Ican’t quitebelieveit, butsomefine weatherhasfinallyappearedandI’ve enjoyedquitea bit of flyinginrecent weeks,including testflights of severalreview models.One of those wasthePilot RC Extra NG,quiteasizeablebeast by my standards, so Iwas abittwitchybeforeflyingher.Butall went well andshe’s proven to be abit ofa pussycat. Ihavesomenicepictures, courtesy of my mateBarry,soI’llbewritinga bitmore abouttheExtrawhentime andspaceallows.
Thismonth’s reviewshave alsofallen to me,soI’llstartthisissue’sintroduction with those. Firstintotheair wastheJPMB-339, aone-pieceminijetfrom J. Perkinswith whichI’vebeenhaving alot of fun. Last time Iintroduced youtotheXFly Models TwinOtter,butthischunky transportplane wasleftgrounded duetothe ongoing wet weather andsoggyflyingfields.However, just acouple of weeks latershe wasairborne forthefirsttime andI’vejustloved my time withher,dropping thepowerfulflaps for bumps andcircuits.Shealso aerobatswith easebutthatdoeslook abit naughty with such ascaleship.
Ourregularcolumnsstartwith Shaun Garrity andRetro Ramblings. Thismonth Shaundoesn’t takeusbacktoo far ashe buildsanew reincarnationofafavourite slope soarer,theSASWildthing. Next up isDannyFenton,whosetsthesceneatthe 2024 Scale IndoorNationals, ahighlight of thescalemodelling calendar. Dannyreports from theR/Ceventheld atthe University of Wolverhampton inlateApril.Our final column thismonthis John Stennard’s‘The Insider ’inwhich John testflieshis newfound Ares Sopwith Pupandlooksatsome favouritesmallbiplanesforprophanging andotheragileindooraerobatics.
Iknowthatmany of youenjoyturning to themiddle of themagazine to seewhichnew pull-out Pro-Plan awaitsin eachissue. This time PeterMillerlaysdowndrawingsfora Russianpoweredglider to satisfyanurge to designsomethingdifferent.And theMAK15 iscertainlythat!
As forfeature articles,R/Cconversions of favouritefreeflightmodels arenothingnew,
butAlex Maxfield hasdonea finejobwith his new Sans Egal, amoderntakeonanA2 gliderdesignfrom the1950s.Thenit’soverto Dudley Pattison,who signs offwith thelast instalment of his ‘A Company CalledFlair’ articles.Whenthispopularseriesstarted back in the Mayissue, Iasked foryourhelp to illustrateDudley’staleswithpicturesof your Flairmodels and,boy, didyoutakethat to heart.ThoseFlair Scouts,Fokkers and SE5a biplanes just kept on coming. So,abig thank youfor that andweendedupwith far more picturesthanwecoulduse. But waste not,wantnot andwe’ve putthe rest to good usein ajumbo editionofour Pilots’Pictorial readers’ modelspicture gallery.
To wrap thingsupourwaterplane correspondent MikeRoachmakes awelcome return,thistime reporting on thejoys of flying offthe waterofhis favouritelocal waterpark, LonghamLake. Then, in afinal flourish, GrahamAshbyfileshislatest Kick TheTyres column.After yearsofsqueezing large aeroplanesintosmall cars,Graham finallysnaps andbuyshimself avan. Ihope youenjoyreadingitall. HappyFlying!
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Ourcover st ar this monthis afine exampleofa FlairSE5a builtbyex-Flairsales agentBob Fletcher.Bob also ranamodel shop.It’sjustone of many excellentexamplesofFlair models builtbyhim over the years.
Photo: BobFletcher
8 SWITCH ON
Ourlatestround up of modelf lying news.
61 COUNTERPOINT
Aselec tion of newg adgets,kit sand bits foryou to buy
80 PILOTS’PICTORIAL
Send us apic ture of anew or favourite modeland it couldappearinour regularreaders’modelsg allery.This monthisdedic ated to Flairkits.
92 GOINGPLACES
Ourupd ated list of modelshows, events andcompetitionsfor youtovisit over thenex tfew months
94 MARKETPLACE
34 SANS EGAL
Alex Ma xfieldconvert sanA2free flight glider to radiocontrol -witha fewmodernt weaks!
