RC Model Reviews

Read a lot of good things about A123 batteries. Just starting to assemble my gas trainer with .61 O.S. engine and 4 standard Hi-tec Servos with Hi-Tec 2.4 Optima receiver. Just wondering if I use a 1100Mah A123 battery pack to power my receiver and servos if they will provide adequate juice.

I see there are 2300Mah A123 packs but they weigh almost twice as much (6 Ounces) Being fairly new to gas models will the 2300Mah pack be overkill? Would like to get about 4 ten minute flights out of the 1100mah before recharge or am I dreaming?

I use the 1100mAH packs on my Mojo 60 3D which has huge control surfaces and a Saito 100 up front with five hi-speed, hi-torque digital servos and it's got plenty of juice.

A .6o-sized trainer with standard servos should use about 100-120mAH per flight so you'd easily get 4 flights out of a charge.

What I generally do with a new model is charge the pack, fly a normal flight and then recharge the pack to see how much was used. It's then a simple process of calculating how many flights you'd be able to get before the battery was (say) 75% discharged, so as to allow a safety margin.

It's also worth remembering that you can charge the 1100mAH packs at up to 4A which means you can get them to about 90% charged from flat in around 15 minutes so if you want, you can give them a quick top-up while you're having a chat or a cold drink during the day.

Thanks Bruce for your quick response, 1100 mAH it will be!