Air Land Sea Hobbies

Virtually every young boy in American society has owned an RC toy at one time or another, but few of us understand what makes them work. One of the main components of RC vehicles is the servo. Simply put, RC servos are the control system for the vehicle.

There are servos employed in a variety of different devices, including disk drives. Once you set the servo, it automatically adjusts itself during operation through feedback. The RC servo contains: a DC electric motor, gears, a position-sensing mechanism, and control circuitry.

MCX type batteries are the single cell 3.7V lithium Polymer Batteries used in so many of the Indoor Airplanes. The Tenergy 3.7V 130mAh battery found at AirLandSeaHobbies.com is a MCX type battery. Being a single cell battery they do not have a balancing lead commonly found on most lipo batteries. The single cell battery does still require a balancing type charger that stops charging the battery at 4.2V. When the batteries charged voltage reaches 4.2V they are fully charged and all charging should stop. Most chargers I have seen and used are set up to charge one battery at a time.

To fully enjoy indoor flying I find I need more than one battery so I looked for a charger that would charge multiple batteries at once.  I found a Tenergy Double charger at AirLandSeaHobbies.com that has worked well for my purpose. this charger charges two batteries at once and does so independently on one another so a weaker battery doesn’t get unsafely over charged. This charger has been very easy to use, just plug it into a wall outlet and connect 1 or 2 batteries, when the indicator diode turns green, the battery is charged and ready for use.

Indoor electric airplanes seem to be on of the fastest growing aspect of the RC Hobby. Batteries for the electric indoor airplanes need to be small, light weight while still having enough capacity to allow for several minutes of flight.

While researching for replacement batteries I found the Tenergy single cell battery at AirLandSeaHobbies.com. These batteries have worked well for all my single cell needs. The Tenergy batteries have a 10C  130mAh capacity and they are the same physical size as other MCX batteries. Most of the stock OEM batteries I have used are either 70mAh or 100mAh capacity. The Tenergy battery have allowed me to enjoy longer flight times and that usually works out to more fun. I think you will find these batteries to be a very good value, I did.

There are many benefits to growing up in the Pacific Northwest, from the fresh seafood to the pristine landscapes, and of course the exciting outdoor activities. When I was little, I lived right next to Lake Sammamish in Washington and within a few miles of one of the regions best parks: Marymoor. The park offers a plethora of activities, including rock climbing, concerts and a velodrome bike track.

One of my favorite pastimes when I was little was going to the park’s airfield for electric RC airplanes. Every weekend there would be dozens of RC planes in the sky, and you could even see them on the water of Lake Sammamish. On particularly busy days, you could even witness a crash or two

Twin motor model airplanes have always been a challenge for many people. Today with the reliable brushless motors and lithium polymer batteries twins are fun.

With Brushless Motors, you will need a ESC for each motor. I recently saw the above Electric Twin at a flying field. This plane shows all that is needed for successful twin engine flight. Everything was right out in the open and it flew very well. I timed one flight at over 15 minutes. This example uses a single battery to power both of the motors Electronic Speed Controlers.  Another choice would be two btteries, one for each motor.