62 ACOMPANY CALLED FLAIR
Dudley Pattison wr apsuphis autobiographic al series on his stewardshipofFlair Produc ts
74 FLYING OFFWATER AT LONGHAM LAKE
Mike Roachlet sthe uninitiated amongstour reader sintoalooselykept secret –f lyingR/C planes from waterisf abulou sf un!
Sell of fyourunwantedair fr ames and enginesormaybe buya fewnew ones
95 NEXT ISSUE
Take alookatwhat’scominginthe Augu st ‘2 4issue of RCM&E
10 JP MB-339
TheEditorglues together ahandy sized 3S elec tric jetfor some smileinducing mini jetf un
16 HOTA D6 PROCHARGER
22 RETROR AMBLINGS
ShaunGarrity look sbackata favouriteslope soarer andits modern reincarnationfor some wind powered fun
28 MAKE IT SCALE
DannyFentonrepor ts from the2024 Sc aleR/C Indoor Nationalsheldatthe Univer sity of Wolverhamptoninlate April
68 THEINSIDER
Andrew Jamescontinues to modernise hischargingc apabilitiesbyaddinga st ate-of-the-art du al chargertohis accessor ycollection
44 DHC- 6TWINOTTER
KevinCrozier takesa rare break betweenthe incessantSpringshowers to test flyXFly-Model’s1800mmTwin Ot ter
John Stennard’s ‘new ’AresSopwith Pupfeels airbeneath it swings forthe fir st time
84 KICK THET YRES
Af teryears of squeezingoverly large aeroplanes into stupidly smallc ar s, Gr aham Ashbybuysa van
48 MAK15
PeterMillerlaysdownplans fora Ru ssianpowered glider to satisf yan urge to design somethingdif ferent
KevinCaton (along-timemember of theUKF3A Team)and PeterJenkins(authorofModel AircraftPrecisionAerobatics)havegot together to produce anewbook called Advanced PrecisionAerobatics.Thenewtitlecovers: Basic andAdvanced Trimming Aircraftand Transmitter Set-up CounteringWind Effects Practice andTraining Flying Plus,aspects of Judging andhow to flythe A25 andP25schedulesmanoeuvreby manoeuvrewithcopious diagrams. Adorned by acoverphotothatshowsthe best tenpilotsatthelast FAIF3A World Championshipsthisbookis forthosewho are new to,orattempting to improve,their performance of the FAIModelAircraft Aerobatic SchedulesA25 andP25.The FAIP25 or Preliminary Scheduleisflowninall Continental andWorldChampionshipsand is usually usedin Nationalcompetitions.The FAI A25orAdvanced Scheduleisthe precursorto theP25 andhasthesamemanoeuvregeometry butwith fewerin-manoeuvreelements. The object of flyingA25isthatitenables an easier transitiontoP25as the overall geometry
remains thesame.IntheUKbothA25 andP25 areusedinthe National Leaguecompetitions.
Thebook is availableaseither aKindle or Paperback fromAmazon -https://www. amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D4JBRRS6 -for £25.99 plusdeliveryorfreedeliverywith Prime forthe paperback or just £9.99 fortheKindle.Click on the ‘ReadSample’button andyouwillseethe full table of contents andthefirst fewpages of thebook forfree.
Kevinisthelongest servingmember of the UKF3AR/C Aerobaticsinternational team.He hasflownin19 Worldand European Championships.Hehasbeen UK National Champion twiceandstillcompetes regularlyin theUK andatopeninternational aerobatic competitions.Aswellasbeing an active competition pilot andjudge,heserveson variouscommitteeswithinthe National and InternationalF3A organisingbodies.
