RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Hmmm choices, Unsure of what to do, I would really like to have a UAV but I jsut would rather have something a little larger. I would love to be able to pit some retracts into it as well.:eek: Does anyone know if there are plans, or a kit for a larger pred. anywhere? I see several home builds but jsut dont have the time to make one myself. IF anyone knows of any plans or kits avaliable I would greatly appriciate it. Otherwise I may end up grabbing one of these, I would fl it without the gear but Im not to sure the vert stab would like it to much as it is on the underside :D:D.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

PapaJeff - I have found this build thread extremely interesting and informative - thank you so much for the time and effort you have put into it. As I startd getting interested in RC planes this year, I immediately bought a Predator, a helicopter, and a foam Edge 540T thinking they would be just what I needed. Luckily, before they were flown (except for the heli, which lasted 20 minutes), I met some experienced characters at my local flying field who helped me realize my grotesque naivety, so I bought several other planes to learn with, some of which, amazingly, are still alive, albeit most of them with replacement fuselages or something similar.

Anyway, now I am completing the build of my Predator. The reason for this post is that I did not see how you had routed the wing servo wires into the fuse when attaching the wings - perhaps I just didn't look at the correct post, but would you mind reiterating how you did it? I don't want to cut any more holes in the end of the wings and in the fuse than I really need to. By the way, I obtained some solid 6mm carbon rod for the wings, and some smaller CF tube for the other (anti-rotation?) rod needed.

I appreciate any help!...Chris

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Chris,

Thanks for the nice comments, they are totally appreciated. First tell me what you got for your training sessions
and give me about an hour as I am just finishing up installing some new fangled servoless retracts. Then I'll get you
the answers to your questions.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Chris,

Never give up and seek the advice of guys at the field as I'm sure that they will be most helpfull. Now I
have a few suggestions for some great training planes for you. My pal has reviewed these two;
1. http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...rticle_id=1041
2. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7864190/tm.htm

Both of these planes will get you flying with a high confidence level so that you can have some fun while
you become a better pilot. Let me know what you think of these.

Now, on to the Predator wing servo wire routing and wing attachment method so that the wings can be
removed for easy transport. Here are the posts for your review and they are in order.

1. post #13-15
2. post #24
3. post #28-31
4. post #48 (aileron linkage suggestion)
5. post #116 (best method to attach wings for flying and to detach them for easy transport)
6. post #187 (flying video, but do not pay any attention to Captain Kaos as they finally captured him and returned
him to the HOME! I sure hope that the shock therapy works this time!)

Let me know how things are going and if you have any other questions, just let me know and i will do my best to
answer them. Take care.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

PapaJeff - Thank you for your quick response to my question. The picture in Post #24 tells all - my Predator came without the oval cutouts in the fuselage ahead of the main wing tube hole - they are present on the wings (that's where the servos wires come out), but there is no corresponding holes in the fuse. A little careful measurement and a scalpel will soon fix that.

To answer your question about the planes I have been learning with - I first flew an Electristar, which I am still using as a camera mule, planning to build a 'Taliban Targetting Pod' (tilt & pan) to go underneath, with a FlycamOne2, or perhaps a small DV camera, if I can find a cheap lightweight one that uses SD cards. To date it has flown with a fixed 'Tony Hawk Helmet Cam', but the 320x240 15fps video is not very good. I also have an E-Flite UltraStick 25e - my second one, in fact, as the first one tore apart in midair (the wing mounting points failed) and the manufacturer sent me a new one which I still have, although it has had some close shaves. I had a Diamante, the airframe of which I bought used, and could never seem to fly it right, until it went in with extreme prejuduce - I kept the pilot and some covering as mementos but will never buy another one. I have a Parkflyers profile GeeBee and a Parkzone Typhoon, both of which I like, as flying them is more like a wrestling match than an exercise in any sophistication. They both have an extensive history of major surgery. I also have an Accel Hobby Katana 35ES which has flown once - a hair-raising event which I will repeat when I feel I have a lot more experience. I have a Parkflyers Edge 540T, which I don't like on any level other than its looks. I just ordered an Extreme Flight 47" Yak, as they are on supersale for $100 delivered - who could resist such an opportunity !! And now, I am not too far from finishing the build of my Predator. I have read all the comments in this thread regarding the odd characteristics of flying a short bodied, long,thin-winged V-tail, rear pusher-propped plane with trepidation.

This is a good hobby - and, in comparison to most others, surprisingly affordable. I am thoroughly enjoying building and flying, although I am, at best, mediocre at both and loving it.

Once again, thanks for all the info and all your work here!...Chris

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Chris,

You got it, Brother! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.....................Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
It's a great Hobby with super people and the key to it all is PURE FUN! You just gotta enjoy
it all. Remember, practice, practice, practice.......ask questions.......have fun........ask
questions......have fun and then FLY! There you go!

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

i think i saw some predators at nitro for 69.95, ill check again later.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

I'm starting to build a UAV for my senior seminar project and I need your guys' input to help me graduate. I am completely new at this and I am really cramped on time. Yes, I know it won't fly itself, I just need it to be able to fly period.

