Battery Question

[hghost]

In the SC, with the " Stock battery ", what has been the average flight time you have been getting ?

I use to have it wrote down, can't find it, have not flown in awhile and can't remember what it was getting at the time.

Answers Much appreciated

[sham]

I usually fly 10-12 but have had 14 and landed under power. Each flight is different, throttle use/wind/etc.

But 10minutes is a worst case on a fully balanced battery.

[Knackered Sailor]

Bang on sham same here.

[coupe1942]

Don't forget that such simple things as checking the CoG can play a small difference to how much flight time a battery may have. Put it in the wrong placement and it can make the plane either a tail-dragger or nose-heavy. Either way, that can put more stress onto the battery and reduce some flight time. If the wind Gods are with you and your not too overly heavy on the throttle and controls, I'd say the variables of how many minutes you can fly are pretty well up to you. Maintenance of the battery and the life span of it probably also have to be added into the configuration of flight time, as well. All just guestimates on my part though and someone else can shoot holes on any of them. Not going to hurt my feelings in the least. :-)

[pasquale91]

Same as Sham, 10 minute average. Have gone as long as 15 at 1/2 throttle on a
no wind day though.

[hghost]

I was thinking 8 to 10- simply could not remember....

I fly low and slow , so it varied in length

I think basically it was around that time, I had wrote it down, now i can't find where.

Thanks for the replies

[hghost]

Guess I should say why i asked for the info and why it matters.

I normally guess about the time i have flown or use a watch and than check batteries to see what is left in them.

I bought a DX6 Tx in the fall and have never used it.

It has a timer set up and voice capabilities.

I did not want to have to fly and stop and such to set my time and figure it out again to set the timer

This way i can set it for about 10 minutes ( which is probably the best time-give or take later on) to start with,
and not worry about LVC until I figure it out again.

I decided I am going to stay basically with just a couple planes and make them a priority.

When i got to fly last year I was all over the place from different planes and a quad and a heli and was experimenting with them some.
missed allot of good time messing with different things,instead of just flying.

The windy weather and health issues put a damper on allot of the chances I had.

So i am going to stick with the SC for awhile and get use to it again and get better with it .
I will throw a couple other planes in the YAK and CHAMP or smaller Sport Cub S for example in the late evenings and the ones with LED's after dark.

But I think I will make the Super Cub a priority this year if I can.

Going to do some changes to the battery box area and re-install the original RX/ESC Unit back in it.
I think I also will mount a key Cam on it at some point to get some video of flight.

We have had a few days of beautiful weather as far as that goes,but to windy to fly, but it got warmer and sunny anyway.
Now they are calling for several systems of bad weather to pass through over the next week
Snow-freezing rain, and wind that sort of stuff.

I need to do some things to my flying field, i am going to extend the runway area and make the mowed area longer

As I have issues with landing and doing it in the tall grass more often than the mowed area as my field is short to start with, I thought,
I would mow it more.

Going to practice the take off and landings more..still never get good ones ,always nose over or bounce
so i usually just go to the tall grass to start with, and avoid the mowed area altogether.

I laid down a couple pieces of carpet to take off from, has worked very well, especially for my smaller planes
but landing on it is near impossible for me.

So if I stick with my SC more this year, I may just get landings down to nearly a science anyway.

Anyway now you know and again thanks for the responses.

[pug205]

Hi all. Still not been out with my Cub! I've been heavily involved with our son's house move. That, and the terrible we've all had, ruled out any such possibility. Anyway, help required, as usual. So I charged up all batteries last week, just in case an opportunity arose, it didn't happen so what to do about the full charge. I've looked but I just haven't found an easy answer. I know someone here will help.

[hghost]

Jan 23, 2015 23:41:51 GMT 1 pug205 said:

Hi all. Still not been out with my Cub! I've been heavily involved with our son's house move. That, and the terrible we've all had, ruled out any such possibility. Anyway, help required, as usual. So I charged up all batteries last week, just in case an opportunity arose, it didn't happen so what to do about the full charge. I've looked but I just haven't found an easy answer. I know someone here will help.

