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A Closer Look:

FlightPower has created several series of Lithium Polymer packs, each with different formulations, to provide a wide range of choices to the customer. One of these series below is bound to be well-suited for your application.

With capacities from 350mAh up to 5350mAh, the EVO LITE series are lighter in weight and lower in cost per unit capacity. All of the packs deliver an 18/28C performance, except the 5350mAh pack which is a 17/28C product.

The EVO LITE pack is designed for tiny foamies, park flyers, .50-size conversions, and two-meter aerobatic aircraft where weight and flight duration are major factors in flyingperformance. Notable members of this group include a well proportioned 1320mAh pack, and an 800mAh pack that fits the Blade. A 2500mAh pack that fits the T-Rex and .30-size Katana.

The EVOF3A 5350 Competition is the flagship of this group - a matched 10s pair of two 5s packs with super lightweight construction is rapidly proving to be the 2007 pack of choice for International F3A competitors. Fast charge rates up to 2C are approved in conjunction with balancing.

The EVO 25 V-Power series provides an optimum balance of weight and power for helis and acrobatic aircraft. The series has a wide range of capacities from 1200mAh to 5000mAh. The 1200-1800mAh capacities boast a 25/40C discharge rate and a 25/50C rate for the 2170-5000mAh group.

The EVO 25 V-Power series is a stunning improvement on the previous generation's already excellent EVO 20 and EVO 20NF products. This series has more reliable capacity with lower temperatures and truly sparkling performance. 600e sized helis have been transformed by EVO 25 making 6s setups a completely practical option.

Notable members of this group are the outstandingly popular 2170mAh 3s and the 5000mAh 6s packs for the T-Rex 600. The 3700mAh 10s sticks for the Mikado Logo and Raptor 620e machines are also very popular. For power hungry F3A competitors, there is a 5000mAh 10s F3A Competition pack with super light weight construction. Fast charging rates up to 2.5C are approved in conjunction with balancing.

The EVO 30 Premium series has pack capacities from 700mAh to 4500mAh. These are premium cells with increased weight and cost per unit capacity for applications where only power matters.

All EVO 30 Premium products deliver a whopping 30/60C rate. EVO 30 is designed primarily for EDF projects, .90-size 3D competition helis, and F5B where flight time is less of a consideration than raw power and reliability under extreme load counts for everything. Fast charge rates up to 3.0C are approved in conjunction with balancing.

The F3A COMPETITION setup is a high power configuration consisting of a single 10s 5000mAh block that can deliver 25C continuous current and 50C burst. It is ideally matched to large high current draw Plettenberg, EVO, and CYCLON outrunners with 22x12 props.

The light weight F3A COMPETITION setup uses two cell-matched 5s 5350mAh blocks that can deliver 17C constant current and up to 28C bursts. This setup is ideally matched to Hacker C50 14X XL motors with a 22x12 prop. Rear link leads are provided for convenient arming and disarming.

The FlightPower V-Balance Module is an intelligent hi-rate equalizing balancing system for 2s-6s packs. The V-Balance system is a charge-through balancer that will work with all Lithium-Polymer chargers and FlightPower packs by connecting between the charger and the battery. This system features LED's for each cell to indicate balancing activity, a battery capacity fuel gauge and the capability of handling charge currents of upto 10A for 2C charging of large FlightPower packs. V-Balance boasts many more features including individual cell analysis and discharge features.

FlightPower has a wide range of leads for connecting new or original FlightPower packs to the new V-Balance. Also note that FlightPower packs are compatible with ThunderPower balancers and chargers.

Pack Preparation and Testing:

My FlightPower EVO25 5-cell 5AH packs arrived in plastic bags, each containing a sheet describing safety information and handling precautions. I soldered on my favorite Dean's Ultra connectors and tested the fit in my Hangar 9 150-size P-51D before attaching Velcro. The 23oz packs fit perfectly and the two 5-cell packs in series (10s total) can easily provide the 3000 watts needed for my application.

The goal for my P-51D electric conversion project was to have a full throttle current between 80-90 amps. This would allow the P-51 to provide bursts of about 3000 watts with a 10-cell LiPo voltage for some impressive fly-bys. The 25C 5000mAh FlightPower EVO25 pack can deliver 125 amps continuous and double that for short bursts. LiPo savvy users know that by not pushing the limits of the pack current ratings or capacity, over 300 pack cycles can be obtained.

At full throttle, the power system measured 3300 watts at 100amps using the two 5-cell packs in series (10s total). This provided the P-51D with a fantastic power level around 200w/lb at an all up weight of 16lbs.

Safe Balanced Charging

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