I've been charging 1S 180mah to 4S 4000mah lipos in parallel for years. I have 2 rules/guidelines:
1. should be of similar discharge level, can be minutes different in flight times, doesn't have to be perfect....
2. always hook all power leads in parallel first, then connect all the balance leads. that way if they are different charge levels, the power leads will be able to handle the high currents until the the lipos total voltage balances. if you connect the balance connectors first in parallel, you may go over 5A and melt one!
3...bonus rule......similar lipo battery chemestry is good idea but not mandatory....ie same manufacturer
someone may disagreee but my experience is "works fine"

Originally Posted by pugsam

It seems that multiple-battery parallel-charging cables, such as that one, are working out ok for many folks.

But.........I thought --- correct me if I'm wrong, here -- that one of the considerations is that there can be problems unless all of the batteries intended to be charged are at approximately the same level of discharge.

And getting charge readings on UM batteries can be problematic.

Rather than get into that tall grass, I've stayed with charging only one battery per charger.

Is there a definitive answer to the question of whether my concern is unfounded?

Dave

Originally Posted by RealGambler

.....Here's an adapter I made for my UMX 2S batteries......

Thanks, RG. Great info.

That adapter you made looks great, too.

I wonder if anyone sells an adapter like that. (I have the soldering / fine motor skills of a toddler)

Dave

Originally Posted by stuglas69

Hello everyone, I just got a Carbon Cub at my LHS yesterday and im very impressed with it. This is my first plane, but I have experience with 3D helicopters so I thought I would try a plane. First off the rudder on the plane feels very flimsy I actually bent it unboxing it, do you think there will be a better rudder. Also are there any tips for the maiden flight, like setup on the transmitter? I will be receiving my new dx7s on monday so any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

The rudder is pretty flimsy as is the elevator. Both bent on my and then i added some tape to beef it up a little. If the foam is creased you can take a damp paper towel and lay it over the foam and heat it with a covering iron to steam the foam back to shape before you tape it. Just start out easy with it and do it slow so you don't over heat it. Also be careful not to touch the iron to the foam without the paper towel between them or its game over!
I also added some small carbon rod to help support my tail feathers

Originally Posted by stuglas69

Hello everyone, I just got a Carbon Cub at my LHS yesterday and im very impressed with it. This is my first plane, but I have experience with 3D helicopters so I thought I would try a plane. First off the rudder on the plane feels very flimsy I actually bent it unboxing it, do you think there will be a better rudder. Also are there any tips for the maiden flight, like setup on the transmitter? I will be receiving my new dx7s on monday so any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

Ahhhhh! First plane? Not to sound too negative but this isn't the best first plane even with heli experience. It can be done but keep in mind this bird isn't self stabilizing like a trainer, you will need to keep the wings level etc. have you flown any planes before?

Originally Posted by stuglas69

Hello everyone, I just got a Carbon Cub at my LHS yesterday and im very impressed with it. This is my first plane, but I have experience with 3D helicopters so I thought I would try a plane. First off the rudder on the plane feels very flimsy I actually bent it unboxing it, do you think there will be a better rudder. Also are there any tips for the maiden flight, like setup on the transmitter? I will be receiving my new dx7s on monday so any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

You may be fine, but if you had asked me first I would have tried to lead you away from the cc for a first airplane. Especially if it's not set up right concerning cg, trims and throws it can be a real handful. You might get lucky and have one that comes out of the box right on, but even then it takes some getting used to for sure. As has been said many times here - it is not a beginners airplane. I'm still learning and not a pro by any means, but hadn't crashed an airplane for right at a year until today - and I put the cc in on its nose - one dumb thumb move and didn't have enough control authority to save it. Stupidly had taken off with transformer set to low rates and this thing needs more than that.

so I just ordered up one of the parallel charging adapters and some hyperion 240mah packs, what is a good charge rate to use, do you crank it up for every pack you add? I was thinking like 350mah per pack I charge so for 3 packs I would charge at say 1amp?

Originally Posted by bigemike

so I just ordered up one of the parallel charging adapters and some hyperion 240mah packs, what is a good charge rate to use, do you crank it up for every pack you add? I was thinking like 350mah per pack I charge so for 3 packs I would charge at say 1amp?

I leave mine at storage charge until I want to use them, then I hit them with 1A each, so 3 packs would get 3A in parallel, takes 10 min. from what I've read, they can take it and mine are going strong

Still have not gotten out to maiden this plane yet.

Is it recommended that I start at high rates with rudder/elevator position moved further to inner holes?

I set up low and high rates on the plane but sounds like this plane needs high rates only, and even then there is not enough elevator and or rudder authority.

that really depends on your skill level...
I always program triple rates on one switch, start out in low rates, get to safe altitude and then try mid and high rates
if things go wrong fast on low rates I bump them up quick

Originally Posted by grovey

Still have not gotten out to maiden this plane yet.

Is it recommended that I start at high rates with rudder/elevator position moved further to inner holes?

I set up low and high rates on the plane but sounds like this plane needs high rates only, and even then there is not enough elevator and or rudder authority.

i can't believe it, I just got a call from the wife, horizon already delivered my replacement plane. I just called thursday and they said I had to wait till the end of the month. So now I have two, If I knew this one would of been here this quick, I would of waited on buying the second plane. I wonder if I could trade it in on a gee bee or a beast. Or have one with floats and one on wheels. Kudos to Horizon for taking care of me.

For those who don't want to read back, my first plane stuck down elevator in the 3 rd pack and went into the muddy tall grass of our flying area. I cant retrieve it, as the mud is knee deep right now

Originally Posted by gatorb8

that really depends on your skill level...
I always program triple rates on one switch, start out in low rates, get to safe altitude and then try mid and high rates
if things go wrong fast on low rates I bump them up quick

Agreed I have 3 rates set up. I am hearing though that even high or maxed out rates is not enough for elevator and rudder.

Originally Posted by turboparker

snip....

Regarding precision landings - if you follow the procedure used with full-scale planes that I have posted many times on these threads, you will be able to do precision landings with nearly any RC plane. On approach, manage airspeed with elevator & manage descent-rate with throttle. If you're coming in a bit hot, raise the nose slightly. If you're a bit slow, lower the nose. If it looks like you'll land short, add some power. If it looks like you'll land long, reduce power. Master the technique & you will be able to put the plane where you want it nearly every time. Plus, your landings will look much more realistic, as this is how it's done with full-scale planes.

Joel

Spent the morning at a local abandoned airport practicing this technique. Thanks Joel Can't say that I get it right every time, but I had a great time just working on this skill. Lots of landings and touch and goes.

I am liking this plane more and more each day. I have a couple of hyperion 320mAh packs that are quickly becomming my favorite. I was getting 18 minutes of low and slow before they started lagging a bit. The extra weight was no problem at all.

I put Dubro lite 1.5 inch wheels which help out with the ground looping.

Flew my carbon cub for the first time yesterday, it wanted to roll left and pitch down. Can center of gravity cause that? Any tips for battery placement? The manual is a little vague about front of the battery box, the velcro doesn't go all the way to the front.

Thanks
Dan

Originally Posted by whirlcap

Ahhhhh! First plane? Not to sound too negative but this isn't the best first plane even with heli experience. It can be done but keep in mind this bird isn't self stabilizing like a trainer, you will need to keep the wings level etc. have you flown any planes before?

No, i've just been practing on the simulator a lot.

would keeping the flaps down for the first couple of flights be good?