A few weeks ago I was looking for a topic with pictures of the Project RQ-11 Raven in its entirety along with some close up shots of the fuselage but couldn't find one. To help you guys out, especially anyone here thinking of buying this model, I've decided to post some pictures of my almost finished Raven.
A few comments about it:
+ there is barely enough wire provided so when you build, don't use more of it than you actually need (after using every single bit of it I ended up with only about 3 inches left over)
+ when you install the wires to the servos and the back, make them as tight as you can because if they're loose, you'll lose the ability to do some precise movements
+ the back pieces look like they might slide out, but they won't as long as you use a decent amount of epoxy on each side (not too much either because the wires will rub against it)
+ the two black screws holding the wing attached to the fuselage aren't enough, you might want to add a bit of epoxy under the wing (sure you lose the ability to detach the wing but there is no other way to reinforce the wing's attachment)
+ be careful when putting screws through the fuselage because it can crack if you put too much pressure when making the hole (I have a small 1 inch crack near the cover for the servos on the bottom)
+ this thing looks really nice and is quite strong, I think it can go through a rough landing without breaking or cracking
+ there is no paint job like others have commented, it's just a very light plastic film over the entire body and wings that is very delicate and is easy to peel off accidentally
+ there is a ton of room inside (measurements are 19 inches long, 5.5 inches wide, 3 inches height) and it is just empty space for the most part (I have a 4000mAh 3S battery, I think I can fit 4 of them inside easily along with all the other required parts)
Showing the entire plane (the bottle of water is there just for the size comparison):
Showing the propeller attached to the motor (it doesn't work as I'd like it to so I'll be changing it a bit):
Showing the amount of space in the front:
Showing the amount of space in the back:
Showing the servos installed:
Comments
Robert,
you will need a collet prop adapter like this one http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXMWK7 that fits over the 4mm shaft and will have to ream your prop hub to fit the size of the adapter in my case i will have to ream it to 1/4" to fit the adapter unless you have an EMP prop which uses inserts for shaft fit size .
i have exactly the same motor and was disappointed to find that it did not come with the collet adapter but the case mount instead the Optima EceedRC motor http://www.nitroplanes.com/75m21-optima480-3010-1020kv.html does come with the collet prop adapter too bad they are out of stock as is the EMP 8x7e prop Nitro suggests you use with the airframe and the 480 -1024Kv motor .
Gary - what do you mean? The problem that I'm having with it, and correct me if I am mistaken, is that the motor that I got, the Exceed RC Alpha 480, is meant to be installed the other way around with the adaptor and spinner attached to the other side of the motor. But the thing is that if I do it that way, the motor will be hanging outside of the plane which I don't want. So right now I'm trying to figure out how to attach the propeller so that it won't skid around the shaft (epoxy maybe?).
Johann - Yeah, I saw that, along with the other videos that NitroPlanes posted but I was hoping for something a bit more - maybe of the process of putting it together. As for the right tools, I used used a nail with a sharp end and punctured a hole in the fuselage where I wanted the screw and it worked. You see, I don't own a garage nor do I have the plethora of tools that you might have ;) As for the paint job - I don't see any spray paint anywhere. Maybe the foil itself is painted... I don't know.
Heh, thing is that I don't know if this will ever get off the ground. I'm located dead center of New York City (Google Map: Brooklyn, NY, 11211) and I don't own a car to get this to Long Island or Upstate. I'll have to figure something out =/
Robert,
Glad to see someone else posting pictures of their build. There's already a whole series from
another builder already posted here on this site and if anyone has any trouble locating them
please let me know and I'll post a link to a photobucket album which shows them all.
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