RE: NitroPlanes - MQ-9 REAPER
Hi Jeff, I have re-ordered but now they are out of stock. They cant ship to the Uk apparently so I am shipping it to my brother who will fedex it to me. Can't wait...
Posted on: 4/30/2010 4:41 AM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9699758

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
Hi Helomix I am very impressed by your setup and the care you have taken over doing it and explaining it. And the flight video is awesome, My reason for choosing the predator however was because I have a thing about making my toy planes scale-like! I have just finished my second predator with a degree of gyro stabilisation. I will post photos later if anyone is interested. My Global Hawk is still grounded... wonder if you have flown yours yet PapaJeff? Chris
Posted on: 8/7/2008 2:55 AM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7818585

RE: Global Hawk UAV - EDF
I have given up on my global hawk, I put a larger unit 600w fan and now it sort of flies. It has to have a huge battery or lots of weight in the front and flies like a barrel of sh*t. It is a cheaply made kit using inferior foam, none of the measurements are correct so the parts dont fit together. All in all it is very frustrating and I have thrown too much money at it. Not worth the trouble I am afraid. If you want a global hawk it would be better to wait until a model comparable to the quality of the nitromodels predator comes out . As for me, all the cheap foam is being binned and I am salvaging the bits I bought for it. (4000maH lipo, 69 mil fan units x2, inrunner motors x2, 35 Amp ESC 60 Amp ESC) Anyone know where I can get a decent EDF Hunter kit? Chris
Posted on: 6/26/2008 8:07 AM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7662825

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
the V tail integrates rudder and elevator. You still need 2 channels to do that, with the mixing in the TX if it is computerised. Otherwise you need a V tail mixing gizmo. You still need 2 servos, so yes it is a 4 channel ship. 5 if you need a channel to control the camera Chris
Posted on: 6/19/2008 4:29 AM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7636462

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
Ah - no receiver, I guess it will be all robot then GPS guided and fly by wire. I dont know what the rules are in the US but we wouldnt be allowed to do this here in the UK. There would have to be a ground link and the aircraft has to stay in sight. DIYdrones.com has lots of these sort of projects but as far as I know none have dispensed with the receiver. Chris
Posted on: 6/17/2008 4:51 AM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7628120

RE: Global Hawk UAV - EDF
Tried to fly mine again yesterday, this time with 4S lipo. Couldnt take off again. Guess I will have to re-think the power unit and fan. I am using the pack supplied, only gives about 1.5 lbs thrust with 4 lipos. Might take off on a hard runway but we fly from grass.
Posted on: 6/7/2008 5:09 PM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7591895

RE: Global Hawk UAV - EDF
Jeff, As usual you do it in much more helpful detail than me! And neater. I tried to fly mine on Monday but as expected could not RoG with three cells. I have ordered a 4S 3300MAh and will give it a try again on Friday. Chris
Posted on: 5/28/2008 4:47 AM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7550053

RE: Global Hawk UAV - EDF
This is an explanation for the above pictures: 1: Servo lead messy, would look nicer hidden in wing tube 2: Cutting the fuselage so that the wing bolts line up. Could have avoided this if the fitting had not been glued! 3: This battery too light (1800) 4: dont forget the magnet (we call it the bonnet catch in the UK) 5: No way this engine cowl fits anything. replaced by acetate sheet. 6: Do the radio installation BEFORE you glue the fuselage sides together. Keep the ESC outside for cooling 7: This battery is the right weight (4000 MAh) Whether the plane will RoG is another matter! 8: Unless you got 2 helpers to hold the wings together, you will need to tape the U/C together whilst you locate the wing bolts! 9: This pic got in twice somehow 10: Wings fitted, messy -needs sanding and painting. 12: there are 2 of these ventilations, just about the right size for a cable tie.
Posted on: 5/19/2008 3:31 PM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7515056

