Lots of people do this. It is the most foolproof way that I know of that ensures that you get to the field with a full charge.

The following assumes that you have standard size TX and RX packs and not oversize ones.

You need a cheap timer and a conventional TX RX trickle charger

Set the timer to give a 1 hour charge every 24 hours not critical this is just a top up.

As soon as you get home put your TX and RX on charge and over ride the 1 hour setting to give up to 12 hours depending on the amount you flew. IF IN DOUBT GIVE THEM 12 HOURS!

Then just leave them connected you get a 1 hour top up every day. Batteries love this DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE MEMORY EFFECT.

This allows you to go flying, including those stolen afternoons at short notice, secure in the knowledge that you have a full charge at all times.

The thread seems to be straying from the point. I charge my packs closer to the date of use for one simple reason, SELF DISCHARGE. A NiCd pack can discharge as much as 20% of its juice in a 24 hour period! Of corse there are veriables. Temp, cell quality, cell age, etc. If I do get the gumption up to charge after flying, I always "peak" charge my batts. befor placing them in a plane destin for the sky. The gent who brought up load testing is 110% correct! A VOM can be missleading. A analog load tester can be the difference between a great day at the field or another trip to the hobby store for repair parts.

I think this is high. All the research that I know of says NiCad self discharge is about 1% per day or less.

NiMH Self Discharge rates are known to be much higher say 1% to 3 %.

I do not claim to be any kind of battery Guru but I know that I am happy giving my cells a daily top up using the timer method.

Self reliance is a wonderful thing to have. Get yourself an Accu Cycle Elite and become self-reliant. It gives you the information you need to know about YOUR batteries. Discussions of theory are fun, but it's lots better to have a tool of your own that tells you what you need to know about your equipment. The chargers/cyclers that report on the tasks they do are the key.

I use my AccuCycle immediately after I come home from the flying field. It is fresh in mind how many flights I had on each and every airplane and how long the flights were. And I have an excellent feel for how long I used the transmitter. So when I get home, the TX and one model are immediately plugged into the AccuCycle. Yes, it'll take two different batteries at once. When the charger chimes it's second tune (it tells when each battery has reached capacity), it's also got a readout for each. The readout includes how much recharging each battery required. If the readings look sensible, I stack those two and plug in a couple of other models, depending on how many I flew.

If any battery took lots more or lots less charging than I thought it should have, I pull it and do a cycle test on it when I have the time. The cycle test shows clearly if that battery is going bad or starting to age. Beats bringing home a sack of wreckage.

BTW, I've not seen high self discharge rates either. And if I suddenly decide to fly a model that's been sitting for awhile, I slap it on the AccuCycle. If it's been full since it came home from it's last outing, it's not going to take much topping off. If it does, I swap that battery out and remember to test it when I get back home.

And using that charger has shown me the answers to lots of questions that get hashed out again and again on these forums. I don't need other's advice on those questions. Self-reliance is a good thing. And modeling teaches it every day.