My two Astro 109s will charge packs to within about .15 volts of each other. When both packs come off the chargers, I check the voltage and then connect them in parallel using a home made harness. With a .15 volt difference between the packs, the current flow from one pack to the other is not a problem. I then connect the paralleled packs to the Astro 109 which consistently charges to a higher voltage. The current pot on the charger is turned all the way down until mode 1 is about 10 seconds from being completed (mode 1 takes 3 minutes) and the pot is then turned up to around 4 amps. Upon completion of mode 1, the 109 will then jump through mode 2 to mode 3 and continue charging the packs. Since the packs are in parallel, they are also becoming balanced relative to each other. After about 10 minutes, the two packs are nearly identical in voltage (within a few thousandths of a volt as measured with a calibrated Fluke digital meter). While everyone would like to see 500 cycles from each and every LiPo pack, that is not likely to be the case with today's state of the art. One of my TP5S3P 6000 Lite packs lasted 12 flights before it "puffed". Luckily, TP examined the pack and replaced it for free. Since I'm not a sponsored flyer, the cost of LiPos is a serious consideration and a significant concern when LiPo failures occur. LiPos will degrade just sitting on the shelf. Their life span depends upon how hard they're pushed, how many charge/discharge cycles they've gone through, and how they're stored. If stored at full charge, they will degrade faster. Ideally, when not being used, they should be kept at around 3.7 volts/cell. When used, they should not be depleted beyond about 80% of their charge. If they are pushed to the limit of their capacity, they will degrade quickly. I switched to electric power about two years ago after flying glow engines for over 50 years. I'm not sorry to see vibration and oil covered models fall by the wayside; however, electric models have overhead. I check motor RPM about every 5 flights and use a watt meter to check current flow every 5 to 10 flights. I'm looking for abnormal readings which could indicate a cell going bad in the LiPo pack or the magnets in the motor becoming demagetized. A demagged motor will seem normal until you connect a watt meter at which point you'll see an increased current flow which could damage the LiPo pack and/or destroy the ESC. After each flight, the motor and LiPo pack temperature is checked. After each flight and before charging, the voltage of the packs is checked. The voltage is also checked after coming off the charger. When charging, the packs must absolutely not be left alone. If overcharged, they can ignite violently. In addition, a cell which goes bad within a pack can catch fire during the charge routine. If the cells are overdischarged, generally they will be ruined. So.....I guess the point I'm trying to make for those who have not made the jump to electric, is there is a learning curve associated with electric pattern and in reality, there's quite a bit of overhead associated with utilizing electric power in a safe and responsible way. For me, it has been a "shot in the arm" that has resulted in new enthusiasm for R/C aerobatics after having done it for many, many years. I would not go back to glow or gas.

Mike Moritko