RE: Global Hawk UAV - EDF
Just finished my global hawk but not flown yet. First of all some general observations: The manual is not completely useless, it is photocopied on to one side of a sheet of a4. At least you can use the other side for making notes or any other purpose that you can think of. I found myself very frustrated trying to do a dry fit of the various foam parts. Nothing fits together without quite invasive surgery. Perhaps I am spoilt by the quality of ARF kits these days but this one harks back a bit to the days before they became consistent. For not much less than the Nitromodels Predator (which is a superb balsa/ply/fibreglass kit) I was certainly expecting more in terms of quality of the kit. Anyway I finally got it assembled and the following points need to be noted. The wing roots need to be quite drastically altered to fit the plastic joiners. When you have fitted the joiners make sure you offer them up to the fuselage and make sure the bolts locate correctly before gluing anything. This is marginally easier than cutting things apart to make things fit after gluing. Dont use the motor cowl. it doesnt fit anything. Surprisingly, there is an unidentified piece of acetate sheet included which when bent over exactly fits where the motor cowl should be. Do as I did and stick airforce markings on the inside, try to match the grey and spray over it. Automotive grey primer is quite a good match but prime with a cutting primer like prymol first. I didnt have any confidence in the included glue so used UHU Por. The stated CoG is about a millimetre in front of the back wheels. This makes getting the Cof G right a real doddle. Just place the plane on its undercarriage on the floor and keep piling on batteries until the nosewheel touches! I found that the lightest battery possible was a 3S 4000MAh battery. If this makes the plane too heavy to RoG then I might replace it with a 4 cell of the same weight to get more boost. Anything lighter would mean adding lead. There are 2 small holes at the front, presumably they are for ventilation of the ESC. I used them for cable ties to hold the battery in. The large battery is such a tight fit in the cowl that there is no room for velcro. Anyway I dont think Velcro would hold if ever I venture to fly the plane inverted. The aileron leads look cr*p glued to the wing, it would be nice to get them inside the wing tube somehow. I didnt bother. A neodymium magnet is supplied, I used it for the cowl. The foam surface is covered with little pimples. If I get round to it I am going to sand these off, repaint the plane and cover with satin varnish to make it look a bit nicer. I will let you know how/if it flies. Thats it I hope the pictures illustrate some of my points Chris
Posted on: 5/19/2008 3:23 PM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7515032

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
In the UK, try http://www.giantcod.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=402642&osCsid=1d19f014fee2ce2ab87e804354bfbbe6
Posted on: 5/17/2008 5:30 PM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7507850

RE: Global Hawk UAV - EDF
You got a beer waiting here in Portland England too...
Posted on: 5/12/2008 4:15 AM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7485720

RE: Global Hawk UAV - EDF
Jeff, I took a look at your wing attachments. If I attach mine there is a 1/2" gap, To make it possible for the wings to meet then some surgery is needed on the foam. Is this the same with yours? Shall I go ahead and use the knife?[sm=confused.gif] Also the "CF" spars are too long, do you think that the drill should be used so that they travel the whole length of the wing? There is no way even with surgery and the knife that the fan cover is going to fit. I am going to replace it with a plastic sheet, painted a suitable grey color. I dont know why the Stuka is there except I put a better tailwheel in it and am thinking of using the old steerable tailwheel arrangement to make a steerable nosewheel for the GH. More news when I have done it. Chris
Posted on: 4/7/2008 1:15 PM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7346247

RE: Global Hawk UAV - EDF
Toledo is a bit far for me, maybe next year? I just got my globalhawk out and I am starting the build. The grandly titled "Construction Manual" is one side of photocopied A4 and iis for the propellor version anyway, so Guess I will be doing it blind. Just trying to work out what the bag of plastic bits is for. Chris.
Posted on: 4/7/2008 4:56 AM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7344844

RE: Global Hawk UAV - EDF
I dont want to go into too much detail about the stuka for fear of hijacking the thread but yes it is the one Georgee refers to, known as the YT stuka here in the UK and the KMP in the states. I have just about finished it, I have electrified it and included the Benedini soundsystem with engine,guns and siren sound. The kit is nice, but expensive. They have cut corners on most of the hardware so you need to replace a lot which is an added expense. Also you better be good at fibreglassing because the wing joining is a joke. There is no mechanical connection to speak of and the wings are expected to attach with a bit of epoxy and a prayer! Anyway about my Global Hawk... I have offered up all the bits and pieces and it looks like its going to go together a whole lot quicker than the Stuka and I am looking forward to flying it as soon as the wind drops. Chris
Posted on: 3/24/2008 4:39 PM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7275810

RE: Global Hawk UAV - EDF
Hi Jeff, I am still looking at my GH. Havnt actually started yet, but hope to post some photos this weekend. I am still working on my Stuka and the wing build is way more complicated than I thought and taking lots of time. (air brakes, cannons, speakers, outboard hinges, Wheel boots, 2 piece cantilevered flaps and thats just on the wing!!) Anyway just thought I would add my 2ps worth just in case you thought I had forgotten! Chris
Posted on: 3/21/2008 7:21 PM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7261822

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
The box measures 40" x 9" x 5" in the old scale. I was a bit concerned about the fan because the housing tunnel is not clean thru and there would appear to be plenty of opportunity for turbulence and consequently power loss, but we'll see when it all goes together. When I have done photos etc I will put em up on Jeff's new thread Chris
Posted on: 3/16/2008 12:45 PM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7233446

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
looks like the GH is back in stock here: http://www.sonicelectric.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=AIR
Posted on: 3/13/2008 5:15 PM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7219808

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
PapaJeff Arrived back to a windswept UK yesterday morning, held in the stack over Biggin Hill for over an hour waiting for a slot at Heathrow! When I got in a nice long package was ready for me, My Global Hawk. I havn't done any more than look at it so far, but aim to start the build asap. Have you started yours yet? What are your first impressions? I am not too sure about the fan and motor unit.. maybe its OK. Chris
Posted on: 3/13/2008 4:28 PM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7219538

