RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

I'm not sure if it's a good idea to fly this plane without a rudder function. As you have 4 channels (I guess not programmable?), I recommend buying a small v-tail mixer hobbycity.com has them), and using that to give you elevator and rudder functionality. Sorry, don't know anything about your speed 400/450 motors.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Thank You for the input, I'll take your advice on the mixer.

JerCo

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Hope some people are still reading this thread and if so, will the E Flite Park 480 (275W) be powerful enough for the predator in FPV? I've looked throughout the posts and couldn't find if anyone had successfully used it? I'd rather not be flying around at 95% throttle the entire time, but I do already have one of these from my DOA mini ultra stick. Also, new to planes, so forgive the ignorance, is the manufacturer "flying weight" the bare assembled airframe only?On paper and it looks like airframe flying weight, plus electronics/lipo, plus FPV equipment/lipo, are putting me around 32 oz which should be within E-Flite's specs on that motor? I'd like to add pan/tilt but not sure if the motor could handle the extra load? My predator is due to arrive today, so I'll get a final weight once its assembled. What a great fit for FPV, hope to have some great airborne videos soon, thanks for the help!!!

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

I am using an outrunner with a 9x7 3-blade counter-rotating prop that consumes 230 watts, and my Predator flies around on 1/2 throttle easily, so your motor should be fine. Anything over 9" diameter is likely to run the risk of prop strikes.

My AUW with two 1000mah 3S packs in the nose is 39.6 ounces, but I do not have nosewheel steering yet, nor any camera mounts. Something like a FlyCamOne2 weighs about 1.6 ounces with mounting bracket. I would think that if you keep your AUW under 45 ounces, you will be fine and your UAV will glide around nicely. Bear in mind from previous posts in this thread, that the wings may be the weak point of this model; you may want to consider using a solid carbon rod rather than a tube, and avoid any violent changes in attitude.

(On the other hand, if you DO want to overload your plane and yank-and-bank, please make sure there is a video camera on the ground recording it, and post it here afterwards! Just kidding of course).

Hope this helps...Chris

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Thanks for the help and I'll definitely post that video... :)

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

I'm by no means an expert, but from searching on the net and finding a ton of photos, as well as WIKI information, I think Nitromodels has some kind of naming error with this model.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MQ-9_Reaper

I understand that the MQ-9 is known as the Reaper, but was originally called the "Predator B". It is a larger, more robust version of the MQ-1 or RQ-1B known as the Predator 1B. The reaper is distinguished by the upward tail wings in V format and has a large air scoop on the top rear of the plane, while the Predator MQ-1B (or even RQ-1B) has a downward ^ tail wing and no large scoop.

If I'm wrong, forgive me, but for petes sake, LOOK IT UP. Search Predator RQ-1B images and you will see what I mean.

Art

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

CG PROBLEMS???????

Hi guys. I've been following this thread for some time now and have finally finished my predator. I powered it with a 220watt bp outrunner, 25amp esc and a 1750mah 3cell battery. I'm running a 9X9apc E prop pulling 20.5 amps at about 218watts. Like many of the people on this thread I ran into balancing issues also. I added weight and it now balances slightly nose down on the 55mm CG point on my CG machine. So off to the field we go.

I decided to maiden my predator this afternoon before the storm blew in (12-15mph winds) and did have a successful maiden flight. I think my CG is still way off though (very nose heavy). The reason I think this is because the plane jumped into the air 1/2 throttle after about 15 feet. After climbing 2-3 mistakes high I trimmed the model out at 1/2 throttle. Problem is that anytime I advance the throttle the plane wants to climb very fast. The nose falls pretty hard in the turns if I’m not pulling back on the stick.

So does this sound nose heavy to you guys?? The reason I ask is because i've balanced the plane at the most aft CG position witch means this plane should have been if anything slightly tail heavy. I'm a bit confused so any help would be great.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

My TM PRO Predator has finally shipped. It should arrrive in one -six weeks. I think I will follow chris's leed and try the three blade prop. Hobby City has 12 TM Pro Pred's still in stock for those still looking for an arf.

