papajeff

I will look forward to seeing your build thread!

brownlab

already built it

papajeff

Hey, if it is already built.......where is the link to your thread? If no thread, how about some photos?

brownlab

it broke but i have some pre crash pics some where. ill try to upload them. by the way DONT BUY IT. it is made of styrofoam with cf tubes in the wings, the stock 290 motor isnt strong enough.but it is good for a sratch build. how did you start this thread? i want to make one for something in the future.

brownlab

got some! BUT THE UPLOAD FAILED[][][][][]

papajeff

I'm back from the NEAT event and got a little crazy with the finishing touches on the predator.

papajeff

With the armament (yes, I raided my 3 Grandson's broken toys) and the camera dome, Richard Landis said that it looked just like UAV's that his son, Danny, could be flying for our Armed Forces.

papajeff

Can you tell that old Grandpa is having lots of fun with this NITRO Predator???? Yesterday we also finished the video which will be edited to fit the typical RCU review video format. That means finally, in a few weeks or so, the official RCU review will be completed. Ohhhhh.....Yeahhhhhh!!

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Dam fine job PAPA!!!!!!!

papajeff

Glacier Girl,

I really appreciate your comment, especially with the knowledge of your background and experience. Thank you!

chrishornby

Papajeff, Please can you provide close up detail of camera dome and hellfire missiles, and any other additions you have done? I am going to recover my Pred and use different markings so any details you can provide would be good. I woulkd be very grateful
Chris (just finishing an a-10 warthog.. not the gws one)

papajeff

Chris,

The armament was from some plastic jet that my Grandsons got from Walmart or Toys R Us, I think. It's the kind of set that comes with action figures and there are jets, tanks, jeeps, and such in the series. The box is long gone so, that's all I can tell you about the missles. Now, the dome is a clear plastic top from some kind of kids candy sucker that I saw while at the drug store. I just painted the inside of the dome and CA'd it to the Predator. Yes, I am some sort of nut case! I sometimes feel like an OLD McGuyver, which was an old TV program, here in the States. Hey,
some photos of the A-10 would be nice and if it's not GWS, whos is it?

Taildragger726

Hi Papa, I just found this thread!! I have one of these on the board too. Think I'll do the magnet thing to the wings. I was also wondering about the stand-offs for the motor,, looks like you have that covered too!

Oh well,,flight report later, Thanks PapaJeff

papajeff

Tony,

I have a better method for wing attachment and I will post photos with a little explanation later tonight. Also, I'll include some photos of the motor stand-offs which are those white nylon tubes from the Home Depot Hardware drawers. They worked perfect!

papajeff

Tony,

These stand-offs are just white nylon tubes that are found in the green hardware drawers at your friendly Home Depot. There are a few different
lengths and diameters and I got the 1 1/2" figuring that I could cut them down to the correct size determined by first fitting the cowl. I believe that
the bolts were 6/32 x 1 1/2" and also had to be trimmed down slightly to fit properly. There you have it.

papajeff

Tony,

OK, here is the new idea for securing the wings while flying the Predator. It just makes me feel a little more confident than relying on the magnets.
Again, the nylon knurled head bolts can be found in the Home Depot green hardware drawers. I hope that the photos show that all I did was to get the proper allignment of where I thought to easily access the nylon bolt and drilled my hole thru the fuselage. Then marked the wing root, from inside the fuselage and drilled the hole. Now, using a steel bolt the same size as the nylon one, create the threads in the wing root hole and use
CA to harden them. Thats it! Yes, the hatch is just about the right size for me to be able to screw the nylon bolt into the wing root and I don't have small hands. Now, I really do not have any worries about the wings sliding off the wing tube while in flight. Let me know what you think of this method.

