smitty1001

My Feedback: (29)

I was wondering if it is possible to use a Lithium battery pack with the Aerobird Challenger from horizon. I was looking for a lot longer flight times. Looks like the stock battery setup is a 7.2v 900mah NiMh. (they have an upgrade to a 7 cell metal pack - but that can't be a huge increase in flight time) I believe the motor is a 380.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Smitty

mustangfly

I used a 7 cell batt Ni-MH. WORKS great!

I fly pretty much at 50-75% throttle and definitely noticed longer flight times.

DarkWombat

If you were going to do this, you would need to take specific precautions:

1) You have a LiPo-compatible charger. The Hobbyzone chargers will NOT work. I would suggest the Dynamite Vision Peak Ultra, which does NiCd/NiMh/LiPo. I use it myself and it's a great, inexpensive and intuitive charger.

2) You have some sort of VOLTAGE CUTTOF mechanism. LiPo batteries must NEVER be discharged to less than 3.0 V/cell, so a 2Cell LiPo (7.4 volt pack) must NEVER be discharged to less than 6 volts, or the pack's life will be severely decreased, or it will become useless and must be destroyed. There are devices out there like the HRPoly-X which have a buzzer and bright LED's which will activate to warn you when the LiPo voltage is starting to get low so you have time to land. Be aware that while the Aerobird speed control DOES have a cutoff, it is not designed to accept LiPo batteries.

3) You have an adapter set up that will convert the LiPo's battery connector to the Hobbyzone connector, which is a Mini Tamiya plug. Hobbyzone decided to use a plug that nobody else really uses, so you'll have to either change the plug that goes into the plane and/or make an adaptor that goes from the battery plug and converts to the plane's plug.

In the end, I think that for an Aerobird, it's not really worth it. They're great planes (mine lasted me a loooong time until I finally trashed it doing a high-speed loop and the wing folded on me), but if you wanna get into better power and/or longer flight times, I'd recommend getting an ARF plane and throwing your own electronics in, including a speed control that has a LiPo cutoff system built in, such as the Castle Creations Phoenix series of speed controllers. If you wanna move up anyways, Hobbyzone makes a P-51 Mustang that has a speed control that includes a LiPo cutoff system accessible via jumper.

Good luck.

smitty1001

My Feedback: (29)

Thanks guys - I knew I was kinda having unrealistic expectations for my aerobird. This is really my toy, I am in the process of getting my turbine waiver and this is just a diversion (but very fun!) I have a Schultz Chameleon charger that will do li-pos though since I use it for the ECU in my jet. I think the aerobird is really awesome when I get the itch and have to fly right that second. In fact I keep it in my car all the time and when my wife makes me go somewhere and I'm bored I just pop the trunk and throw it. She hates it!!!! Anyway....I was hoping just to get some longer flights. Thanks for the info.....I'll check it all out!


Smitty

P.S. I had NO idea how much fun these small electrics could be!! All I've ever flown is .40's !!!

critterhunter

There are several ways to increase flight times on a Challenger. For one, try those $20-for-two-packs 7 cell 1100ma "Firebird" packs from batteryspace.com. They are black and are called "firebird" packs. There is a similar pack on there that is smaller in size so don't confuse the two. Those packs ROCK, are of good quality, and for $20 for two plus like $5 shipping you can't beat it. I fly them in my Stryker and Challenger and you'll not only notice much more flying time but these things give you a good bit of extra power than the 7 cell 900ma "pro" packs for the Challenger or Stryker. They even come with the stock battery connector but I converted over to deans ultras. Now, there are even higher MA 7 cell packs out there in like the 1400 to 1800ma range for a "sub A" type cell that the Challenger uses, but these are still a bit pricey. If you do a search in the E-Flight Power sources forum you'll also see a guy using lipos in his Challenger with pictures and part #s. You'll either have to time your flights or put in a voltage cutoff device between that battery and the plane. They run around $15 I believe. Another option would be to buy a P51 Mustange RX/Speed control board and install that in the Challenger. It has a lipo jumper on board and will work find with the Challenger. You could even throw in a bigger motor since the P51 board can handle a larger motor's amp draw. And for speed with a stock Challenger...spend $10 for a Zagi 400 Reverse Timed Pusher Prop motor. Do a water break in and you'll get a kick out of it. I'm using one now and love it.

SAFZERO

I use 2 Thunder Power TP1320-2S packs taped togehter for a total of 2640mah! On average I can stay in the air for 30-40 minutes depending on thermal help. The Aerobird was a lot more fun after upgrading to lipos, thats for sure!

SAF