1 x Current rating. LiPo battery specs include the voltage (which is 3.7v nominal and 4.2v fully charged per cell), the mAh rating and a C rating. The C rating is expressed as a multiplier number times the mAh rating. For example, our new SuperPack1300 for micro helis is a 2 cell LiPo pack. 2 cells run in Series and none in Parallel, so it's designated as a 2S1P pack. That's 7.4v (always use nominal), 1300mAh and it's rated at 14C continuous and 16C burst. The C rating is how fast you can discharge the battery, or how much current you can draw through it without harming it. In this case it's 14 x 1.3A, or 18.2Ah. If you drain more than that (which isn't possible with the motors in a micro heli), the battery would heat up and not be able to keep up with demand. The heli would no longer have the power to continue lift, so you'd have to land. You could wait a few seconds and actually fly again for a little while, but the cycle would repeat. You'd lose lift again as the battery couldn't keep up with demand. It's not a good idea to do this.

On the flip side, LiPo packs should never be charged at more than 1C, regardless of the battery C rating. In the case of our SuperPack1300, that would be 1300ma, or 1.3A. However, our tests show that you can get a much longer lifespan out of a LiPo if you charge at less than 1C, like .8C, and possibly even greater lifespan if you charge at even less. I charge them at 800ma (.8A). LiPo chargers use the cc/cv (constant current/constant voltage) technique, and since the first stage (cc) is the fastest, charging at 800ma doesn't really take that much longer.

Was this too much info?