fastcrash

i had a real no brainer hit me the other day. a lot of electric airplane pilots have converted to lithium-ion batteries for their very light weight, very high capacity, and small size. all of which would bennifit the guy's(like me) who run cars with 5-cell stick packs for the radio gear. the voltage for a 2-cell lith-ion or li-po pack is just a little higher than the 5-cell ni-cad or ni-mh,and weight is tremendously saved(much more than carbon fiber).
here's the catch(es)
1 the packs voltage cannot be drained past 4.4 or 4.5 volts or the pack is garbage, it will not recharge.
2 you CANNOT rapid charge them, the manufacturer will give the max charge rate for the capacity rating of the pack(if you do, the packs WILL either catch fire or explode)
3 you need a special charger (like the triton) that has the programming to charge them(triton also uses a thermal temp probe while charging to prevent overheating)

these packs can offer a significant edge in cut weight, a li-po pack of the same capacity weighs around 1/3 to 1/4 of the 5-cell pack. my r-40 will run for aproxx. 10 to 15 tanks of fuel before the 5-cell 1100 mah pack needs recharging, so you could actualy step down in capacity to save even more.
just wanted to share my thoughts and get others opinions-----------chris