Peterhasself-published abook entitled ‘ModelAircraftPrecisionAerobatics’ aimedat beginners andimproversthat has sold in ten countries around the world. He hasalso written acouple of articlesin Keith Jackson’s Aerobatic Scene column in RCM&E and, on
Followingourrequests inthefirst coupleof ‘A Company Called Flair ’articlesinthe April andMay issues,asking forpicturesofyour ownFlairmodels,wehavereceived numeroussubmissions,manyofwhich we have used to illustrateDudley Pattison’s finaltwo featuresinhis well-receivedseries. Infact,we’ve receivedsomanypictures anddetails of Flairmodelsfrom ourreaders (withmore arrivingalmost daily!)that we’venotbeenable to usethemall. So, we’vedecided to finishthe Flairseries by usingmost of the unused picturesina bumper four-page edition of ourPilots’ Pictorial readers’modelspicture gallery
whichstarts on page80 of thisissue.
Pleasenote that afterthisissueany future submissions of Flairmodelpictures,whilst still most welcome,will be spread acrossfuture issues,againmost likelyinPilots’Pictorial.
Shownhereisonesuchmodel,received from BarryBanks,who writes: I’mnotsure if Ihavealreadysentthese over by Facebook butit’s ofmy SaitoFG-33R3powered Flair Dr.1.
Barry’smentionofFacebookhas prompted the following responsefrom the Editor: Thanks forsendingpicturesofyoureyecatchingFlairtriplane,Barry. It has reminded me to letourreadersknowthatI’mabitslow
behalf of the UKF3Aassociation, he writesin the BMFANews on aerobatics. He hasbeen flyingmodelaircraftsincehe wasa teenager andthe FAIPschedule since2015.
oncatchingupwith things on socialmedia. The best waytoreachme is by email at KCrozier@ Mortons.co.uk whichshouldbring youa pretty fast response.Ifyouuse Facebook etc. then you couldbe waitingalongtime!
Also,it’snot the best waytosendpictures because anyimagesthathave beenmade smaller foruseonlinewill invariably be toosmalltouse in theprintedmagazine. We’vejust about got away withthese ones! Ideallypicturesneed to be atleast3000pixelswideor,ifunsure, as takenby yourcameraorphonebeforeresizing.Ifpictures exceed youremail providersfilesizelimit,then pleasesendusing afreefiletransferwebsitesuch as WeTransfer.com(preferred)or Dropbox- KC
Haveyoutried reading Best of British magazine yet? Nowpublished by Mortons Media,home to RCM&E, Best of Britishisthe UK’s favouritenostalgiamagazine.
Ever yissueispackedwith featuresthat celebrate classicentertainment,transport, food anddrink, andthegreat Britishcountryside.
SimonStabler,themagazine’s Editor, writes:
‘Our readersareattheheart of what we do.As wellas takingtheirsuggestionsonboard,their voicesareheardthroughour Yesterday Rememberedmemoirsection,aswellasthe PostbagandQuestion Time pages.
Best of Britishhas aloyaland enthusiastic readershipthathas remained strongthroughout the years.Our readersarepredominantlybased withintheUK, followed by ourinternational subscribersinAustralia, NewZealandand the USandCanada. Themagazinecelebrates heritageandtimespast,makingBestofBritish thetitle of choice forreadersand advertisersalike.’
TheJuneissueislikelytobeofinterest to many RCM&E readerswith afeature called
‘OnaCushionofAir ’tocelebrate 65 yearsof SirChristopherCockerell’sgreatinvention -thehovercraft.
Today, whilststill used in avariety of military andrescuesituations,thereisonly onescheduleddomestichovercraft servicein the world. It ’s amarkedcontrasttothedays when severaloperators were running cross-channelhovercraftservices.
Staying withthethemeofwonder transport, BoBJunealso looks at theChitty BangBangs -LouisZborowski racing cars thatinspired IanFleming’s famouschildren’s stor y-and themidget submarines’ role in D-day. Elsewhere, Liverpool’s International Garden Festivalisremembered, Britain’s spa towns arevisited, plusthemagazinespinsa fewdiscsfrombudget record labelssuchas K-tel, Embassy andPickwick.
Forthe July issue, whichgoes on salefrom 27th July,Best of Britishtakes alookbackat HammerFilms’comedyoutput,remembers OntheBuses actorBob Grantand recalls the UK mainland’sfirst themepark,plus an affectionatelook atmaps of Britain and some of thetreasuresthey reveal.