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
One option is to get a large plastic drinks bottle. Carefully cut off at an angle part of the shoulder and a length of the bottle to match the shape of the canopy. Easier to see than to describe, and you can alter the shape a bit with a heat gun. Worth a try? Chris (in South Africa at the moment see http://www.rcmovie.de/view_video.php?viewkey=757c71b88be8adbfd10e ) Jeff..I will be back next week and hope to see my globalhawk waiting for me!
Posted on: 3/7/2008 3:36 AM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7188621

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
Jeff, I would be seriously impressed if you found a global hawk.. 1. Have you got one? 2. Where did you get it?? Chris
Posted on: 2/1/2008 4:18 AM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7005808

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
Jeff, don't keep us in suspense any longer, What is your new uav project?? Chris
Posted on: 1/30/2008 4:27 AM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6994705

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
Hi Jeff, I look forward to seeing your new UAV idea. The weather is awful here right now, floods all over the country so no flying, but I will be taking a couple of planes to South Africa with me in February so looking forward to some aerial photography. I have got me a couple of gyros to put on the elev and ailerons of my predator to stabilise it for camera shots. Even more like the real thing then? Nice to hear from you. I guess it is sunny and warm down in Texas? Chris
Posted on: 1/22/2008 4:41 AM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6948823

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
Those kits look nice, I really love Broncos, I already got 2!
Posted on: 1/14/2008 4:35 AM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6904295

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
Happy New Year Papa Jeff and all our readers! Maybe this year I will manage to get a bit further down on my annual Stateside visit and see what you flyers are doing in the deep South! Best Wishes Chris PS looking forward to your video, Junkjet!
Posted on: 12/29/2007 4:54 PM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6822376

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
The predator is a good platform for aerial photography because it is stable and also the motor is at theback far from the camera. This limits the noise, vibration and effect of the propellor in the picture. That's what it was designed to do of course! I have tried quite a few cameras including a 2.4GHz downlink (poor) a flycamone (good) and a flycamone2 which is excellent and can take full frame video as well as 1280x1024 stills. I have experimented with gyro stabilisation of the camera and not had any success but stabilisation using an auto pilot for the whole plane shouldbe a better option. What would be an even better option would be to scale up the plane, and I still have on my todo list to draw some planes for a 1/4 scale predator (twice the size of the nitromodels one) That should be a fantastic camera platform and it should be possible to get some serious photo gear on board. Ufortunately at the moment we in the UK are grounded by 40knot winds. The last time I was able to fly was on the 11th. (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP9AYepNX9o ) Good luck Chris
Posted on: 12/28/2007 6:10 PM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6817752

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
Nice build, Junkjet. I think I will adopt some of your ideas for my (mark 2) predator. Although I think I will put the 2 servos aft near the tail feathers to make more room in the pod for steering mechanism, camera etc. Chris
Posted on: 12/27/2007 5:27 AM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6810108

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
Atually my depth perception is cr*p. In the middle of that vid you will see the plane filming tight consecutive circles. I actually thought the plane was CIRCLING the light house, but as it turned out it was about 100yards beyond! I havnt done any testing with the pan feature, needs an extra servo but I have plans for putting it into the dome of the Pred and making it Gyro stabilised. I also need the german makers to come out with documentation on the external connections. Chris
Posted on: 12/12/2007 5:42 PM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6748732

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
I took a film with my flycam version 2 yesterday. Not from the predator but it gives an idea of what the camera is like. The actual resolution is much better on the original before being degraded by youtube, in fact it looks good on fullscreen video. It is a film of our local lighthouse and can be seen at: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MP9AYepNX9o All the best Chris
Posted on: 12/12/2007 3:16 PM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6748124

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
I got my Flycam One Version 2 and first impressions are good and as follows: The resolution on Video and Still is much better. The problrm with White balance (Green) has been fixed. No Mirror required. It has a sequenced picture feature where it takes a high resolution still every 4 secs. This is brilliant for aerial photography. It can be powered and controlled externally. Now I am going to make a gyro controlled mount for Flycam2 on my new Pred, and hope to get more stable videos. In the meantime take a look at my latest film of a top secret (!) military establisment, (taken with Version 1) http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SpT8RHiOsy8
Posted on: 12/4/2007 4:39 PM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6713292

RE: Nitromodels PREDATOR RQ-1B
yes, mine is on its way, hoping to get it this morning. Sorry got the supplier wrong, I got it from ROBOTBIRDS. WHy did I say servoshop? Chris
Posted on: 12/1/2007 5:00 AM by Author "chrishornby" in the forum "Electric Aerobatic & Sport Planes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6698509