Hello,

I wanted to ask what is the typical flight time you get from the RX battery / flight pack? The transmitter seems to keep a charge for a pretty good while. How many flights do you typically get before you need to recharge? I have been flying 3 tanks of gas and then calling it a day. Can I go further than that? my RX is a JR scan select receiever and Digi servos with the supplied RX battery pack I believe its an 1100?

Thanks,
Ryan

Buy one of these,
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXWW16&P=0

Flying without some form of ESV is risky and will at some point be costly. Nothing I tell you about the # of flight's per charge I get will be of any value to you... even given the exact same set up flying style alone could be the difference between 5 safe flight's or 6.

John

To actually know, you need to measure the battery voltage under a load after that 3rd flight. You can get analog or digital volt meters, that apply a 250 mah load, from most hobby suppliers.

Analog:
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...?ProdID=HAN105
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXNK81&P=0
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXNK82&P=0

Digital:
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...?ProdID=HAN171
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXWW16&P=0
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXKLF5&P=0

Some do not come with any leads; check the part notes to know what else you have to buy.

Ahhh.. Great info.. I will get one of those this week! Thanks!

I'll go four 10 minute flights, but I also check with an ESV and I keep a log on each battery pack, keep them topped off daily on a timer, and periodically cycle them (with digital readout) to make sure they're still up to snuff.

IMHO 75% of the crashes blamed on being "hit" or radio interference are poor battery practices and management.

I install a Voltwatch (onboard battery monitor) on all of my airplanes. I can tell at a glance when I turn my receiver on if it is safe to fly.
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXHDJ2&P=ML

I run a voltwatch too, I also have a Triton charger to recharge after 3 flights if I feel like flying anymore than the three through the day. I also top off the receiver after 3 (although it probably isn't necessary).

For me this is what I got before:

600 4 cell pack

x5 7 mins flight on standard servos (3003, 112 etc), on sportman flying style, x5 is pushing it a little

1,100 5 cell pack

x6 7 min flights on high torque servos (645, 5645), flying mild 3D

If in doubt just get a voltwatch ... its worth every cent as sometimes we forget or the battery is about to kick the bucket. Mot of the times I stick to about 4 flights on a fresh pack. Can't go wrong with that

It depends on the size and type of plane, how big the control surfaces are and how fast it flys. I was able to get 6 ten minute flights with a 600 mah 4 cell packs. Since I upgraded to 1100 mah packs I fully charge the pack Friday night for Saturday morning and then fly 6 flights each for both Saturday and Sunday with out worrying about it. I do have a Voltwatch in each plane just to make sure however. !

The Voltwatch is very useful. However, you should read it right after completing a flight before turning the transmitter and receiver off as that will show you a truer indication of the remaining battery life than when you first turn it on just before a flight. If your battery was low at the end of the previouse flight and left to sit a bit, it will recover and read better than it really is .

600 milliamp-hour battery should provide exactly that - 600 milliamp hours, give or take depending on battery condition. If your radio system is drawing an average of 200-300 milliamps during flight, you would get an hour or two of flight time. Monitoring my typical 4.8 volt system, I can get a full day of flying on a single charge. There's very little need to quit until your battery voltage drops below 4.75 volts, but again thats dependent on your system. I see a lot of pilots at my field that quit when voltage drops below 5 volts. They're using very little of their battery capacity when they do that.

I've found for the most part, my transmitter battery gives out before the receiver battery.

Brad

Does a voltwatch read the batteries under load? If so, wouldn't it shorten the time by consuming additional power? If not, does it give meaningful data? The old Schroedinger's Cat paradox: observing a process changes the outcome.

The Voltwatch doesn't use enough current to really make any difference about wheather you can another flight in safely or not. Also Rodney is right on about checking the Voltwatch lights as soon as you land and before you turn the reciever off. A Voltwatch saved my Sea Fury because it only lit up only the last LED which is Red after a 3d flight. I believed the unit and stopped flying the plane. When I checked the reciever pack at home I found that one of the cells had gone bad. The voltage was good for the first 2 flights and dropped off during the third flight! If I hadn't had a Voltwatch to look at I wouldn't have suspected a problem after only 3 Flights! Thats why now I install a Voltwatch in every new plane as standard equipment. I did a review of one a few years ago where I checked the calibration of the units and found them to be very accurate and precise. [8D]