OPUS Glad to hear your plane survived it's first flight. Are you flying the nitro Pred? People on this thread have determined that 55mm is the correct CG for the Nitro. Pehaps less pitch on your prop will improve your flight handling. Good luck let us know how it's going.

Mike:D

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Yesterday at last, I got my Nitro Predator in the air. The first flight was spooky because the plane wanted to climb at almost all speeds. The CG is set per the instructions, so that shouldn't be the case. after making adjustments, she flew great. No bad habbits.
This plane was set up to use the lowest cost equipment available. The transmitter is a Parkflyer 4 channel unit that came with one of their Decathlon's. The only mod required to set the plane up as a three channel glider was to move the left tail servo over to the right and forward so the servo arm could be attached the same as the right one. This mod then required a Y connector to power both tail servos from the elevator slot of the receiver. I used a 180 watt motor, 30 amp ESC, 2200 Amp Hr. LiPo, and a 9x6 SF prop. With this setup, she's very fast at full on, and flys very nice at half. Landing is smooth, but she doesn't want to stop flying. With the power off, she still took most of the field to settel in and stop.
Everyone at the field really liked the looks.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Videomike, I'm flying the electric predator. What type of nitro engine are you using in your predator?? There's not a lot of room pack there. I'm thinking a .15 .20..

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

I think its a NitroMODELS Predator, not that he's flying a Pred with a Nitro engine. As you said, not really any room for that.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Chris is correct I'm refering to Nitro Models and Top Model Products. The TM Pro has a 74" wing spain but the wing surface area is only equil to that of the Nitro Pred. I chose the TM because there has been some complants about the Nitro's build quality. Also It's a difficult model to obtain. Nitro models are frequently out of stock, as is hobby city. Mine is on a slow boat from Hong Kong, after waiting two months. You didn't say where you added weight. Sounds nose heavy to me. Also I think you have to much pitch in your prop. I'd like to know if a 9x6 prop works better for you. . I take it you've read the earlier threads. This plane's major stress point are at the wings and should be flown gently.
Chris thanks for helping out on the nitro thing.

Mike

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Thanks for all the feedback. Videomike, I am flying the nitro models version of the predator and i've had the same CG issues as everybody else. I have almost 3.8oz of lead up front. I think I can reduce that with going to a sf prop. They are lighter than the APC Eprop i'm using.

I think I've found the issue of the climbing problem. Turns out after looking everything over I got back to basics and checked the thrust line of the motor back there. Turns out the motor was angled at the sky about 3 degrees. This would make a plane climb like crazy (which it did). So I placed a few shims (washers) so that the motor was on a 0-degree thrust line. I took her back out to the feild and flew her again and most of the climbing problems went away. I'm going to place another shim to get the motor pointed down through the thrust line. While flying this time I can confirm that this plane flies so much better with coordinating some rudder while turning.

Videomike, I believe your right about the plane being nose heavy after discovering the thrust line issue. I'm going to rebalance my plane at a 57mm CG point and see what happens. I have no issues flying a tail heavy plane. Most of my 3D gassers are tail heavy.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Happy to hear that your Pred flew well. You must be a good pilot to have flown without crashing on the first flight. This is a plane that is prone to tip stall. They say keep the nose down in the turns, which you did. Maybe I should buy an alinement device? What do they cost?
My Pred arrived today. Only took a week to get here from Hong Kong. Came shipped within another box that was the same size as the kit box, with no room for popcorn or air bags. The box was marked fraglel with big labels. Fortunately it was in excellent condition.
I bought a Turnigy BL2209 27mx28m 1.6 oz 15amp motor, because of the balance issue. Less then $20. Suppost to produce 28oz. of thrust with a 9x4.7 prop. Turnigy also has a BL2217 22 amp motor that weighs 2.5 oz. and produces 37 oz. thurst. I plan to put a 2.4g video cam onboard up the road. Once again glad things went well for you.

