Hello - I am new to this and I have been flying a supercub, and have a spitfire waiting to be flown. I did a forums search but couldn't find my answer.


I have two batteries for the supercub. When fully charged, one always has much more power than the other - is it just worn out? How long do these stock batteries last?

My PZ Spitfire has 3 stock batteries and no charger. Do I have to use a Parkzone charger, or can I somehow get a different charger and switch the connectors out? If so, what connectors do I need? Or would anyone just recommend a battery upgrade?

If someone could tell me how to get better flight times and power with stock motor that would be cool, thanks Ian

It is hard to upgrade a Super Cub - you're looking at a whole new flight system if you want to change anything. It can be done, but it's a complete overhaul. Many people take the opportunity to add ailerons to it if they bother to upgrade it.

If the batteries are exactly the same, and they have drastically different behavior, then one of them is probably worn out. Nicad packs can be 'refreshed' by draining them all the way down and then charging them up again - and I mean all the way down to zero power left. DO NOT do that with Lipos - it will ruin it forever.

Take your batteries to your hobby shop and they will help you find a universal charger that will work. You will likely have to solder a connector onto the charger, so you won't have to change the batteries, just put the proper plug on the charger.

You should be able to put upward of 1000 flights on a Nicad pack before it's worn out. Essentially, they last so long they never wear out completely. Mechanical damage of some kind can make them go bad though, so if it's dented or something, that could be the issue.

Originally Posted by jasmine2501

If the batteries are exactly the same, and they have drastically different behavior, then one of them is probably worn out. Nicad packs can be 'refreshed' by draining them all the way down and then charging them up again - and I mean all the way down to zero power left.

Actually, that will wreak a Ni-Cad as well. You don't want to drain it to below 1v per cell. The best way to recover them is to do a "deep cycle", which involves draining them almost completely (1-1.2v per cell, Ie, about 8v for a 7-cell battery), rapid charging them for about 20 minutes, and then trickle charge until complete. Repeat 3 times. That should recover most Ni-Cads.

Alternatively, investing in a good charger with NPT charging technology and a built in deep-cycle feature is recommended.

Somebody told me wrong then... grrr...

I only do Nicads in my radio - I'm more familiar with Lipos.

kalnaren, what does "NPT" refer to ? Thanks

Originally Posted by Olias

kalnaren, what does "NPT" refer to ? Thanks

Negative Pulse Technology. Works basically the same way as normal Pulse chargers. Pulse charging is generally better for Ni-Cad cells because it really helps eleminate the memory effect (which is pretty minimal in new batteries anyway). As far as I know, pulse chargers don't use Delta-V peak detection either to see when the battery is charged. Delta-V is the most commonly used form of detection and it's actually kindof unreliable.

Of course, this information is coming from an application where longevity is more important than maximum peak power (like in R/C), but the principles should still apply

thanks for the replies. the battery shouldn't be worn out- it's almost new, i now am pretty sure that the connector is bad because when I shake it the charging light goes on and off - so maybe im thinking it's fully charged when it's not.

those mini Tamiya connectiors are a real pain, I've had some scary moments while they cause the plane to glitch. I've replaced mine with deans now and no longer have this problem.

I think the Cub uses 7 cell packs and the Spitfire used 9 cell packs. You can charge the smaller battery on the Spirfire charger but not the other way round. I think the Chrarger shipped with the warbirds is capable upto 10 cells.

+1 for deans. I haven't replaced mine yet but as soon as I get my hands on some, off with the Tamiyas!