papajeff

Now, install both servos, to control the left and right sections of the "V" tail, in the pre-existing cut outs in the equipment bay. The two pushrod
sleves have been pre-installed and just slide the supplied pushrods through the sleves and attach to the control horn. Everyone has their own favorite method of attaching control rods to both the control horn and the servo arms. For this size plane, I favor the E/Z connector for the servo arm and the E/Z link for the control horn, both from Du-Bro and can be found at your LHS. This provides a simple and easy connection method that gives the advantage of quick mechanical trim adjustments (once your servos are in the proper neutral position) Yes, I did make a sorta-kinda battery tray with a velcro strap to secure the Li-Po, which also doubled as "NOSE WEIGHT!!!"

papajeff

For the receiver, a Castle Creations Berg 7P was the perfect choice. This seven channel, triple-tuned, full range, Digital Signal Processing, (DSP)
little blue Rx is much more than it seems. Basically, just power up your Transmitter....the 7P examines the signal.....learns the "fingerprint" of
your Tx and will only respond to a valid command. That's what you get.....right out of the box, pretty darn good! Now, for those who want to program some specific settings just get the Castle interface cable and download the free CastleLink software from the web site www.castlecreations.com and that's -- that!

papajeff

Rather than having three feet of receiver antenna hanging out from the fuselage and/or taped to the bottom, there had to be a way to get the antenna inside the fuselage. So, a 36" piece of heavy piano wire, some blue painters tape and the photos show what to do! The antenna should be pulled slightly back toward the nose, once the motor is attached to the firewall, so that it will be contained inside the fuselage and not hang out of the back end by the motor.

papajeff

Time to install the motor. In this situation it made sense to use the "NITRO-POWERED" 200W brushless outrunner along with the Tower Pro ESC, both available from Nitro Models. In my estimation, it was the proper method to accomplish a review of a NITRO model by including accessory items that can also be acquired from Nitro Models. If you were to go to the NITRO web-site www.nitroplanes.com you might be surprised as to what a wide variety of accessory electrical products that you will find in addition to the HUGE selection of airplanes available.

Now, the A20-22L motor comes complete with mounting & prop adapters. Yet, in order for the Predators unusual rear motor cowl to allign properly with the prop......the use of four nylon 1" sleves (from Home Depot) four 6/32 Phillips head bolts @ 1 1/4" long with some lock & regular washers.....and you will end up with a very nice and sturdy motor extension. It is suggested to use gold pin connectors to attach the motor leads to the ESC leads. It just makes for a good electrical connection and you can easily change the motor direction or change out the motor or the
ESC.

papajeff

Listen, I just saw some photos that were taken at the time of the first test flight.......and, well these guys have taken me under their wings
(pun intended!), so it just seemed to be the right thing to do and introduce you to them. Let's see, there's "FAST EDDIE", "MAGIC MATT", but I
can't seem to get them to upload. Each one is about 4.5mb and maybe too large.

chrishornby

I took a look at your motor, I didnt need to use sleeves or anything to get it to fit which made me think mine might be a bit bigger. SO I looked your motor up and it only weighs 50 or so grams. Mine weighs in at twice that which probably explains the CG issue! Also the distance from the CG of the motor is much greater than to the nose so any increase in weight would be amplified buy the principle of moments. Anyway I have stuck more weight in the front and should have a good flight tomorrow!

papajeff

Chris,

Now, we are getting someplace! Again, my Predator is ready to fly at 30oz. or so. The motor is @ 200w with a 9 X 6SF prop which produces about 90 w/lb. What are the stats of your motor that makes the weight and size so much larger than mine?
Extra power is OK, but oversize & extra weight can cause you some problems......as you are now experiencing. Also, as a
suggestion, hook up a watt meter and let me know the results, cause it's better to be "safe than sorry! " (an old Grandpa type of saying).

chrishornby

Its an Axi 2814/10 131 grams About 300watts at max current. Maybe a little overpowered. I do have a smaller 260W motor of uncertain origin which I might try if I get too much difficulty.