Mike :D

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Videomike,

Happy to hear that your plane arrived in good condition. I look forward to hearing how your model builds.

I couldn't sleep tonight so I decided to tinker with a few planes and the predator was one of them. On videomike's recamendation I switched to a 9X7.5 slowfly prop. This allowed me to loose 2.3oz of nose weight. Looks like i'll be adding nose gear.

I'm using a bp 2217-9 outrunner that weighs 2.5oz and is rated to pull 200watts at 18 amps so I'm using a E-flight 20amp esc and a rino 1750 3cell 20C batt. My AUW now comes in at 35.2oz.

I tested my new prop on a half dead battery and pulled 204watts at 18.3amps. I'm sure that will go up slightly with a freshly charged battery. I'll let you know tomorrow. I plan on heading out to the field early before the Southwest Kansas winds pick up and that's only three hours from now so I need to get some sleep.

I hope my finding a problem with motor mounts and thrust lines on this plane has helped other people sort out issues their having with this plane. If you haven't checked the thrust line you really should. Mine was over 4degrees off.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Hi Opus

How did flying go today? I expect to hear great things. I need to confess that I'm not an experienced pilot. My instructor has been out of town for the last two months and just returned a few day's ago. We did go out to the club field today, the wind was 15 mph +. It was also 106 F. I'm just starting out with an E-Starter. It's a GWS foamy (see pictures). So flying the Pred may be a little up the road for me.
I am starting on the build. So far it's very nice, the cockpit is a really good fit. It has a spring loaded latch prebuilt and there are covers for the wing servos. The comprehensive manuel (ha ha) recomends 16g servos. Do you think 9g will be OK. What did you use on yours?

Mike[8D]

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

videomike,

Flying yesterday went well. I took a few of my other electrics out along with the predator. The predator flew tail heavy again, but nothing I couldn't deal with. Just lots of pushing on the final approach. I forgot that I balanced my model with a 2300mAh 3cell pack and not the 1750mAh pack I flew it with. After 22years of flying i'm still forgetting the little things. It should fly just fine with the heavier pack.

To answer your servo question I'm not sure if we are flying the same predator. You're plane looks like it has a different covering material than mine along with a spring loaded hatch that mine doesn't have either. If your instructions call for 16 gram servos I would follow their lead. You can find them really cheap from china.

Your GWS E-starter looks great. I've flown most of the GWS stuff and have enjoyed them a lot. That's a tough one to fly in high winds though.. Best to keep to the calmer days with the smaller foamies.

If you post a pic of your entire predator I can varify if we are flying the same plane.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Hi Opus
Glad to hear flying went well, sort of. Thought maybe we didn't hear from you because you crashed and burned.
The Nitromodel has a 63" wingspan the TMPro has a 74" wingspan.
Both have a wing area of approx. 370 sq in. If your box says 400 sq. It's wrong
Both have a 34" body. The Nitro body is solid, the TMPro's is cut out.
The TMpro has a wing joining system using hooks and rubberbands ( that nobody trusts)

There is one other company that makes a Pred that I know of. Exceed has a foamy RTF with a stearable nose wheel and a 53" wingspan.

Bought a Turnigy Aerodrive motor BL2217 860kv 22A wt. 2.55 oz, two three blade pusher props, and after examining a TMPro building thread seven TXH 9 g sevos. Life is good. I now have options on weight and thurst for my Pread.
Was down at the TIMPA club field yesterday with my e-starter. The temp was again 106 deg. wind 15+. I saw a guy burst into flames. He was running for his plane and it's a dry heat here you know. Will try again on Thurs.

Mike

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

I have been looking over items to put into my pred. to make it more beefy. the reason is, I'm wanting to put a video camera, HUD chip w/ GPS, and and a servo kit that moves the camera around. with the added weight I'm going to need a stronger system. Does anyone have any suggestions or do all of you think these items are my best choice? I'm also looking into switching to a 2.4 system. Price is an issue but I do want to get something I can rely on. Any suggestion there too? I wwas thinking about putting on bigger tires so I can put on a bigger prop and maybe get more torque. What do y'all think? I'm still new in the rc plane scene but I'm a quick study. Thank you in advance for all of your responses.

