Wanted to fly today and it was about 32'F outside. I fabbed up some battery insulation that worked well. Thought I'd share some pictures.

I used a small piece of foam tubing and used a drill to hollow out the middle for the battery to sit.

This is the tubing - cost $1.50 at Lowes.


Used a twist tie wrapped around the landing gear.










Two boring videos:

Winter flying with my HobbyZone Champ - 1 (1 min 54 sec)

Winter flying with my HobbyZone Champ - 2 (3 min 20 sec)

That looks like an external drop tank. Nice!!!

sweet flying, motor sounds dog barkin, yep nice Mod, gots to look for some here if I fly thanks for the tip

That looks like foam backer rod or "caulk saver". Am I right?

Originally Posted by makg

That looks like foam backer rod or "caulk saver". Am I right?

yes...it's caulk saver. It was killing me that I couldn't think of that....thank you!

I like it because it's light and you can cut the hole in the middle of it as big as you want.

I'm sure others came up with better ideas for insulating their batteries but I thought I'd share mine.

is it really that bad to fly the plane in the cold?

Veccster im like 200 miles south of you and it is really cold too and i just fly. but it is decreasing performance/battery life?

Idk how much more flying im going to do tho cause my hands turn blue cause its cold... a heated TX would be super nice

Originally Posted by nate32

is it really that bad to fly the plane in the cold?

Veccster im like 200 miles south of you and it is really cold too and i just fly. but it is decreasing performance/battery life?

Idk how much more flying im going to do tho cause my hands turn blue cause its cold... a heated TX would be super nice

Someone beat you to it http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...143460&page=31
order one of those and a heater set from HK and you're good to go

Anybody know the stock thrust of the champ? Considering making a UM nutball out of my first Champ.

Originally Posted by nate32

is it really that bad to fly the plane in the cold?

Veccster im like 200 miles south of you and it is really cold too and i just fly. but it is decreasing performance/battery life?

Idk how much more flying im going to do tho cause my hands turn blue cause its cold... a heated TX would be super nice

Yes, the lipo's are affected by the cold air. Insulate them and you can stay in the air longer. I was even told to keep them warm (in your pocket) until you are ready to fly.

I have been wearing light gloves while I fly. It takes some time to adjust to the controls though - loss of touch. It was also difficult because I had to hold TX while using the controls. I need to add a strap that goes around my neck so I can focus on the controls.

Holding a tx with your hands is a bad habbit. Like holding a guitar with your hands. They need to be able to move freely at all times. I still don't like a strap on my banjo, mandolin, or guitar. Because I learned without a strap. Fix this now, while there is still time to correct. haha. Lee

Originally Posted by Ikankrachuhmoll

Anybody know the stock thrust of the champ? Considering making a UM nutball out of my first Champ.

No, I dont BUT I built a 14" nutball out of UMX beast parts and it's insanely overpowered. 12-14" diameter should be no problem with the champ parts with dollar tree foamboard

Originally Posted by leethetreeguy

Holding a tx with your hands is a bad habbit. Like holding a guitar with your hands. They need to be able to move freely at all times. I still don't like a strap on my banjo, mandolin, or guitar. Because I learned without a strap. Fix this now, while there is still time to correct. haha. Lee

And there's my motivation to go fab something to the Champ TX. Be right back...

Thanks lee.


EDIT...OK, so it's NOT pretty. I'm headed out to see if it works but have a feeling the straps will be in my way. Afraid to even show a picture of what I "manufactured"

Do they sell straps that would fit the Champ's TX?

I bought a Champ for my boys and I to fly and spend time together. Loving every minute of it. Of course I have to make sure that the plane is flying properly before I hand over the controls but by that time the second battery is half way used up (Safety reasons, you know ) . I read about the "glue wash" to strengthen the foam and attempted carefully to do so. Long time model RR so I'm familiar with these white glue washes. My question is if the glue wash is to be done after the paint is stripped? Most of the wash just beads up on the paint and not getting good coverage/penetration.

Thanks,

Miguel

Miguel,

First of all, let me welcome you to the Champ community. Flying with your children must be a real treat. Check out our "off-topic" Champ thread as well, we talk about all our stuff over there.

I dont have personal experience with the glue wash technique. However, I'm fairly certain that what you are encountering is a wax type coating on the waterbased paint. I would simply wipe the surface with either de-natured alcohol or ???

I'm not really sure of what to use that wont mess up the paint, and dont want to make a wrong suggestion. Prehaps someone else will chime in here with what can be safely used.

I do know that sometimes, when you make something stiffer, the damage can be worse in a given situation because you change the material's ability to dissapate shock. And any coating adds weight. I've painted my Champ, and it does make a noticable difference. Not bad, but noticable.

Welcome, and Good flyin' to you and your boys.

Greg

Thanks for the welcome Greg. Flying with my boys is a blast, already gone through 1 wing and tail replacement. The boys (8, 10 & 47) are learning that the ground and trees are harder than the plane. They are doing quite well with flying now. After reading through all of 236 pages of this thread I'm ready to start modifying a few things and I do understand the weight issue.

Miguel