That's normal and is around the nominal volatge for the pack. Both Nicd and NiMH have a top charge that leaves quickly as they drop to thier normal voltage which is around 1.2V a cell. After the quick drop, they hang out around the 1.2 for quite some time, then drop rapidly as they die. You can safely fly well into the 8 volt range. Depending upon who you talk to, battery isn't considered "dead" until somewhere between 0.9v and 1.1v per cell, which is still well under your 9V reading, esp considering the meter in the radio may not be terribly accurate. To be sure, use the radio until you normally quit, after 4 flights, etc. Then put the battery on a cycler and discharge to see how much is left. Chances are you still have at least half the charge left in the pack.