You will read and hear many various ways on how to discharge a battery

There are many ways to do it . Everyone has their way of doing things.

Here is what I do most often.

If I charge my batteries and do not get to fly but i know I might the next day, I leave them charged till then .

But if I know I will not get to fly for awhile, I either discharge my batteries in my model down to a point and than finish it out with my charger
and than set them at Storage Charge again.

Some people demand they never stay fully charged any longer than the time it takes to use them in that flying session.

I also have spoke to many who keep them fully charged all the time.

I believe you will find the majority of people, never allow them to remain fully charged more than a day


Some say not to discharge them in your model and some have a light bulb set up that drains the batteries.

Most chargers have a discharge ability and a store charge ability..one could just use their charger to do it.

It depends on the model/batteries as to what most do.

Personally I find running them in my model for so many minutes drains them easier and faster and normally...and then i finish them out
with my charger . I have found for me that is the easiest way to do it. Depending on the model/battery.


You need a good charger and read the manual on how to properly set it up to achieve the result you need.


some articles and sites you can read. A great source of information. You can learn allot by reading and researching them.


batteryuniversity.com/learn/

uterc.org/files/LipoStorageTips.pdf

sites.google.com/site/tjinguytech/charging-how-tos

www.rchelicopterfun.com/rc-lipo-batteries.html

www.rc-hobbie.com/lipo-batteries-how-to-use-and-care-for-them-2/

sites.google.com/site/tjinguytech/charging-how-tos/the-variable-c


I use Thunder Chargers . People use a wide variety of chargers
I have found the Thunder chargers are cheap and easy to use and do a nice job, so far so good

there are better ones out there I know, but I like these and they have worked fine for my needs.

I own this one-- www.nitroplanes.com/73p-ac680-accharger.html

and this one--- www.nitroplanes.com/thunder-ac6-charger-power.html

they are very simple and basic and do a great job.

main thing is when charging, discharging, store charging..NEVER leave your battery unattended at anytime.

Hope that helps

[flydiver]

There is no "easy" answer. Leave them fully charged, they deteriorate....guaranteed. High performance (high C-rating) are VERY subject to this. Low end batteries not so much, which is why you get such a large variety of answers. Cheap batteries on cheap planes, eh, what do they know? But, they are charged when you next need them.

Discharge to storage level (about 3.75v/cell), and stored cool (NOT hot) and they will last a lot longer. But, you have to go through the hassle of finding a way to do that with what you have, or get/make something.
You can use the plane....but, without air movement via flying you risk overheating the components and damaging them. No, the prop wash is NOT sufficient.
You can use 12v car tail light bulbs> faster....but, you WILL walk away and discharge them until dead sometime, I guarantee it if you don't have an alarm. Been there....
Most better chargers have a storage function. The cheaper 4-button ones like the link above are limited to 1A >>> slow, but it works. Better chargers cost more, and will handle more discharge power.

[hghost]

Jan 24, 2015 3:39:36 GMT 1 flydiver said:

There is no "easy" answer.

Discharge to storage level (about 3.75v/cell), and stored cool (NOT hot) and they will last a lot longer. But, you have to go through the hassle of finding a way to do that with what you have, or get/make something.
You can use the plane....but, without air movement via flying you risk overheating the components and damaging them. No, the prop wash is NOT sufficient.

Note I agree with most of what Fly states....

we disagree with the plane thing....

Yes it is possible one could overheat components, that also depends on battery and model components

But I also do it with a box fan and constant air flow when I do it with a larger model for example ( actually have done that with the SC )
use a stand, in hand is not easy and could cause a mistake or prop strike, OUCH and can be dangerous in some cases.

but in some of my smaller models I simply hold the plane in hand and let it run with a timer set to a point ( 1S Champ batts for example )

that length of time also is dependent on the battery type- mAh and it's rating and which model it is in.

I never run it like I fly it for example...it is never at WOT ( wide open throttle) and it is never stressed
normally from 1/4 throttle to 1/2 , rarely if ever above that .