I've ordered this UAV
http://www.nitroplanes.com/4eluavrqprra.html

With this ESC
http://www.nitroplanes.com/30aelbrescsp.html

Now, I need a motor, tx and rx, servos, and FMA copilot

First up, the website recommends this motor
http://www.nitroplanes.com/a2haoubrmo10.html

But they are out of stock, so I was wondering if this motor will be a good substitute
http://www.nitroplanes.com/al3701brmo1.html

Next I need a tx and rx so I was wondering if this rx
http://www.nitroplanes.com/mksprre.html

would work with this tx
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bi...&I=LXSYK1**&P=0

and if they do, which air frequency would I order? The channels range from 11 to 60

next, the site recommends 9g mirco servos, will these servos work since they don't have 9g servos?
http://www.nitroplanes.com/7gmicrorcservo.html

Thanks for you inputs, it is greatly appreciated.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

ok, i finally checked again. they have them in stock for 79.00

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Noob Tubes,

It seems to me that all of your choices will work on the Predator. The exceed outrunner motors are very good and will perform
properly as will the other Nitro products. Just remember that the Predator is basically a "Scale" plane (yet flies like a glider) and
should be flown as the full scale Predator UAV. Just basic scale flight with wide gentile turns. ROG, and landings as well, are not
a problem and the power set up that I used, was more than adequate. If you have any further questions, just let me know and
I will help wherever I can. Good luck with your build and have fun with it!

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Hi again P-J and ongoing thanks for your insights. I see from way back in this thread that the prop normally used is a 9x6 (pusher I presume.) When I tried fitting a 9" prop on my Predator, I can see that the tips would strike the ground if the aircraft's angle of attack during takeoff/landing is quite slight - even before the vertical stab/lower fin contacts the ground.

Did you or anyone extend the lower fin downward? Or is there a better prop size to use? I tried fitting an 8.5x6 pusher but it wiould still hit the ground before the fin. Maybe a 7x7 pusher if such a thing exists?

Any thoughts appreciated...Chris

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Chris,

I did use a regular "tractor" APC 9 X 6 SF prop, but mount it to the motor with the numbers facing the nose
of the Predator. That's all you have to do and you do not need to get a pusher prop. Also, see post # 35
and increase the size of the wheels. In addition, I took a piece of piano wire and bent it in a "U" shape and
then inserted it onto the bottom of the lower verticle fin. This will prevent a prop strike on takeoff and
landing as well. Let me know how it goes.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Thanks again - piano wire - excellent - that's what I will do, and I may use a 3-bladed prop, like (I believe) the full-size uses.

I am using a little <2-ounce outrunner (RC 1200), which bench-tests with a 3S lipo @ 233 watts/23 amps with a 3-blade 9x6, and 212 watts/20 amps with a 2-blade 8.5x6 counter rotation prop. I guess either scenario is enough to fly the plane, based on your experience? I don't have any way to measure actual thrust however.

the only other thing I note is that in your build, you used extension wires from the battery to the ESC, rather than from the ESC to the motor. I read elsewhere that this is a no-no (surprisingly), but I guess you had no trouble?

Regards...Chris

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Chris,

Yes, you are correct that it is not advised to extend the wires from the ESC to the battery.
But, since I had planned to use a Spektrum AR6100 with my DX-7, I had a feeling that I
would not experience any glitch or interferrence from any other transmission sources of
any kind. So far, and with dozens of flights, I have had no issues at all. It just goes to
show you that 2.4 systems are the way to go. Please keep me informed of your progress.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

hello, i received this predator as a christmas gift ( as it is the only thing i asked for.) got it all together christmas night and into the next day.. today i maidened it in calm conditions! it took off fine, flew great until i slowed it down on final, as i banked in, i did a sort of yank and bank that was discussed here on page 10 and she broke into a spiral and fell gentle enough to just need a little glue to get her up again. before the second flight, i thought i would move some weight toward the tail slightly so it might keep it from going into the nose down spiral.. i shifted the cg backward to get her more tail heavy. so on the second flight it still flew fine with a slight trim adjustment for down elevator (obviously going to be necessary with the cg shifted rearward) but anytime i slowed it down to bring it in she would get nasty sloppy! i mean wings dipping from side to side and breaking into the spiral so i would give her full throttle and she would pull out and fly fine again. but on the final, when i decided to bring her in i brought the motor down low, however i did not cut the motor because she would get sloppy. when i did my slight bank to line up the runway she snapped hard and went into the death roll! is it just the vtail i am going to have to get used to? surely not, but i have never flown a vtail.. could it be still nose heavy? every time i cut the motor and tried to turn it would snap and point the nose to the ground! however, the cg at that point was behind the factory recommended cg so i dont see it still being nose heavy, but it also doesn't seem to me like tail heavy simply because she drops her nose hard in a turn!? what is up? i can repair it at this point in about 20 minutes but i don't want to repair it and have this happen again. so please help!

