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We received this from a customer who did his research on batteries and we wanted to share it. Well written and informative. Titled “Put a Tiger in Your Tank”

The title, of course, is borrowed from an Exxon (then Esso) advertising campaign for gasoline in the 1960’s……not that I am old enough to remember, but anyway……….while the Tiger referred to quality gasoline for your automobile, we will use the same analogy today to discuss lipo batteries, and how they should be the “TIGER IN YOUR TANK” for your RC airplane, car, or boat.

Everyone knows, of course, that not all lipos are created equal. The difficulty comes for most of us (sport and everyday fliers) in choosing the best value for our money. With internet shopping today, the choices seem endless, with many batteries being offered at seemingly ridiculous prices!

Here are some simple rules that have worked very well to help me make the best lipo choice for my models.

1. Purchase lipos that have a “real” warranty. Quality battery manufacturers will have no problem providing a real warranty for your battery purchase. So, make sure you look for a lipo battery series that offers super pricing and at least a 6 month warranty on every battery! Take time to read the lipo warranty section on each website before making a purchase. Many of the offered “warranties” are totally worthless; if you take the time to read the details. Do you really want to spend your hard earned hobby dollars on lipos that come with a 30 day warranty……a “warranty” that is only good for 30 days “if you did not charge or use the battery”…??? Some “warranties” even require that you can only make a claim on the same day the battery is delivered to you! Bottom line……read the fine print…..it’s entertaining and enlightening. Know what you are buying!

2. “UN testing and approval” is required for safe shipping and transportation of all lipo batteries. Reputable manufacturers’ MUST submit their batteries for UN testing approval in order to safely ship their batteries and legally lipo batteries are NOT supposed to be shipped by air. Most reputable manufacturers have also received “CE” and “RoHS” certifications for their packs. In case you haven’t heard there was a freight airplane crash that has been attributed to defective batteries, so there is no substitute for safety when it comes to lithium polymer batteries! Look for these certifications before you buy!

3. Look for lipo packs with matched cells – Simply put, this adds expense for a manufacturer, but results in a battery pack that will provide much longer life for RC hobbyists. A good quality lipo pack, treated correctly, can last 300-400 charge/discharge cycles, or more. If your “bargain pack”, that initially cost you 30% less, fails at 100 cycles, you could wind up spending a whopping 300% more for the same battery life as the “more expensive pack”. Do the math……and then decide if you still think you got a real bargain????? Talk about the price of gas….wow…. bargain batteries get real expensive, real fast, if they don’t last!

4. Check out the manufacturers’ source of materials – Yes, Virginia; not all lipo raw materials are created equal. Cell phones ushered in the era of lipo batteries, but raw materials used in their batteries are not necessarily the best choice for RC applications. Materials that come from Japan or Korea typically have more expensive additives designed to deal with temperatures, discharge rates, and stability that are so important to our hobby. Reputable battery manufacturers use only the finest raw materials from Japan, Korea, or Taiwan, so it might be a good idea to ask about where the materials come from before you make you next lipo battery purchase.

5. Get a battery balancer today! – Cheap batteries, sport batteries, or competition batteries all love to be balanced. I balance every lipo, every time, after every flight. Some of my lipos are over 5 years old and are still going strong. You can get a good quality power analyzer/balancer for less than $40 and these small devices not only balance any lipo battery, but some also serve as a watt meter and voltage checker. This is the cheapest insurance policy you can buy to maintain the health of your packs!

6. OK, What’s the real price difference? – Well, it comes down to simple math…..how much did you pay, and how long did the battery last? A cheap 3S 1300 lipo that sells for $ 7.00, but only lasts for 50 cycles; costs you 14 cents per flight. A better quality, 3S 1300, with 6 month warranty (I’ve found them for as low as $12.99) costs you only 6.5 cents per flight if you use it for even 200 cycles……that’s less than half the cost of the “cheaper” lipo!. Ask yourself the question….”which lipo is really the better deal?”

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Foam, foam, foam…it’s everywhere today. Foam jets, foam airplanes, foam sailplanes, RTF’s, ARF’s, receiver ready, bind n fly….etc., etc., etc.

Over the years, I have tried many methods to make my ducted fan jet foamies look a bit better than the rest of the bunch at the flying field.