AndySephton shows howtorebondasplit hingeon atypicalmoulded foammodel
Words &photos:Andy Sephton
NeilStanton of R/C gliderspecialists HyperFlight Ltd.writes: ‘Can Iask foryourhelpplease? We arelooking foranextrastaff memberat HyperFlight Ltdto helpwithpackingandcustomersupport. Could
youpossiblymentionthis in RCM&Eplease?’ HyperFlight Ltd. is basedat Drybank Farm, Ettington,Stratford-upon-Avon. Ifinterested pleasecontact Neil using thedetailsbelow: Mob/WhatsApp: +44(0)7821351341
Thismodelhasa partly broken foam hinge.
Email: neil@hyperflight.co.uk Web: www.hyperflight.co.uk
Foam 2Foamwillhelpsupport thehinge formany flightstocome. Simply runathinbeadofFoam2Foamintothe af fected area to re-jointhe hinge.
JustbeforeChristmas, Iwaschatting to my oldchumGrahamAshbyat JPerkins(yes,RCM&E’s very own editor emeritus andKickThetyres columnist –don’t worry, he’llbebacksoon) when Ihappened to letslipthatI was interestedin adding asmallminijet to my flyingfleet forthe NewYear. Many of our readerswill be well awareofthe Arrows range of small EDFjetsthat JPerkins
distribute to modelshops acrosstheUKand we discussedthemerits of the various modelsinthat range. But timeslipped by and whatwith onething andanother Ineverdid place an order formynew Christmas toy. Roll on afewmonths andGraham contactedme,saying hehadanewmodel that Imight beinterestedin. Thekitin questionwas theJPMB-339whichata compact800 mm wingspanwasjust the
TheEditor glues together ahandy sized 3S electric jet forsome smileinducing minijetfun
Words: Kevin Crozier
Photos: Kevin Crozier, Barry Atkinson
type of smalljetthat Iwas looking for. An ongoingshoulderinjury also dictated that it should be capable of getting away followinga gentle underarmhandlaunch andthe nicely roundedfuselage andlow wingconfiguration of Aermacchi’s jettrainer /light attack aircraftlooked to tick allthose boxes. It also helps thattheMB-339isquite an attractive aeroplaneinits ownright, especiallywhen decoratedinthehighviz livery of theItalian Air Forcetrainingwing,the 61°Stormo. Discoveringthatthis pretty littlemodel waspowered by aquiet but efficient 50 mm, 11 blade fanunit drivenbya26274900KV brushlessmotor,the deal wassealed, especiallywhen Irealised that thebattery of choice wasa3S2200mAhLiPo whichI have severalexamples of.The3S2200pack has becomepretty much the‘standard’LiPo forsportelectricmodelsthesedays soit’s good to knowthatit doesn’t require anything special or expensive inthebatterybay.Ifyou only have smaller capacity 3Spacks to hand thentheMB-339willalso flyon1600 or 1800 LiPosbut with acommensuratedropinflying times.
As youcan seefrom thenearbykit contents phototheairframeislargelycomplete. Idolike aniceboxandthat onethatthismodelcomes inis aparticularlyniceexample asithas acarry handle andsocoulddoubleupas asmall carry case forapullapartmodel.But,sadly,not this oneastheMB-339islargelyglued together.The only screws arefourtinyones used to secure each of the nyloncontrolhornstotheailerons andelevators;thisisthefirstjob detailed in the instructionpamphlet, which is well illustrated with amixture of photos andsketches.
Nextupiscentringtheaileron servos(aservo testerishandyfor this) andfitting the aileron pushrods,afterwhichthebooklet tells youto glueontheservo covers.Thesebulletshaped plasticmouldings aredesigned to protectthe servo output armswhenbellylandingsoit’s bestnotleave themoff.However,Idecidedto wait until my receiverhad been installedto dothisjustin casesomefurther adjustments were necessary.
Fittingthewingtiptanks andthedroptanks arenextinthebookbutaswiththeservo covers Ielected to dothis afterassembling the airframe to minimise any‘hangar rash’when
Mainairframe parts straight from thebox. It all glues together easilyenoughbut take your timeto make sure the wing, tailand fin all line up properly.
