It has been found that it is possible to over-ride the circuitry in LiPo battery chargers and overcharge the batteries. This practice is not only dangerous, but is not in keeping with the intent or spirit of the rules. To that end, the attached memo from NMPRA president Dan Kane, outlines the steps being take to prevent such issues in the future. It is possible that batteries will be checked for overcharging at the flightline at this race if there is believed to be a problem.
EF1 RACE OFFICIALS
The overcharging of lithium polymer batteries is dangerous and should not be allowed in any upcoming EF one events.
Next cycle I will be adding verbiage to not allow this.
Going forward, I am recommending that all batteries the presented in the ready box, (similar to fueling station) and someone checks each pack to make sure the each cell does not exceed 4.2 V or something close to this. Or this can be done on the flight line just prior to flight. I would like to use this method during it to upcoming events to see how this is received by the pilots and how it is handled by course officials. Jerry and Jim will be at these races. I'm turning to them for feedback on the pros and cons prior to re-revising the rules.
Not only is this outside the spirit of the event, it is also a major safety issue. A fire resulted in the pits at a recent race due to this overcharging method. We cannot allow this to happen at any EF one races.
Dan Kane
president
NMPRA