Most of the traditional methods (fiberglass, epoxies, primers and fillers etc.) are very time consuming and add weight to the finished product. A quick and easy method was suggested to me by a long time customer, friend, and fellow modeler in Colony, Texas. You should try his suggestion on your next foamie.

Step 1: go to Home Depot, Lowe’s, or your local hardware store.  Purchase an 8 oz can of Minwax Polycrylic water based clear satin and a couple of disposable 1” foam brushes. That’s all you need!  About 5 bucks!

This process works best if you start with a new foam jet, such as Hobby Lobby’s SU-34, F-35 Lightning, Eurofighter or the new F/A 18E, and apply the Minwax before you assemble the model.

Step 2: Take all of the foam parts out of the box, dip the foam brush lightly in the Minwax Polycrylic, and apply with the 1” foam brush.  It is important to apply as thin a coat of the Polycrylic as possible. Use the foam brush to “wipe on” this finish and set each part aside to dry thoroughly for an hour or so. Avoid application to tabs or foam parts that will be glued together when you assemble your jet. If your foamie has waterslide decals, just apply this coating right over the decals (the Polycrylic will seal and protect them) If your model has vinyl stickers or vinyl decals, apply the coating only up to the edge of the decal or sticker.

When all parts are thoroughly dry, apply a second coat.  I personally like to apply 3 coats (some folks even use 4 coats)……you will like the results.

Now assemble your model as normal. The Polycrylic coating makes colors more vibrant, enhances molded in details, and makes the foam more resistant to “hangar rash”.  This coating works especially well on EPS foam models (like Styrofoam) that have lots of details molded in to the foam.  Some of your fellow modelers may even accuse you of fiber-glassing your new jet.

Stay tuned for 2 more quick steps to add even more detail with very little expense!

Happy Flying!

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Let’s admit it…..rainy day and cold weather flying is a real drag.  Always in search of fun things to do when the weather turns bad, our little group of winter indoor flyers came up with a new idea.  We are lucky because our church allows us to use the indoor basketball court whenever other activities are not scheduled.

The Micro Stik is a perfect airplane, indoors or out, for small scale pylon racing.  We struggled with ideas on how to construct temporary (and cheap) pylons to race around inside the gym.

One day, one of our guys was at the local party supply store and came up with an easy and cheap way to construct our pylons.  All you need are two good size Mylar balloons filled with helium.  Our guys always buy the ones that are left over after holidays, as they are less expensive.  Next find a roll of gift wrap “paper” made of mylar….just like the helium balloon.  Cut 2” wide strips from the Mylar gift wrapping and use scotch tape to create a Mylar ribbon 2” wide and about 15 feet long.

Attach one end of the mylar ribbon to the balloon, and scotch tape the other end of the ribbon to the basketball court floor.  We use the free throw lines on each end of the court for spacing our pylons. In minutes you have 15 foot tall pylons that are perfect for indoor racing.

There’s nothing left to do now except start your engines! It’s easy to tell if someone cuts inside the pylons….. It’s even easier to tell if someone flies into one of the pylons.  Collisions with the Mylar ribbon will not damage the Micro Stik, but with the balloon floating above; the “pylon” will dance around a bit making it even more fun for your fellow pylon racers.

We have even tried this idea outdoors, and it works fine as long as the winds are very calm.

Have fun and keep racing!

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One of my favorite things to do with the Micro Stik is dog fighting with other Micro Stik flyers!  The Micro Stik comes with a light weight streamer that is perfect for this…… just you and a couple of your buddies making endless loops in the sky, chasing the streamers of others.

There are times, unfortunately, when the buddies and their Micro Stiks are off doing other things, so I came up with a novel and very simple idea to practice dog fighting by myself.

First, dig around in your closet, attic, or garage and find an old music cassette tape.  Pull out a piece of tape from the old cassette (10 to 15 feet) and cut it off.

Now, tie the piece of cassette tape to the tail wheel on the Micro Stik, and go fly!

You will see that you can practice chasing yourself through loops and turns, while leaving a “tape trail” through the sky.  Recently I have used a longer piece of cassette tape…..almost 30 feet long!  Surprisingly, the tape offers all most no air resistance and the Micro Stik still has plenty of power to perform any and all normal maneuvers.

While “chasing yourself”, it is possible to catch your own tail.  If you execute perfect loops and tight turns while maintaining altitude, your prop can actually “catch” your own streamer.  Just remember to chop your throttle if this happens, as the tiny little geared motor on the Micro Stik has enough power to tangle up and make a mess out of the cassette tape streamer in a hurry.