Inside thethrusttubeshowing theclose fitting 50 mm,11blade
“Thejoinersitsdeepinitsrecess underneath each tailplanehalf, so Ifilledthegapwith somesliversofthin balsa”
swingingthemodel around on the workbench. Thetiptanksare mouldedwith recesses that push onto matching ‘tongues’ protruding from each wingtip,dittothe droptanksbut in reverse,the tonguesnow beingonthe weapon pylons andfittingintorecessesintheunderside of each wing. ThefitisabitsloppysoIuseda pair of short cocktail stick rods pushedintothe foam to supporteach of thetankswhilstthe glueset.
Theinstructions call forEPO-friendly glue andwhileIdohavesomefoamfriendly adhesive,I elected to use30-minute epoxy insteadtoensure astrongbond. This was my glueofchoicefor thewhole airframeasI reasonedthatit wouldgivemeplenty of time to make anysmalladjustments,especiallywhen lining thetail upwith thewings.
Thefirstmainpart to be fittedisthe fin with itsmoulded-onrudder.Thisis attachedusing asimilartongue&groovemountingasused forthe tip anddroptanks.Again,the fit is quite loosebutitisimperative that thefinisglued on absolutelyverticallysoI made up another couple of short cocktailsticks to actasinternal braceswhiletheglueset.
In truththisis also another areawhereI went out of sequence with theinstructions as Ireasonedthat Ineeded thetailplane to besolidlymounted beforefitting thefinin orderthat Icould propthefin up between two 90-degreesquaresmadefrom blank postcards, withthe corners cut away to clear thefuselage on eitherside.So, my next job wastofitthe carbon joinerin onetailplane half,where it
Rearendpic showingtheelevatorhook up.Notealsothescrapbalsa used to infillthetailjoinerslot.Tobecovered by greytape(well,maybe someday!)
Wingtip anddroptanks aremeant to be gluedonearly in construction butIlef tmineoff untilnearthe endtosavethemfromhangarrash.
Somemay want to squeezeina4Spack, butthis little jetdoesn’t need it.Ahealthy 3S LiPo givesit plenty of thrust.
fan. Quietand ef ficient.
Agenerousair inletisfitted to theunderside just before thefan unit.
Ahookandloopstrap is pre-fitted to secure theLiPobuttheinstructionsalsorecommend theuse of additional Velcrostrips,asseenhere.
waslefttosetbeforeslidingthathalf through thetailplanemountingslot inthe rear of the fuselage andthengluing on theotherhalf.The joinersitsdeepinits recess underneatheach tailplanehalf,soI filledthe gapwithsome slivers of thinbalsa,intendingtocoverthe slots withshortlengths of grey insulatingtapewhen themodel wasfinished. Asimplejobbutit’s still on the‘ToDo’ list!
Withthefin andtailplane gluedonandall square the nextjob wastocentretheelevator servo andconnectthetwowirepushrods to eachelevator.Thepushrods areclamped togetherattheservo armusinganadjustable screwlockconnector.
We arenearlythere, withjustthewing to glue inplace, makingsure that itsitssquare to the tail andtheaileron servo leads arefed up into the canopyarea. Thewing on my kitlined up just finewithnopacking required.
TheArrowsrange of mini jetsthat JPerkins distributehaveprovedtobeverypopularand allnow come with agyroinstalled. Hence, Iwas abitsurprisedwhen Ipoppedthe canopyoff theMB-339tonotsee agyrounderneath –and thenit clicked!
Yousee,thisisnot an Arrows kitbutisinstead
It’s tightatthe back butmystandardsize6-channel Futaba receiver went in easily enough.
aJPbrandedmodel,the firstEDF jetin their ownrange.The good news is that foregoinga gyromeansthattheMB-339 is cheaperthan anyofthe Arrowsjets anditdoesn’t reallyneed oneifyourflyingskills areatthelevelwhenyou might want to considerbuying amodel likethis.
As youcan seein anearbyphotothe radio/ batterybay is quitesmall, especiallywitha3S 2200mAhLiPoinstalled,sothe only available space forthe receiverisinthe smallspace adjacenttothe elevator servo.Hence my words of cautionabout fitting agyro, although where there’sa will, Iamsurethere is away…
Thenicely moulded canopydoubles up asthe radio/battery bayhatch andis secured with magnetsatthe rear.
