goon Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Hi everyone, I'm doing the Skunkworks Reaper, and have two questions: Does anyone have any references for the main wheel brake calipers? Are they the same units as the Predator? Is the propellor of the kit 'wrong'? Looking at it, if it rotates in the direction the shape of the prop blades seem to indicate it would drag the aircraft backwards. Any thoughts? Cheers, Gareth Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EDWMatt Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Yup, Skunk molded the prop pitch backwards. The blade profile's subtly off, also: The kit brakes are not correct. Reaper has a dual caliper system. The wheels and brakes are larger than on a Predator, to account for the significant weight increase. Here's a pic: The main gear wells are hosed up on the kit. Skunk molded them as them as two enclosed boxes, In reality, there's a central keel (actually a fuel tank) between the struts, but the well where the main wheels retract into is a single, open section across the entire width of the aircraft: Skunk also missed the pressure refueling port. The nose gear is simplified in the kit. Notice the torque links are open, where they are molded solid in the kit: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
goon Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 Many thanks for those photos, they are very helpful. The question of the prop is still taxing me. Which way does it rotate when viewed from behind? It looks like anti-clockwise but I can't be sure due to the black colour hiding the contour of the prop blade a bit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EDWMatt Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Many thanks for those photos, they are very helpful. The question of the prop is still taxing me. Which way does it rotate when viewed from behind? It looks like anti-clockwise but I can't be sure due to the black colour hiding the contour of the prop blade a bit. Curved edge of the blade is the trailing edge, so, yes, it would be anti-clockwise viewed from the rear. When the prop start lock are engaged when the engine is shut down, the blades are locked at flat pitch. There's a fair amount of twist on the blades, so it looks like the root of the blade should be going one direction, while the tip should be going the other! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
goon Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 I'm just comparing the picture you provided with the Skunkworks prop and can see how to fix it now. The blades need taking off at the root and rotating perhaps 30 degrees. Due to the curve of the blades it still doesn't look 100% but noone will ever notice. Many thanks for your help with this, I really appreciate it. Gareth Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tberres2 Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Curved edge of the blade is the trailing edge, so, yes, it would be anti-clockwise viewed from the rear. When the prop start lock are engaged when the engine is shut down, the blades are locked at flat pitch. There's a fair amount of twist on the blades, so it looks like the root of the blade should be going one direction, while the tip should be going the other! EDWMatt. Thanks for posting the pictures. I'm building the Skunkworks Reaper also. The picture of the main gear bay was fantastic. Do you have any pictures of the nose gear bay interior? There's a great walkaround of the Reaper here: http://www.master194.com/photo_avion/mq-9/index.htm But it also lacks the nose gear bay detail. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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