Greg Covey

My Nitro Predator UCAV was Ready-To-Fly at 8.5lbs. The empty plane weighed 100oz (6.25lbs) and my two 6s EON packs weighed 36oz (2.25lbs) together.

The 3300 watt power system provides a powerful 390w/lb!

I didn't bother finishing the decals or making it look pretty until I see it fly. My plan is to test fly it this weekend so I'll report back next week.

Greg Covey

We had some good success with our first test flights on the Nitro Predator UCAV. The power system was awesome and had no problem taking off grass. After landing hard on the first few flights, we moved the CG from 7.25" to 7.75" and had much easier take-offs and landings.

The Predator flew very stabile, even when it was flown slower. The EDF jet performed loops and rolls with ease. We discovered that when landing, you need to carry a certain speed or the plane will pitch up if it lands too slow. The pitch-up is due to the fact that the V-tail stops flying first when the air flow is low and simply drops.

I did permanently glue on the wings for added structural integrity. The rather soft landing gear act as shock absorbers on those less than perfect landings and they are easy to bend back in place after first removing them from the fuselage. We left the nose gear bent backwards as it seemed to still take-off and land well. The coil spring in the nose gear still works when the gear is bent back.

[link=http://www.gregcovey.com/reviews/NitroPredator1.wmv]Nitro Models Predator UCAV Test Flight Video[/link] (16meg)

flying photos by "Papa Jeff" Ring

kmp647

Great job Greg! the Predator seems to be the best designed of all the glass nitroplanes EDF models.

glad the Medusa worked! did you get any motor temp readings?


Kevin

Greg Covey

Hi Kevin,

Thanks. I did not get any temperature readings other than feeling the packs after a flight and they were just warm. Most of the flight was at half throttle and we only did a few full throttle passes. My initial concern was to see if the structure would hold together. In addition to gluing the wings on via the wooden dowels, I also ran 5-minute epoxy along the top side of the tail fins where they meet the fuselage. They seemed much stiffer and so did the wing when I tried to flex them. The fiberglass really likes CA so most of my interior gluing was using Zap medium CA and kicker.

In two weeks, we'll put a GPS in it and see what the speed really is. Our guess was around 130mph. I'll try to use my temp gun on the motor as well.

Regards.

Greg Covey

Predator Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle

Here are some photos of the Predator maiden flight. The first photo from the rear of the exhaust tube has an eerie blue glow. You can see the Medusa motor and heatsink.

The maiden flight on Saturday had the threat of rain in the air.

flying photos by "Papa Jeff" Ring

f16man

That looks like a real nice flying plane , would be a good jet trainer as it has a good size wing span and can land pretty slow,,, cool jet good job Greg...

Greg Covey

We continue to have success with the Predator UCAV so I shot a second video from Sunday July 5th. I saw that the camo version of the Predator UCAV was on sale at Nitro Models for only $119 so I bought another one that I can build next winter. I'll look into beefing up the gear mains mount and replacing the stock nose wheel with a retractable Robart strut. The fact that the aluminum gear mains bend upon hard impact is a real plus as it absorbs those less than perfect landings.

[link=http://www.gregcovey.com/reviews/NitroPredator2.wmv]Nitro Models Predator UCAV Video 2[/link] (17meg)

mark_d

I have developed a set of intake ducts for this jet to use with the 101mm fan if anyone is interesting in buy a set here I'll post pics and details. I'm asking $45 for a set.

Greg Covey

Hi Mark,

I am interested in your intake ducts so please post your photos. I am looking to build a second higher-end "Camo" version this winter and one area that I wanted to improved was the air intake ducting.

I am also putting my Predator UCAV model in my next AMP'D column so I can mention your upgrade.

Thanks.

mark_d

Alrighty Greg I'll snap a few picks and get them uploaded. I decided to make a slight change to the ducting to make them easier to install and to make the fan removable. The positive for the mold is being made now.

Greg Covey

Mark,

Thanks for the photos. Can we see a photo from the top that shows the separation between the two intakes? My concern is that I needed to mount my battery box in a position that partially blocks the air intake. This was done to achieve the proper CG. It shouldn't be a big deal if I need to cut away some of the inner intake ducting. The overall improvement of channeling the air into the DF will still be greatly enhanced.

Bob Violet once said, "Air is stupid so you need to tell it where to go.".

mark_d

Okey dokey, here they are. I also included a shot of the positve I need to make a negative for the new 2 peice adapter.