Recently my buddies have tried this streamer method with their Micro Stiks. We still dog fight, but are now working on aerial streamer shows.  Just like smoke trails, the streamers weave an intricate pattern in the sky as you execute maneuvers.  Imagine the picture with one Micro Stick executing barrel rolls in the sky while another Micro Stik towing a 30 foot long cassette tape flies straight down the middle of the of the cassette tape spiral created by the preceding airplane.  We call this “thread the needle”.

Use your imagination here, as we are creating new possibilities everyday.

Have fun!

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There have been several articles and blogs about Hobby Lobby’s new Piper J-5 with numerous recommendations for beginners.  The best way for a beginner to become successful at learning the art of RC flying, before taking a brand new airplane to the field, is to practice on a flight simulator.

If you are new to the hobby and have purchased a beginner airplane like the Piper J-5, but have no access to a RC flight simulator; please try the following exercise before you are tempted to put your brand new airplane in the air.

Our first “flight” will be on the ground….or our first drive, if you prefer.  Instead of purchasing a computer flight simulator, the only purchase required for this exercise is a piece of ordinary sidewalk chalk.  Go to your favorite Dollar Store, and buy a big stick of sidewalk chalk (the kind that washes off, of course).  Next, take your airplane to an empty parking lot (away from traffic, please!).

Take the chalk and draw a line away from your starting point that looks like a series of big squiggles, or s-turns.  Continue drawing these s-turns until you are about 100 feet away from your starting point.  Then draw a loop (like the top of a circle) until you are pointed back in the direction that you started from.  Next draw a series of big squiggles (s-turns) just like you did on the other side, until you are back at your starting point.

When you are finished, your drawing on the parking lot will look like a circle at the top and bottom with a series of squiggles on both sides.

We are now ready to practice! Make sure the batteries in your transmitter and airplane are fully charged.  Turn the transmitter on and connect the battery to the airplane, making sure that the throttle control on the transmitter is all the way down.  Then place the airplane on the ground on the squiggly chalk line going away from you.  Advance the throttle slowly, until the airplane is just rolling along at a very slow pace. Use your right stick (on 3-channels for beginner operation) to steer the airplane along the chalk line.  Try to stay on the line all the way around the circle.

This exercise will begin to teach you 2 of the 3 dimensions of RC flying.  You will notice, and soon master the skill of turning an airplane while learning that turns are accomplished by moving the right stick in different directions depending on if the airplane is moving away from you, or towards you.

When you can confidently “drive” around the circle, while staying on the chalk line, you are much better prepared to try your first beginner flight.  While a simulator is still the best choice for training, this method can and will teach you part of the necessary hand/eye coordination to successfully fly an RC airplane.

Good luck and happy driving and flying!

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Before we begin this discussion, let’s take a moment and talk about what it means to be a beginner in the world of RC hobbies; specifically RC airplanes.

A beginner, by definition, is “someone new to a field or activity”, or perhaps, “someone who is just starting at something”.

Somehow, somewhere along the line, when it comes to flying an RC model, everyone thinks they can do it, as a beginner, without even learning the basics…..why is that ???

Most “beginners” get their introduction to RC flying at a show or demonstration where accomplished, experienced flyers are demonstrating their skills.  They make it look easy.  Their airplanes are set up correctly, tested thoroughly, and operated with complete control (most of the time).  It’s no wonder that in the modern day world of X-Box, PlayStation, and Wii, all “beginners” think this hobby is, or should be easy.

Remember when you first learned to ride a bicycle?  All the older kids in the neighborhood were riding, and soon it came time for you to learn.  You observed everyone riding their bikes many times….it looked so easy.  You were a beginner, and you thought……“you knew what to do”…..so how come when you tried to ride for the first time, you fell off the bike, or ran into the side of the house, or into a ditch?  Seems there was some kind of skill to be learned here, huh?  After a few scrapped knees and bruised egos, we were all on our way on our own bicycles.  We learned a “special skill” that we thought we knew, and learned that we did not know it…..and then knew it when we finally learned it.  Once you learned to ride a bike, you had learned to ride a bike, both then and forever after.  The brain and body are funny things.  Go ahead; prove it; even if you have not ridden a bicycle in the last 20 years, do you have any doubt whatsoever that you can still ride?  You learned a “special skill” that you did not have as a “beginner” that enabled you to ride successfully.

