Ive seen some of the alternator systems for the 40-70ish engines....

Do they work, and are they worth it? I know that they arent neccessarily needed...but does anyone use them...

I don't want alot of the usual responses here ("I never used one, but i'll sure tell you they're worthless") that i see alot from guys here....

I like the idea of not having to worry about flight time on RX batts...seen a guy a year ago (before i ever bought a plane) lose a very nice scale model because his radio died about 30 seconds before he was landing...just happened to lose power when he was on his approach turn...so it just kept turning down....

Not to mention i can fly all day...i dont get tired of it (Well, i dont get bored watching, i havent had a chance to actually fly mine yet)

This isnt something im looking at for my trainer, but to incorporate it into my next build....

Thanks for any usefull info in advance...

I understand and applaud your enthusiasm......BUT.....trust me. As a student myself, you cannot fly all day. This is a mental process which requires breaks and review. On a good day, you can get maybe 6 quality flights, but you would be so burned out that I would see your planes on e-bay. And your instructor has a life too.

The batteries for your Rx will, in most cases, last well beyond those in your Tx. if you have a replacement for the Tx, then, by all means get one for the plane. If you intend to be reasonable and take a break, get a field charger.

Good luck, and have fun...that is what this hobby is about. Don't rush it....relax.

Sounds like a cool idea to me. But...... what happens when the engine dies for some dumb reason. then you have no controls or engine. so it is basicly a really expencive paper airplane then. I cant think of a aultinator that is that tiny tho. hmmm

The alternator (actually a generator, since its DC) charges the RC pack too, so if it fails, you still have the pack....

It provides like 800mAh so it can charge your batts, while running accessories like lights and such too....

And it only weighs 5.5 ounces...

Sounds like a cool idea...

The other thing you could do is just to purchase a Quick charger which will charge your Rx Batteries in only a few minutes... Off the car battery...

Better yet by an extra Rx Battery and charge one while you use one...

Matt

I'd really like to combine the generator with the available remote-start, and have it charge that battery. Self-contained starting-pretty cool![8D]

My rx batteries never outlast my tx batteries. I usually charge them at the same time (field charger), but the tx rarely needs it, usually just the rx that gets low.

I was thinking the same think 2slow...but im the newb so who am i to argue... []

Re: "what happens when the engine dies for some dumb reason. then you have no controls or engine."< your receiver controls the servos. The battery in the plane powers the receiver, not the engine so if the engine dies you still have full control of your elevator, rudder, and ailerons. You just don't have any power to climb. So if the engine dies, you simply set a course for the runway and land. This is called a deadstick landing and this is taught as part of your training at the RC club. It also is the reason that you don't want to be flying too far from the runway. As far as remote start in a plane, there are very few planes that have this due to the weight and the batterys needed for the starter. I have read of some installed but only on very large planes that are over 75 lbs. If you want longer flight times at the field simply upgrade the batterys to larger capacity. You typical receiver battery is 500 to 600 mah, upgrade this to say 1200 mah and you will probably have enough power for 4 hours flight time.