RE: cost per flight hour vs. glow
Really great points being made. This is my 1st full year doing the E. thing. The way I've done it so far has been very economical. The 2 packs I use right now are performing great. TP 5000 10S extreme and a set of FP 5000 5s's. I have 2 chargers but I see no problem with using only 2 packs. I bought both packs 2nd hand for about 1/2 their original price. OK I got lucky.
The beginning of the season had me questioning my decision to go the E. route. I started off the season with 2 polyquest 4300 packs and they were great but had deteriation after only 30 flights. They were not good enough for the demands of FAI. I also had a new Hextroniks 4100 pack that was good for about 20 flights and showed deteriation. The packs weren't shot or puffy they just didn't have the strength that I needed to be competitive.
The lesson I learned was get the best brand of Lipo's available with the most mils your plane will allow for weight. Run overweight if you have too and stay within the 80% rules at all times. Limit your flight times to get in 1 sequence and land.
If you bought stuff the way I have this year it's economical to go the E. route.
I didn't get too burnt on the 1st 3 packs because I found people who could use them for a less demanding use. Mike Mueller
I'm running an Axi F3a with the 20x13E APC pulling around 68 amps.