papajeff

Chris,

Try to get a flying weight and see how much over 30oz. you end up with. Again, if the CG is correct and the motor can deliver sufficient power, you should be OK. Just play it safe and get high enough and then see how it glides. If it glides well, you should be fine.......if it glides poorly, just
remember to keep up the speed upon landing and give yourself a longer than normal approach. Let me know how it goes!!!!

chrishornby

FLying weight is about 200 grams, dont know what that is in ounces, about 2 pounds I guess.
Anyway here is a picture ready to go, but didnt fly today, its looking good for tomorrow though!!

papajeff

Chris,

Your Predator sure looks good to me and I hope you have a successful flight today! Again, I always like to know (1) the weight of the plane,
(2) the weight of the battery, (3) the flying weight. Then using a watt meter, I can get the Amps, Volts and Watts produced by my power system, as every system will produce slightly different results. I can then determine how effective my power system is basically by figuring watts per pound (amps X volts = watts) then (watts divided by pounds) I just realized that there is no "divided by" symbol on a computer keyboard! Here is the basic rule of thumb;

@ 75 w/lb for Sport basic flying
@ 90 w/lb for Sport agressive flying
@100+ w/lb for 3D flying

As you know, my stats showed @90 w/lb so I was comfortable with the knowledge that my Predator SHOULD have enough power to fly properly.

I usually go to my local Post Office and use their scale. They are used to me by now! From a metric conversion chart, [1 pound = 453.6 grams], so it might be best to get an accurate weight for your Predator. All of this info just adds to giving me a certain comfort level and is necessary for me to do with all of my reviews. Again, I hope that your flight goes well.

chrishornby

SOrry, got the weight wrong there. SOon as I get back to the office I will weigh it again. I didnt fly today because it was still too windy for me to risk it. I guess it will be Friday now! Thanks for your interesting info.

papajeff

An old woodworker friend once said, "Measure twice and cut once." For me, the theory is, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
So much for todays' Philosophy 101 lesson, with electric set-ups....it's always best to get some accurate power system info about your specific set-up. As stated before, each system is really different, sometimes even if two systems use exactly the same components. As an example, two of the same brushless motors (ie:HIMAX) with two 30A ESC (ie: Castle Phoenix) with two 1800mAh/20C/3S1P Li-Po's (ie:KOKAM) could produce two
slightly different results. Now, add in the potential difference in weight of the plane and you can see that the WATTS PER POUNDamount
can be affected.

All this means that, if you use a watt meter......get your power system statistics.....do the math......get the results.......if the numbers are off you can make adjustments (get a more or less powerful motor, get a higher Amp ESC, use a larger or smaller mAh battery)........make sure the CG is correct.....then go and fly with a welcomed comfort level!!!!!!!! See what I'm talking about??????? Good luck tomorrow!!!

chrishornby

OK I managed to weigh it, it comes in at 1100 grams, just a bit more than the spec but I have fitted a 2400 3s lipo to bring the cg forward and it is a bit like a house brick. (Sorry I forgot, you guys build out of wood over there!)

Anyway today the conditions were perfect for flying and I had no more excuses so out to the patch I went. It generated quite a lot of interest there too! I ended up flying it all day, I couldnt take the smile off my face it flew like a dream.

Now I want to get me a bigger one!

chrishornby

One more thing Papajeff, I am off to get me a watt meter too, so I can play around with your maths. The motor I have in at the moment is capable of taking the predator in an unlimited vertical climb, so I end up flying it at under quarter throttle.

papajeff

Chris,

Now, you really know how to make an "OLD DINOSAUR" Grandpa real happy!!!!! Ohhhh.........Yeahhhhhhhhh!!! I am truly pleased to hear that you had a grand old time flying your Predator and that you were GRINNIN alot while you were flyin! You did real good...and I'm proud of you! See,
there is something to be said for INNOVATE, ADAPT & OVERCOME! Then once that is accomplished....just have FUN! Now, go and enjoy flyin some more!

