ORIGINAL: Ken Erickson
Neddy,
I really like peak chargers. I also like higher capacity (say Nickle-Metal Hydride) batteries. However, part of the problem can be solved by reading and learning about the batteries. After you have soloed, you will be able to fly a lot longer because you will no longer have the instructor stopping you before the battery gets down to its Nominal or Standard voltage.
There are many days that I start flying at 5.0 volts. Stopping when the battery drops below 4.8 is a conservative approach.
Makes no sense to stop at 5.0 volts.
Yup, what he said. There is little reason to stop at 5.0. It sounds like he's overly conservative. You can get good information on batteries from the R/C Battery Clinic:
http://www.rcbatteryclinic.com/ .