How many planes and lipos do you have?

[jack10525]

Just wondering how many planes and lipos every one has here. I am down to 2 flyable planes and maybe 6-8 lipos. Even though I have been flying successfully for several years I've had quite a bit of bad luck crashing these days. All my scratch build planes are gone.

 

[CrshNBrn]

Someone once told me that if you aren't crashing every now and then, you aren't pushing yourself to be a better pilot. Sorry about your bad luck; can you pull all the electronics out of your crashed birds and start the rebuilding process again?

 

[Foamforce]

16ish planes, 12ish batteries. My problem is that it’s so easy to repair these planes so I’ve only ever scrapped two, and that’s only because those two were terrible planes that flew like crap. Even with a well wrinkled nose, I can push it back into shape well enough, and glue things back together.

My very first plane, a Storch variant, is the one I fly the most. It’s nasty and wrinkled. The landing gear has been ripped out of the fuselage a few times and it’s been glued back with a half pound of hot glue. Ironically, the worse a plane becomes, the more I fly it because I don’t worry about crashing it. 😂

 

[danskis]

I've got too many planes...maybe 22. I've got some carbon fiber DLGs, some bungee launch gliders, some foamboard planes and some scale balsa biplanes. Unfortunately I can only fly one at a time. I'm trying to get rid of some. This is what happens when you start to get a little better and crash less (along with the gimmeees). If I build a new one I've got to get rid of one of the old ones - thats the rule. I've got a Jetworks Eurofighter on the building board now and I've got to get rid of the rather hammered F27 Striker. I crashed (actually a mid air) my low wing foamboard aerobatic plane and need to make a new one. I won't buy a plane for over $50 now no matter what plane it is. There are just too many planes out there.

 

[LitterBug]

My LiPo count is going WAY down while my UAS count continues to rise. Age is starting to set in and Mr. Sag is setting in to many of the older packs. Most of the saggy pants only have one problematic cell, but that is all it takes to cause real issues. My primary charger can check the resistance of each cell which is a valuable tool in determining battery health without waiting on Mr. Brownout to hit in flight.

 

[Mr NCT]

My LiPo count is going WAY down while my UAS count continues to rise. Age is starting to set in and Mr. Sag is setting in to many of the older packs. Most of the saggy pants only have one problematic cell, but that is all it takes to cause real issues. My primary charger can check the resistance of each cell which is a valuable tool in determining battery health without waiting on Mr. Brownout to hit in flight.

Just bought a charger that can measure internal resistance. What do you look for to know when to retire a battery?

 

[Merv]

...What do you look for to know when to retire a battery?

For me, it battery performance. I have a fast plane that draws a lot of amps. When the flight time gets noticeably shorter and it just will not go as fast, it’s time to change batteries. That battery may still has some life left in it, but in a less demanding plane or application. Like in my Tx which uses a 3S lipo or powering a string of LED’s around the campsite.

Bottom line, I get 2-3 years out of a pack before I retire it or move it to a less demanding application.

 

[JDSnavely]

Better question: How many RC planes does one need? .... Just one more!
We have thoroughly enjoyed the hobby. I don't think we have any more hobby planes in the near future. Scratch buit planes will continue. However, our basement is filling up. ... And I just bought a 3D printer... Oh no!

 

[Mr NCT]

And I just bought a 3D printer

You have truly been won over to the dark side. A 3D printer and Fusion 360 are a rabbit hole all by themselves. I'm currently at 10 flying, 2 in construction, 3 waiting for repairs and 3 hanging from the ceiling as warning examples to the others.

 

[LitterBug]

Just bought a charger that can measure internal resistance. What do you look for to know when to retire a battery?

Look at the resistance values on a brand new pack. All the cells will be very close in resistance with low resistance values. 10-20ish range. If you have one or more cells with high resistance compared to the others, that cell will cause problems under load causing sagging voltage and low current. I have a few examples of each. I'll post up pix

 

[Bricks]

Battery powered planes 21 from 1s to 6s, 6 quads from 1s to 6s batteries' around that 75 mark. Gas and glow around 97 planes with 81 ready to fly, put a battery in fire them and they are ready.

 

[LitterBug]

Here is an example of good and bad battery resistance. Identical batteries, but the one on the top is toast.

 

[Mr NCT]

Here is an example of good and bad battery resistance. Identical batteries, but the one on the top is toast.
View attachment 237451

Thanks!

 

[Bricks]

It`s not really toast if you use it in a low draw situation, quad nope but a slow flying plane it still works..

 

[LitterBug]

It`s not really toast if you use it in a low draw situation, quad nope but a slow flying plane it still works..

Yeah, I put a big amount of marker on packs like this so they don't accidentally end up in a plane, but I only need a handful of "test" packs laying around.

These are 3s 1500mah packs from a Surfer 1500. What most people would call a slow flyer. Well, it sags on it under a "decent" throttle. Last thing you want is sag or worse brownout if it's in the air. This is retired from flight. This pack is one that got me going through all my packs when it sagged out bad during launch.