brownlab

my pred. broke. i have an idea but it was too late. i found some cheap brushless motors and lipos. i was going to quit rc planes but i decided to stick to slightly smaller planes like this one[link=http://www.raidentech.com/prsmmirareco.html]www.raidentech.com/prsmmirareco.html[/link]. and maybe this

papajeff

I'm sorry to hear about your Predator! How bad was it damaged? Mine was slammed against a fence at the flying field, by a gust of wind and I was able to repair it, so yours may not be lost. Now, no matter what......if you enjoying RC flight....don't give up! That little Raidentech plane is fine for indoor flight and flying in dead calm weather outdoors, but take a look at these;
http://www.hobby-lobby.com/miss2.htm --- http://www.hobby-lobby.com/easystar.htm --- http://www.hobby-lobby.com/soareasy.htm
Any one of these would be perfect for you as they are excellent flyers and will give you the ablilty to really fly and enjoy it. Let me know what you think of these and let me know the condition of your Predator.

brownlab

its in pieces a, whole lot of pieces. and by the way im 12. my dad said he isnt buying me any more planes,but he agreed that if i have the money i can get what ever i want. thats why im sticking to the cheap smaller planes but i might buy an accipiter badius glider to fly at the small field by my house.
my dead planes

super sonic
aero ace
estes ROG
estes cessna like plane
estes y/p micro
and 6 more i cant
remember
+ the predator

papajeff

Now, I understand! I give you a lot of credit to have started in RC flying at your age. Your Aero Ace and Estes planes were a good place to start, but are actually TOYS and there is nothing wrong with that. Like I said.... it's a great way to start and seriously I can tell you that the Predator was definately not a beginners plane so I sure give you an A+ for your efforts!

Now, here is a Grandpa's suggestion........my Grandsons learned to fly RC with the Hobby-Lobby "Easystar" that I gave you the link to. It is basically crash proof because it is made entirely of a special hard to hurt foam called EPP. Your Dad might even enjoy flying the Easystar! Also,
if you have a good Hobby Shop in your area, go with your Dad and look at the Hobby Zone "Firebird" series of starter planes as they are easy and fun to fly and are not just a toy. So, have fun and be proud of yourself for building and trying to fly the Predator. I give you a lot of credit. Now,
just remember that for everything that happends in life, good or not so good, if you learn something from it........then you have done GOOD!!!!!!

Best regards,

Papa Jeff

brownlab

[link=http://www.raidentech.com/rtfwiha54el3.html]www.raidentech.com/rtfwiha54el3.html[/link][link=http://hobby-lobby.com/easystar-rtf.htm]http://hobby-lobby.com/easystar-rtf.htm[/link]thanks for the motivation. there is a hobby shop but its way down town.if im lucky he might take me . or my mom will. but here is some thing i think is wierd.www.raidentech.com/rtfwiha54el3.html

brownlab

btw i started at 10

papajeff

Brownlab,

In this Hobby, or Industry if you like, there are many companies all over the world that have products that are almost exactly the same. Usually, each one is slightly different, maybe one is blue & white and the other is red & white, and there is a price difference. Most of the time, the products
that you can get from the overseas companies on the internet, are less in cost. You can ask your Mom & Dad about this, also. Some people think that it is better to deal with a US company because you can get better service and replacements parts quicker and easier.....sometimes with just a phonecall. Keep up the good work and remember........school first-----then Hobbies........It's just a Grandpa thing!

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Papa, great advice.
I'm afraid my Predator too has gone to that big graveyard in the sky. But it went out in style.

One of my chums(?) decided he would try and hand launch it when I told him mine was set up to make long runs down the strip to get airborne. Needless to say neither of his hand lanches went well. LOL

Slightly punched in nose and broken mains resulted. What to do? What to do?

Removed the rest of the gear and installed a hook in place of the nose gear.

Can you say bungee launch??????

Looked like one of those old WWII Buzz Bomb launches. Amazingly it flew just fine after it slowed down. Landing was a little rough though and as your fix for the wing would have prevented it, both wings came loose.

No biggie, slammed some CA in them and made for second round on the launch ramp.

Click, Swooooosh, bam. Looked like a shot duck. Both wings folded up about 15-20' off the ramp and she went in hard. Guess I should have looked a little closer at the spar.

Oh well all electronics held up, and I have another on the way.

brownlab

im at school right now. i found the name of the hobby shop but it does not have a website.