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Fozjared,

I am sorry to hear about the problems with your Predator. I'm going to review some of my
build notes and see if I can come up with any suggestions for you. We never experienced
any problems with slow flight or slowing down for a landing approach. Take a look at the
video on pg. 8, post 187 and you can see how nice the Predator should fly. Hopefully we
can come up with a reason for your issues.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

thanks papajeff, i sure would appreciate any help i can get, i watched tons of videos of the predator on youtube, i saw one video that caught my eye, it was the white model of the predator, maybe a little different design, but in the video it broke into the same spiral that mine did.. ok i went back to youtube and got the link here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vyIVu8BtjM

i realize that this guy seems inexperienced with a model, especially since he thinks the bird is what crashed the plane!??? anyway, if you watch at the very end you can tell it slows down and looks like a stall, but it falls into the violent spin that was the case with mine.. if anyone has any ideas please let me know, it seems as though this model should just float about much like a sail plane, but my experience was quite different than what i expected.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

I just want to ask a question. How does everyone land their plane? I start the approach a long way away from the runway and land at a somewhat high speed. (The plane stays level and loses altitude gradually)

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Fozjared,

Go back to post 49 & 50, where both Chris and I have put some extra weight in the nose of our Predators,
and let me know if that issue might be the problem that caused your Predator to crash. My feeling is that
the Predator should, with proper CG balance, fly just like a glider. With those long, narrow wings, you
should not try to make tight aileron turns without adding in some opposite "rudder" which in the case of
the Predator is actually the "V" tail. Nice, gentle, scale turns are in order for the Predator to avoid tip
stalls, at slow speeds, which usually result in the dreded death spiral.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Brownlab,

Take a look at the Predator video again and watch the two landings. Your way of landing is totally acceptable, yet it is also
possible to land a glider-like plane, such as the Predator, at a slower speed as long as you have the CG properly set. At a
slow speed landing, the Predator should just kind of glide in and land.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Ok, thank you. i just wanted to see the different ways of landing and the video really helped. I also fly mostly fast planes so thats probably why I'm a high speed lander.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Hi Papa J. and any others who have flown this plane. Mine is just about ready - I used the wall anchor method to prevent the wings moving out, used a small outrunner at 1.8oz that runs 220-odd watts with an 8.5x6 counter rotating prop, and put a Supersimple 40A ESC in the fuselage with a power extension to the front to the batteries. I also put a solid cf rod in the wings instead of a cf tube. Servos are HXT900's from Hobbycity. Receiver is a Spektrum AR6200 up front. I used the wheels from a Parkzone Typhoon for the main gear, and another slightly smaller wheel for the nose wheel, as I may be operating off rough grass.

I found that if I put both a 1000mah and a 1300mah battery in the compartment (in parallel of course), the CG is just about on spec - (around 52.5mm from the wing's leading edge). I have a couple of questions for anyone who can enlighten me:

1. Have you found that the factory CG is the best choice (50 to 55 mm from the wing's leading edge.)
2. Are you running the ailerons as flaps? If so, do you use them during takeoff? Landing?
3. I sometimes use one mix to add some rudder to aileron movement for general flight - is this NOT applicable for this plane? (I see elsewhere mentions of mixing OPPOSITE ailerons to the rudder.)
4. Papa Jeff - I believe your Predator ended up with a AUW of 32 ounces? Mine is 32 oz. WITHOUT batteries, and about 39.5 ounces with the two mentioned above. How did you do it, and is mine going to fly at 39.5oz?
5. I found it hard to get any more travel than the recommended amount in any of the control surfaces, i.e. 12mm on the vtail and 15mm on the ailerons. Have you found that this is enough to keep out of trouble?
6. What sort of distance does the Predator need ROG to take off? I ask this because of the non-steerable nose wheel, and the size of the runways we use.

As always, this thread is great and incredibly helpful. This plane is SO different from anything else I've flown that I find myself with a zillion questions, and I appreciate any and all responses.

Regards...Chris

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

im in the same boat with you chris, it really is totally different than the fast warbird and sport/3d planes i am used to.. you cannot yank and bank and that is for sure! so i believe that your 12 and 15mm deflections will fly just fine for what this plane is designed for. with the large wingspan, the 39.5 oz. will be perfectly fine as long as the wings are attached firmly it should fly with quite a bit of weight. mine rog'd in less than 100ft. on slightly shaggy grass with the stock wheels!! and i think my motor is only a 180 watt.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Chris,

Foz is right about your 12-15mm deflection on the control surfaces being sufficient to fly the Predator.
And for sure, the Predator is not the type of airframe for any "yank & bank" flying. Your flying weight
should not be a problem either, but I can ROG in about 50 ft. or less with the bigger wheels and around
100 watts per pound with my flying weight of 32oz. Also, without any nose wheel stearing (I just use the
rudder/"V" tail to stear) I have no problems keeping the Predator on a straight path.

I did use the factory recommended CG and had to add some nose weight to attain the correct balance.
As far as programming the ailerons to act as flaps, I did not do it as the predator can slow down nicely
for a smooth approach and landing without the need for flaps.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Thanks for your detailed and helpful responses, guys...Chris