Hacker A30-28S Brushless Outrunner RC Motor, 70g, 250W, 1140 RPM/Volt
Hacker X-30 Pro Brushless Motor Speed Controller ESC 30A
APC 9x6 SF Slow Flyer Electric RC Airplane Composite Propeller
Thunder Power Pro Lite V2 1350mAh 11.1V 3 Cell LiPo Battery (I might put another smaller helichopter battery in just for the camera)

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Texas,

Hacker makes good electronics and you can't go wrong with their products. With respect to a 2.4 system,
I have been using a Spektrum DX7 for the last two years and I have had no problems what-so-ever! The
Spektrum recievers give you a great variety of styles and number of channels to choose from and again,
I have used most of them without even one issue. I believe that you will be pleased with these items.

In my Predator, I have used the Spektrum AR6100 receiver and it has never failed me and I have never had
a range problem eventhough I tend to fly very high and far out, then cut the throttle and just glide back to the
field. Let us know what you decide and feel free to post some photos.

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Texas - when you say "switching to a 2.4 system", do you mean for RC, or for a video link?

My understanding is that you can't really use 2.4 GHz video transmission if you are using a 2.4 radio system, as the radio will still work, but the video quality will be degraded to the point of being no good. I think the solution there is to either use 1.2GHz or 5.8GHz (1.2 may not be available in the US), or switch to an analog radio system, (perhaps you have an old FM radio from a previous generation of ARF or something?)

On the other hand, if you are using a self-contained camera, I fully agree with Papa J - I am using a DX7, and I usually use ar6200 receivers (they have a 2nd satellite receiver) - they are just a bit more money than the AR6100, but I did have a problem with a PZ Typhoon that I flew out of range a couple of times (I rescued it from the swamp, and am refitting it for more abuse.)

Good luck, and please let us know how you get on...Chris

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Thank you for the responses. PLEASE, keep them coming. I have learned so much from this thread and want to learn more. If anyone knows of a better place to fly in the San Antonio, Tx area than the newly built subdivision near by me, let me know. Again, thank you for the comments and you have any more ideas throw them my way. I'm going to be doing research on the items mentioned above and will get back to the thread with what I have picked later. EVERYONE HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY WEEKEND!!!

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Maidened mine yesterday, not a long flight, windy and had some glitches.
No issues though, except difficult balancing, nose heavy with 2200mAh 192 grams. needed 20 grams on the tail, under the engine. Should switch to 1600mAh.
The gear is HK generic, 9 grams servos, 22xx 16A engine, oversized 40A ESC because is not vented, buried inside.
8*4 Master Airscrew Scimtar prop.

Take-off and landing movies here:
http://exposureroom.com/members/rena...ilter/to/48363

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

To all, hello.   I'm a brand new flyer and since I've had some experiences with real world Predators - the first plane I wanted to build was an easy choice.   But...after reading the post on this site, have I bitten off more than a newbie should?    I'm still trying to grasp the concepts of all the electronics and their relationships.

Even if I did bite off more than a newbie should - I still want to complete the plane and maybe in the future get her up and flying.  I bought a Spektrum 6-channel radio and now need recommendations on the following:

Engine
battery
propeller
Spektrum receiver

I would also ask if anyone has any suggestions regarding the building of the UAV that would help.   After reading the posts on this site....you guys are the pros!

V/r
Mister Ed

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
 

Hi Mister Ed

I would recomend the Turnigy 2217 Motor and 9x7 three blade pusher prop. Since a number of users have used that combo sucessfully. Also as a beginer like myself I am starting with a simulation program and a plane with a high wing and lots of dihedial such as a Piper Cub or a cessna. Hope this is helpfull.

Mike