[NSRCA-discussion] Scary night of flying

Sun Aug 22 09:22:30 AKDT 2010

Ron and others,

I have heard of people who replace batteries every 2 years and others who go 
by capacity.  I have cycled my battery twice now and it is now showing over 
1420 mah and it is a 1400 mah pack.

I really made a huge mistake of not cycling my pack prior to flying.  I 
ALMOST lost my plane over this mistake.  After 2 cycles, the pack is not 
well over rated capacity.  I think this is a positive thing.  How many of 
you would trust this battery?  Is it the general consensus to replace the 
battery even though it is not showing full capacity?  I know the $35 battery 
is cheap insurance.

I actually have a super nova to use.  Forgot I have it since it is a 12v 
power source charger.  I keep it in the motor home for trips to use when 
needed.  I will use it to check the pack.

Thanks for all the advice.  I had never removed batteries due to age before, 
only due to capacity or loss there of.  I usually get rid of packs when they 
only have 80% capacity.

BTW, I just checked and the pack is now at 1500 mah for a pack rated at 
1400, which I have found to be reasonably normal.

Paul
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ron Van Putte" <vanputte at cox.net>
To: "General pattern discussion" <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>
Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 12:41 PM
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Scary night of flying

> Nicads can be fast charged.  The best charger for nicads that I've  used 
> is the FMA Super Nova.  It has an algorithm which looks at the  rate of 
> change of voltage in the "automatic" mode.  If the rate of  change of 
> battery voltage is positive, the charger ramps up the  charge rate; if the 
> rate of change of voltage is negative, it reduces  the charge current.  It 
> was kind of scary at first to watch it do its  thing, because the charge 
> current can get pretty high.  However,  that's the sign of a healthy 
> battery.  When the charge rate doesn't  go up much, or not at all, it's 
> time to put the battery in the  trash.  Too bad Fred Marks' sons, who took 
> over the business from  Fred, are such bozos, or I'd still be doing 
> business with them and  selling the Super Nova charger.
>
> Ron
>
> On Aug 22, 2010, at 10:37 AM, Paul LaChance wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Thanks for all the advice.  I have to admit I did not cycle the 
>> batteries before flying this time.  They were cycled when purchased  and 
>> were new for the 2008 NATS.  I already bought a new battery but  wanted 
>> to know if NiCad can be quick charged on a first charging or  do they 
>> have to be slow charged like NiMh?  Thanks in advance.
>>
>> Paul
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lightfoot" <lightfoot at sc.rr.com>
>> To: "'General pattern discussion'" <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>
>> Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 11:13 AM
>> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Scary night of flying
>>
>>
>>> Might well have been a case of NiCad "memory". I wouldn't have  thrown 
>>> them
>>> away unless after cycling them twice they showed to be weak. Periodic
>>> cycling is a must!
>>>
>>> Jay Marshall
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org
>>> [mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org] On Behalf Of  Paul 
>>> LaChance
>>> Sent: Saturday, August 21, 2010 10:57 PM
>>> To: General pattern discussion
>>> Subject: [NSRCA-discussion] Scary night of flying
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> I finally flew my Prestige tonight after not flying it since the  NATS 
>>> 2008.
>>> I have not flown it or ANY planes for 2 full years.  I charged 
>>> everything up
>>>
>>> and all seemed well.  Flew my first flight and landed without  incident. 
>>> I
>>> checked the plane over and checked all my batteries and all looked 
>>> well.
>>>
>>> Flew flight 2,  all was going well.  Flew the Advanced pattern  twice 
>>> and
>>> landed.  Checked my batteries again and they still read over 6 volts.
>>> Engine was running great and all was well.
>>>
>>> Flew flight 3 and that is where things got scary.  I flew the  sequence 
>>> once
>>> and everything was going well.  When I started my second sequence  the 
>>> plane
>>> got sluggish and was not feeling right.  I landed ASAP and as soon  as 
>>> the
>>> wheels tounched down, I went to add rudder to stear towards the  pits 
>>> and had
>>>
>>> no rudder, no elevator, and only one aileron was working but it  barely 
>>> moved
>>>
>>> and was very sluggish.  I shut the plane off and checked the  batteries 
>>> and
>>> they were barely reading 4.5 volts.  This was a 5 cell nicad  pack.  I 
>>> guess
>>> I had a cell short and kill the pack.  I was just amazed and am  very 
>>> lucky
>>> to have been able to get the plane back on the ground before the 
>>> battery
>>> completely failed.
>>>
>>> Has anyone had this happen before?  What would cause this?  I am  going 
>>> to
>>> get a new pack in the morning and try to fly again tomorrow evening.
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance for the help,
>>>
>>> Paul
>>>
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>>>
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>>
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