Also I do not run them as long as i would actual flying. Example would be if I go 10-12 minutes in normal flight
I discharge it half to almost 3/4 that time..again depends on battery and model it is in. 5-6-7 minutes for example

I then use my Charger to finish and store charge the battery .

that works for me...I have found it easier to do...

Also easier on my chargers.

But on a note..Unless i know 100% sure i am going to be able to fly, I simply do not charge the batteries
until I do.

That eliminates any issues and having to discharge them....keep them at store charge when not in use
as fly stated..a fully charged battery deteriorates faster....especially cheaper ones...and as
manufacturers like to put higher numbers than actual truth on them....one never knows it can puff pretty quick
in some cases...and a bad battery can cause a fire in a heart beat.

But you need to read through the info and find the way that's best for you and the easiest and safest.
That's my 2 cents, not worth much but there it is

Fly-Diver is the expert as far as I am concerned on the matter ( I just find doing it the way i do it easier for me) -but I also have memory issues and I have to write
everything down....and hooking up a bulb or using something like that would cause me a problem..Charger alarms and beeping TX timers in hand works Best for me.

It is a routine I found easier to do.

[sham]

If you have the stock charger, there's no way to auto discharge as I did last weekend for the same reasons on my OverLander chargers.

So, put them in your plane and run the motor with the plane firmly secured. Leave the wing off so the esc stays cooler.

Check every so often with a multimeter and store between 3.7 and 3.8v per cell. 11.1 and 11.4 volts for a 3 cell battery.

As Fly says, storing them charged will make them deteriorate faster.

While maintaining a proper storage charge is about battery longevity, safety is a slightly different subject. I go by the manufacturers warnings on that particular topic.

www.overlander.co.uk/fullymax_warning_sheet_li_poly.pdf

[hghost]

NOTE: on my above post about the battery and discharging

The Model design plays into what can cause over heating in many planes, be it using it to discharge batteries and in simple flying

The Super Cub gets some air while flying through the various openings around the plane, but it does get hot ( warmer ) at times
if used allot I noticed. It is no where as bad as others...

My Yak 12 has the ESC under the motor area and stays really cool the way it is designed.

But take something like a Park Zone Archer . The ESC and RX is mounted under the canopy and gets very little air
On some sights some have mentioned the ESC getting hot and some have had them burn out for many reasons
but One I believe is the fact it simply gets to Hot.

I am sure there are other causes and some has to do with "Cheap" components to start with

But if a plane design has little to No openings for airflow, I suggest creating one so cooler air in flight
can get to it and create a flow of cool air in and warmer air out

The Older Super Cub has a sensor in the windshield one could remove and I dare say as i am going to
experiment some,maybe able to mount a small camera at that location inside the Fuselage and it will be in a
position as if one was looking out of the Plane when in flight.

A very small balsa shelf made across that open area inside should cause little weight and allow for ( in my case ) to maybe
remove a little nose weight I had to add to start with to get CG correct.

camera's are getting smaller and smaller and with clearer vids.

Something i may look into this year. right now a simple key cam should do mounted on any place near the CG would do it.

Just thinking out loud guys.

[flydiver]

People seem to think part throttle is easier on an ESC than full throttle. It is....and it isn't.
An ESC is not a rheostat that varies the voltage going through it as a function of the throttle position.
The throttle controls what is called PWM, pulse wave modulation. The throttle turns on FULL voltage on and off extremely rapidly to get the desired throttle. At full throttle > completely on, whatever the battery has got.
At half throttle, it is on 50% (full voltage) and off 50% (no voltage) during a very brief time frame. This can potentially heat it up more than full throttle. As there is a serious amount of variation in quality in RC components along with some rather elaborate fibs about specifications it can make it difficult to ascertain for sure what you really have and how good it is.
For an ESC it's generally best to get one at least 20-25% greater in capacity than is required at full throttle.

Note-by my "estimation" the stock ESC is possibly rated at 13A, and full throttle with a fresh battery is about 12A. If you put the 10x8 float prop on it goes up to 18-19A, setting the stage for frying if pushed very long.

[hghost]

You are correct Fly ( as always ) both in info and peoples thinking