Think a bit about other hobbies, sports, or activities that you have tried or participate in today.  Anyone can pick up a golf club and hit a golf ball; but can you make the ball go where you want it to go, when you want it to go there?

Anyone can pick up a paintbrush and place color on canvas; but can you paint an accurate replica of the Mona Lisa, or look at a photograph of a loved one and paint a recognizable portrait?

Anyone can pick up a fishing rod and cast their line into the water……but can you catch fish regularly?

Anyone can shoot a pistol or rifle, but can you hit a target the size of a tennis ball at 50 yards on a regular basis?

What about swimming, basketball, tennis……playing the piano, or even knitting?

The point of all this is that there is a point (which by now you are trying to figure out “what is the point” and how this relates to RC flying) or you may just think that I  totally lost my train of thought and have been rambling aimlessly.

Well, relax, because there is a point.  Successful RC flying involves a learned skill; something that you do not have if you are a beginner. There are exceptions and stories of individuals who flew perfectly from day one; but I was never so skilled or lucky (nor any of my friends either).  So if you accept this premise let’s begin to try to understand, what we have to learn, that a minute ago we thought we knew.  I am not talking about the academics of how, and or why airplanes fly (even though we will learn that too.  I am talking about learning how to ride the bicycle, or in our case, the challenge of retraining our eyes, brain, and hands to make the proper interpretations so that our RC airplane goes where we want it to go, when we want it to go there.

A  funny thing about RC flying is that almost anyone can be taught to take off an RC airplane in 2 minutes or less……..just ram the throttle (left stick) forward and pull back a bit on the elevator (right stick), and presto, you are in the air.  This is usually the beginning of the end of a “beginners” first flight.  The famous last words are very familiar……”I got it”…..”I got it”……”I think I got it”…..”Oops, I lost it”….This process usually takes anywhere from 10 seconds to 45 seconds, and the end result is a smashed pile of stuff and a couple of hundred bucks down the drain.  Kids cry, parents are mad, the Hobby Distributor is blamed, and the dream of RC flying is in the ditch.

Here is the challenge in a nutshell.  We must retrain our brains to interpret what our eyes see so that our hands and fingers (on the control sticks) are automatically commanded to make the proper control inputs.  As a beginner, your eye, brain, and hand programming is intuitive (with a little bit of instruction) and correct for flying an airplane…….but only if your point of view is “like you were sitting in the cockpit”…….but, oops……we are not in the cockpit ! (This is also why all commercial and private pilots of real aircraft make very poor beginners for RC flying)……bet you didn’t know that!  I wish I had a nickel for every time a real jet jockey visited our shop, wanted to get involved in the hobby, purchased the sleekest and fastest model we had, and promptly went out and crashed it!  I love those guys and girls, and the job they do for our country, but they just can’t accept the fact that real jet jockeys have a bunch of un-learning to do.

So, what do we do!  Let’s first understand the basic operation of 3 channel flight on the Hobby Lobby Piper J-5.  The left stick is the throttle; push it forward to rev up the engine; pull it back to slow down or stop the motor.  The right stick controls the elevator and rudder.  Pull the right stick back and the elevator moves up, and the airplane’s nose rises in flight. Push the right stick forward and the elevator moves down and the airplane’s nose goes down in flight. Push the right stick left, and the rudder moves left and the airplane’s nose turns left in flight.  Push the right stick right, the rudder moves to the right and the airplane’s nose turns to the right in flight.  Pretty simple, huh?  Remember that it is simple……but only if you are in the cockpit…which we are not.

The lesson we will learn (and hopefully our brains will follow) is this:

Moving the right stick left turns the airplane to your left, but only when the airplane is flying away from you.  Moving the right stick to the left turns the airplane to your right when the airplane is flying towards you.  Up and down remain the same whether the airplane is flying away from us or towards us when the airplane is upright.   So….

1.  Flying away from you:  left is left; right is right; up is up; and down is down.

2.  Flying towards you:  Left is right; right is left; up is up; and down is down.

To further complicate things, if the “beginner” happens to get the airplane inverted (upside down), then things get a little bit stranger, still.  If the airplane is flying away from you inverted (upside down), then moving the right stick left turns the airplane right, and moving the right stick back makes the nose of the airplane go down in flight. So….