Greg Covey

Mark,

In the second photo, what is the white material used to couple the "Y" adapter to the fuselage openings?

Thanks.

mark_d

That's part of the stock fuselage. It is the ridge for the intake molded in front of the duct. They are not a[img]ttached to the front yet since I'm going to use the new rear adapter.

algutkin

My Feedback: (1)

Looking forward to seeing the finished ducts. I presently fly the Nitropalnes Starfire with the Scorpion 1900kv motor, 6S, and the Himax or Tigermax 101 mm fan. It is not as fast as Gregs, but it flies fast enough. I should caution anybody that is considering the 101 Himax plug N play unit, the motor cannot take 6S. I have burned out two myself, and many others have reported the same misfortune. That is why the Scorpion motor is used and the fan is purchased separately.

Al

mark_d

The new version is finished and the prootype is installed. I'll get the pics uploaded a little later so you can see. It makes installing them much easier.

mark_d

Here is the the new duct design.

Greg Covey

Mark,

Thanks for the pics, it looks very cool. I was wondering if others are concerned about the intake ducts preventing the batteries from being positioned far enough back? It seems that I was not the only one that had to move the battery packs behind the canopy so that they were partially blocking the intake openings. Even then, I needed a few ounces of lead in the tail.

Also, when using the intake ducts, the air flow across the batteries and ESC will be blocked. What have others done to get some air flow back across these components?

Lastly, do you think you will make a version of the intake ducts for a 90mm Wemotec fan? Or, is there a way to couple your existing design to a 90mm fan?

Thanks!

mark_d

I guess I'm having a hard time understannding how you have your batteries mounted. There is enough room to fit a 20S 4900 mAh pack over the duct opennings. The fan needs to mount as far back as possible to fit these ducts in so that would also help with the CG issue. It's hard to see in the pics but the ducts do dip down to clear the spar so I think that will not be an issue. I'll try to get some pictures of mine with the batteries and balanced. Could you post a picture of you r current setup?

Greg Covey

Mark,

Here is how my two 6s packs are currently mounted. Other photos of the DF mount are posted earlier in this thread. Perhaps by moving the DF further aft, the battery packs can be moved forward.

mark_d

I see what you mean Greg, yes you will need to switch to side by side mounting. I stuck a piece of .125" ply in over the ducts and the batteries over it to take a pic so you can see the clearance.

mjbennett9

Hi,

Just picked up the blue one. Was tempted to save $15 and get the came version. But I personally think the blue is nicer and and personally blue/red are easier for me to see in the air. Plus, I found a 10% off coupon and save even more

Great 90/100m starter jetI'm hoping. I have some 120mph foamies, but this will be a nice entry into fiberglass.

I saw several mods that I plan on doing including ducts, landing gear block, etc.

A few questions still remain:

1) I saw that HS-81's were used in one thread. What i recommended all around? All HS81 (mg version or regular)?
2) In all videos' it looks like tail just about hits the ground to maintain landing glide slope. Any issues hitting ground?
3) Some videos look like wings rocking too much. I'm guessing EXPO of 30 to 40% or more needed?
4) Is tail considered a V-tail as far as transmitter is concerned? or treat as regular elevator?
5) Someone mentioned they glued wings on for strength. Are some using silicone for easy removal?
6) I have a free Castle HV80 ICE and 10A CC BEC (was beta tester). I noticed directions recommended 85A and some here are recommending 110A. Since I have 80A HV ESC for free, will that be ok? Cutoff shows it is good til 120A. I'd like to run this as 8S so I can use 4S1P batteries that I already have. i.e. TL of 4 packs. (2) of them in series x 2, and those two in parallel giving me 8S 4300mah at 25C. If not, I could get 6S Rhinos, but using 4S would mean I can use same batts for all my other planes which are 4S. :-)
7) I noticed a lot of CG issues. Is it better to get a 90mm and stuff further in tail, or add tail weight and get a 101mm fan? I'm thinking a 90mm won't be enough performance. I'd like somewhere between 80mph and 120mph; possible?

Grumman

Nice one Greg!!! Excellent flight well done... Looks to me like you have it set up perfectly...
Thanks for the video...
Happy Flying
Mojo

mjbennett9

Those ESC's are junk. I've seen/heard too many bad things about them; especially at 8S.

mjbennett9

Greg,

Did you find better landing gear, and have you added ducts?