papajeff

Hey, don't pay any attention to the guy riding the canopy of that old T-33.....that's just "Captain Kaos" and I don't know who let him out of the HOME, but I hope that they find him soon and get him back on his medication!!!!! Here are a few more photos, some may assist with the reasoning behind using the placement of the ESC at the rear of the fuselage and directly in the flow of cooling air entering through the opening in the, pseudo "rear motor cowl." Hey, it sure works in this build as consistently we are getting about 15 minutes of good basic flight and only using about 65% of the li-po capacity with just the slighest hint of warmth on both the battery and ESC. Nice, right!

papajeff

It sure looks like NITRO MODELS has a winner with the different and unusual Predator RQ-1B UAV. As Chris, our friend from the UK, had
commented after numerous successful flights with his Predator,"I couldn't take the smile off my face.......it flew like a dream!" Now, that is
really impressive as, in my opinion, there you have a statement from a fellow HOBBYISTwho build and flew this model and came to his own conclusion. It doesn't get any better than that! My position is simple and basic, I'm an "OLD GRANDPA" Hobbyist, who is most fortunate to have the opportunity of doing a build thread (and resulting review) yet I am basically an OBSERVER of facts as I see them, just like each and every other hobbyist out there. I have fun telling HOW...WHAT...WHY...WHEN...WHERE I did what I did....and the results that I GOT! Then, the rest is up
to you, my fellow RC Flyers! If you became interested in the NITRO Predator and build one, just add to the thread and share your experiences
with us, OK? Remember, none of us are ever too OLD to learn something new! So, bring it on!!!!!!! Ohhhhhhhhhhh..........Yeahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Oh, look at this cast of characters; That's "Fast Eddy" with the dark shades....he used to be flight line ballet instructor (see the hand position- I think it's from Swan Lake!) The "Dynamic Duo" is Magic Matt (he's the Pres.....really) and Bubba Bob who is our unofficial videographer (that's
because he needs some serious practice) and they are the best!

chrishornby

Papajeff,
Thank you for your useful thread, I am sure it will be widely read by anyone who gets a nitromodels predator!
Maybe nitromodels should print it and box it along with the manual!

What are you going to do next?

Chris

papajeff

Chris,

Your comments are appreciated and your contribution to this Predator build was a most welcomed addition. Glacier Girl (by the way...that was the name of a very famous WWII Bomber) is a Gentleman whose comments were also appreciated. He is well known and well respected for his contributions to our Hobby. I'm working on several current projects and am not sure which will be presented first, but I will let you know if you like.
Please be sure to inform us if you have anything new to report with your Predator and I think that I just might do some "hop-ups" to the Predator,
SOOOOOOOOOO.....stay tuned cause; "One never knows......Do one???"

chrishornby

Just ordered a camera to put in the pred from eb*y. I will keep you posted...

papajeff

I look forward to a possible video of your flights, right???? I just found some ideas for a little accessorizing that might be interesting and could make the Predator look even more realistic. It looks like we will both be WATCHING!!!!!

airflow

My Feedback: (1)

PapaJeff - what a nice "build thread", and what a nice aircraft to review. I was there when yours first took to the wild blue yonder. When I first saw it, the thought was, "what a great wing - long and slender - all it lacks is feathers ! What I caught on my new video camera wasn't much, but take a look anyway ? http://www.drchristine.com/rccr/vide...20Predator.htm
Thanks Papa, from Bubba.


p.s. 1100 grams = 35.36412 ounce (troy)

Convert is a free and easy to use unit conversion program that will convert the most popular units of distance, temperature, volume, time, speed, mass, power, density, pressure, energy and many others, including the ability to create custom conversions!
http://joshmadison.com/software/convert/

papajeff

Bubba Bob,

I must have an old conversion chart where; 1 oz = 31.103g and 1 lb = 497.64g or `1100g then = 35.37oz or 2.21lbs.

OK, you are correct and I don't know what I was thinking of.........but it must not have been pounds vs. grams at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
See ya tonight at the meeting

airflow

My Feedback: (1)

yessir. We're both right, or both wrong, because my conversion math was computerized, and yours was more applicable. I was looking at grams to ounces, because ounces to pound is a given (but not when you consider the UK). You're thinking grams to pounds because we're really after how it works with "watts per pound". So, we're both right, but neither of us knows what the other was saying. The proof is in the flying, and the predator looked great during the several flights at the meeting.