3.  Flying inverted away from you:  left is right; right is left; up is down; down is up

4.  Flying inverted towards you: left is left; right is right; up is down; down is up

Whew…..and as beginners, we thought we knew it all!  The problem is:  now that we know this we must figure out how to make our responses automatic and intuitive, like riding a bicycle.  If you have to stop and think for a couple of seconds about  which way is which, under what circumstances, then your model airplane has either flown away or more likely crashed.

Thank heavens for the left stick (throttle)….it remains the same, always.  Push forward to go……pull back to slow down.

So, all this sounds a bit complicated, but the purpose of this is to simplify things and make you a real beginner….who can fly an RC airplane.

And how are we going to do this?  One of two ways; first even if you have already purchased your Hobby Lobby Piper J-5, I would highly recommend that you consider buying a flight simulator program such as the Phoenix Flight Simulator available at Hobby Lobby for  $174.99.  And no, I am not trying to sell you other stuff that you do not need.  Every RC pilot worth his or her wings owns a flight simulator program.  Why, you ask?  You have just spent about $200 to purchase your new PiperJ-5 aircraft, and if you decide to stay in this hobby, you will soon have many more planes in you hangar.  Destroyed planes do not look very appetizing in anyone’s’ home or hanger and they definitely do not fly very well.  If you buy a simulator and follow the instructions I give you, your chances of success increase a thousand fold.  Additionally, as you gain experience you can practice new maneuvers time and time again without damaging any aircraft!  You will use this simulator for the rest of your flying career!  And if you mention this article to Hobby Lobby and include this secret code…..”I want to fly, today”, they will give you 10% off the purchase of any flight simulator.

So let’s consider that you go ahead and buy the Phoenix Flight Simulator.  If you follow the instructions below, we will have you ready to pilot the J-5 in an hour or two.

Ready ?

Go to the aircraft selection tab and pick one of the high wing trainers (force yourself to ignore the jets and other really cool airplanes and helicopters, for now…please!)

Go to the flying site tab and select a flying site that is wide open with no trees or other stuff to fly into.

Now, picture in your head the flight plan we are going to execute. The airplane is on the runway facing away from us (into the wind).  We are going to push the throttle (left stick) all the way forward, and after a takeoff run of about 100 feet on the ground, we will pull back gently on the right stick (don’t jerk the stick back).  You do not have to pull the stick all the way back….just enough to get the nose up a bit and the airplane will rise gently into the sky.

Let the airplane gain about 50-100 feet of altitude, and then gently ease the throttle (left stick) back to about one-half….while letting the right stick return to neutral.

If the aircraft is flying straight and level at this point, then everything is good.  If it wants to turn a little (left or right), then add in a notch or two of opposite trim on your radio.

Now flying straight and level, lets begin a gentle left hand turn…..push the right stick to the left (just a bit) and let go….continue to do this until the airplane is headed back towards you.

As the airplane comes back to the takeoff point, begin another left hand turn in the same manner……basically we are just going to make a giant left hand circle in the sky.

As the airplane circles and heads away from you again, just focus on making another smooth left hand circle in the sky.  Use the right stick gently to turn left and pull back as needed (gently) to maintain your altitude in the turns.

Fly three circuits around the field like this, and then let’s try to land.

As the airplane completes the final left turn (pointed back the same direction you took off)….gently ease the throttle (left stick) back until the motor is “idling”…or running slowly.  Try to line up with the runway using the right stick, but do not worry too much about this right now.  The airplane will be losing altitude and approaching you from your left shoulder.  Just focus on using the right stick to gently pull back as necessary to allow the airplane to “settle” on to the ground……again, do not worry if you do not land on the runway.  We will work on that later.

The flight plan you just practiced:

1.  Take off into the wind

2.  Make three left hand circuits of the field

3.  Land somewhere (left to right, without damaging the plane)

is the same flight plan we will fly when we put our Hobby Lobby Piper J-5 in the air!

Now practice this flight plan; takeoff, three left hand circuits of the field, and land…..on the simulator.  Practice this until you can fly this flight plan 10 times in a row without crashing !

We are retraining your eyes, brain, and hands (all that complicated stuff we talked about earlier)…..You did not even have to think about it, but if you have managed to do the 3 steps above 10 times in a row……..then…….

Let’s assemble our J-5 now and go flying for real!
- Larry Powell

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