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G'day People,

I want to convert the Kinetic MQ-9 Reaper kit to NASA's Ikhana.

The main sticking point I have is the longer wingspan. The Ikhana has an 86' wingspan as opposed to the approx 66' wingspan of the Reaper. My question is how is the wingspan achieved? Is it a case of a wingtip extension or is the wing an entirely redesigned?

If it is a wingtip extension, where is the wing tip extension added?

cheers,

Pappy

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This is the first time I have *ever* heard about a wing length difference between Ikhana and a standard MQ-9. I believe Ikhana is nothing but a delimitarized standard early Reaper. 66' and 86' are very different values, and such a huge difference would have been very obvious in photos (in fact, GA-ASI just very recently released a set of drawings for their high-endurance Reaper proposal with 88' wings, and the difference is very obvious.)

I don't think the wings of Ikhana look any different than those of a standard MQ-9, except the experimentational equipment pod carried on some missions. NASA had excellent photos of Ikhana (including a couple overhead shots) on their Web site, but unfortunately the NASA website is shut down along with the rest of the government. Here is a photo showing Ikhana from below : the ratio of wings to fuselage length does not seem any different to me from that of a standard MQ-9:

NASA Ikhana

Edited by KursadA
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Isn't that a self-answering question?

I know what you mean but I cannot see the difference between standard MQ-9's and the Ikhana either from pictures that I have downloaded (prior to the NASA website suspension), and I cannot see any obvious extension, hence the question of a new wing design.

This is the first time I have *ever* heard about a wing length difference between Ikhana and a standard MQ-9. I believe Ikhana is nothing but a delimitarized standard early Reaper. 66' and 86' are very different values, and such a huge difference would have been very obvious in photos (in fact, GA-ASI just very recently released a set of drawings for their high-endurance Reaper proposal with 88' wings, and the difference is very obvious.)

I don't think the wings of Ikhana look any different than those of a standard MQ-9, except the experimentational equipment pod carried on some missions. NASA had excellent photos of Ikhana (including a couple overhead shots) on their Web site, but unfortunately the NASA website is shut down along with the rest of the government. Here is a photo showing Ikhana from below : the ratio of wings to fuselage length does not seem any different to me from that of a standard MQ-9:

NASA Ikhana

Kursad, I agree with you, I have not been able to see a longer wing either. It works out that the 20' extension would be something like a 55mm (2") extension in 1/48 scale.

The Wikipedia website is the source of my 86" wingspan information,specifically the paragraph relating to NASA.

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

The longer wingspan is in relation to the 'Altair' variant.The Altair is one of the first three 'Predator B' airframes. These sound like development test beds or ore-production prototypes.

I think that my confusion occurred when I misread the first paragraph which states that NASA leased an Altair (de-milled,long wing) variant, because in the second paragraph under the NASA heading, the article mentions that NASA obtained an MQ-9 and named it 'Ikhana'. So it appears NASA has/had two variants, the "Altair" and the "Ikhana", with the Altair having a longer wing whilst the Ikhana has the stock wing?

cheers,

Pappy

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So it appears NASA has/had two variants, the "Altair" and the "Ikhana", with the Altair having a longer wing whilst the Ikhana has the stock wing?

Correct. Altair was a one-off, derived from the early Pred B with the original fuselage. While at one time leased to NASA, the Altair has been used as a testbed/demo aircraft by ASI, even appearing in Canada Forces markings. Ikhana is a production Reaper airframe with the deeper fuselage.

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The longer wings of the Altair are in the Unicraft Models Predator B (Reaper) prototype kit. Additionally it has the original shallow fuselage. They're not the best kits and are expensive.

There is artwork of extended wing Reapers including one with wingtip winglets in Aviation Week and the AFA's magazine although I don't know if any of the pictured versions have been built yet.

Mark S.

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