planes have met their end under my command. My latest project waiting to be maidened, is an E-Flite Eratix - decent size, very light, slow flying, should be good. There is also an Extreme Flight 47" YAK and an E-FLite 25e Ultra Stick, both waiting to be assembled. I just got a spare wing for an Electristar that I have, and have reworked the wing a bit to add hard mounting points for cameras - I'll be using a FlyCamOne2 (640x480 30fps), a Tony Hawk Helmet Cam (cheap, heavy,lower quality video), and I also want to experiment with a cheap wireless video camera but I suspect that the range will be way too short to get much video to the ground unless I just fly around in close circles. I also fly a couple of foamies to practise aerobatics (I am hopeless.) They are wearing a lot of glue and replacement parts. What are your interests?


Regards...Chris

CaptainRandy

Hi Chris,

I have been flying RC for a few years now and have compiled this fleet:

Mig, Hobby Lobby Yak, Steve Shumate F-14, GWS A-10, Electrifly Corsair, Model Tec Cub, GlassAir Sailplane 2M, GWS Slowstick, Millenium Slow Stick X, E-Flight Mini Pulse, GWS Beaver on floats, Stryker, Fling bungee launch glider, 2M Sailplane no brand, Ikarus SU 27XXL, Raptor foamy, Skimmer 400 Sailplane, Nitro Predator.

There have been many that I put back in to kit form and some that my club member test pilots crashed for me.[X(]

I guess I will have to make a tray to keep the battery up high, as I would like to have a steerable nose wheel on the Predator also.

This is the first video I ever made with a CVS camera on my Slow Stick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr_6pROGByE

papajeff

Capt. Pappy,

Nice video, even with the CVS camera! You really know how to hurt a guy!!!!!!!!
I'm up here in Rochester, New York freezing my you know what off and you
are flying around the canals & waterways of Florida on a beautiful, warm,
sunny day. You got the life! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.................Yeahhhhhhhh!!!!!!

CaptainRandy

Thanks PappaJeff,

Come on down the waters fine[8D]

I wish I knew how to remove the lens from the PC board so I could mount it in a dome underneath the Predator and have the PC board in the plane. Have to work on that one.

CaptainRandy

What happened to the thread. I hope I didn't kill it

I do have a simple/silly question.

I want to rig up a steerable nose wheel with the servo mounted underneath the plane. Would you then just use a straight down rod rather than the bent type that it comes with?

Also, If no nose wheel steering is used, will the plane track straight enough to get up to speed without going all over the place?

I know that the blind mollys and nylon bolts to hold the wings on is the preferred method, but if the magnets would hold, wouldn't that be a simpler method. What forces are causing the wings to come off? They seem to fit pretty snug as is. Am I missing something here?

I have read every word of all 27 pages, and enjoyed it both times.

Thanks for all the great tips & tricks

I can't wait to get started. So far I have just shrunk the coating tight, as it was a bit baggy in spots.

mikesan

Hi

I have recently maidened my Predator. I put on a steerable nosewheel plus converted the fin to fin plus rudder. Not absolutely sure if you need both. Possibly if no nosewheel steering then extra rudder could be useful for straight takeoff runs

My nosewheel servo is in the front as suggested on this site however then you cant put a camera in, so maybe servo below would be good idea

I think you will find this thread is not so active now as it was last year as most suggestions have been aired

Regards


Mike

CaptainRandy

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your reply. I guess the newbies on this thread are beating a dead horse. I haven't even started my build yet.

I like the idea of a bottom mounted servo up front for steering and use a servo saver so as to not strip out the servo gears on a rough terrain, or bad landing.

I think I will go with the rare earth magnets and see how good they hold. I would think there would not be to much force to pull the wings off if you fly it like a glider, which is how I plane to fly it.

She sure does look like a nice well built model for the price. My wings fit perfectly too.

Cheers,

Randy

mikesan

Hi Randy

I used the nylon bolt idea for the front of the wing and also a rubber band between two screw in hooks one screwed into each wing root to hold the rear part of the wing to the fuselage

This seems to work well


good luck with your build


Mike


Ps If you havent started yet take care when peeling off the paper stuck to the model as the sticky tape pulled off some of the paint on mine

CaptainRandy

Hi Mike,

Good idea about the rubber bands. I also gave that a thought. My wings had no sticky tape.

I ordered some of these magnets to hold the wings on.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=98371

They are the perfect size as far as I can tell. I will see how strong they are and then determine how many to use. I just didn't want to cut out a big hatch to get at the thumb screws.

Cheers,
Randy

Approach Control

My Feedback: (44)

is it safe to add 5 inches on inch wing on the predator?