Thefactory fitted40AESCisfitted with an XT60connector,myfavouritetype.However, most of my 2200packs arefittedwith EC3 connectorsbutthisisno problemasthetwo types arecompatible,atleastwith an XT plug on theESCand an EC socket on theLiPo. Ahook andloopstrap is supplied to secure thebatterybut Ialsolaid acouple of strips of Velcro alongthelength of thebatterytrayfor extrasecurity.With a3S2200LiPostrapped in,thebatteryneedstobeplaced to the rear of thebaytoachievethe recommendedbalance range.Ihavefoundthatthebattery/ESCwires arebestsecuredunderneaththebatterystrap becauseifthey areleftloosethenthey canflex
Invertedpassesareespeciallypleasing to perform.Photo: GrahamAshby
upwardsjust enough to stopthemagnetsat the rear of canopyfromsecuring properly. Regarding radioset up andCGlocationthen just followthe recommendedsettings and allwill be fine.You canadjustthings to suit your personal preferenceif required afterthe maidenflights.
AlthoughtheJPMB-339went together very quickly ithadtojoin an ever-growing squadron of review models, allwaiting for their maiden flightsduetoweeksofwet and windyweather.Eventually the rainstopped andthe winddieddown –a littlebit! So JP’s
littlejetjoined acouple of othermodels in the back of my carready forits firstouting.One of theattractions of alittlemodel likethisis that whileit’snotshort of performance,itssmall planform andlight weightmeans that it can be poppedintoasuitable clearspaceabove or belowyourother models,making it auseful backupplane.
Afterarangecheck, my friendBarry,with his camerainonehand andthe MB-339 in the other,stepped forwardand gave thesmall jet afirmlaunchintothe briskwind. Asmall amount of righttrim wasneeded along with afair fewclicks of down elevator andthenit wastime to swishthesmall Aermacchi past
Model: JP MB-339
Modeltype: ARTFminijet
Manufacturer: JP
UKdistributor: JPerkins https://www.jperkins.com/ products/JPDF1201
RRP: £159.99
Length: 32.5″(825mm)
Wingspan: 31.4″(800mm)
Flying weight: 20.8 oz (590g)
Motorsize: 26274900KV
ESC: 40Awith XT60 connector EDF unit:50mm,11blades
Servos: 3x9ganalogue
Functions(servos): Ailerons(2),elevator(1), throttle(ESC)
CG: 55 -65mm from leading edgeatairinlets
LiPo: 3S1600 –2200 mAh,30 –50 C
Barry’s telephotolensfor aseries of lowspeed andfastflypasts.Thesmalljet handledallthis abusewithaplomb,although as withalljetsits best to notslow herup toomuchin tightturns. If IdidthentheMB-339 gave me duewarning, wafflingslightlyand urgingmetoput my foot down.Butshenevertipstalled,which is better thansomeEDFsIhaveflown,which canbite ifsloweduptoomuchwhen arcing around for the camera.
Withelectricjets Ialwaysset arelatively shorttime on my Tx timer assomemodelscan be very powerhungryand canrun down aLiPo to adangerouslylow capacity injust ashort amount of time.Ireasonedthatfiveminutes wouldbe agoodstartwiththeMB-339so Iwas quicktolineherup forlandingwhenthe Tx buzzerstarted to sound.
Before thisfirstflight IhavetoadmitthatI hadconcernsaboutripping offthe underslung droptankswhenlandingso Ideliberately chose to flyherfrom aclubsite withshort mowngrass(noteasytofindsoearly in sucha
MB-339inits elementdoinga low, fast fly-past.
“…herewehave astylish smallrenditionof agreatlooking militaryjet whichnot only fliesverywell butisalso kind to LiPos”
Agreymodel flownonagreyday is usuallya recipe forpoororientation butnot with this one with herbrightorangeextremities!
wetseason) butI shouldnot haveworriedas theMB-339slidin forasmooth landing.Itwas almostas ifshe waslanding on an inflatable hovercraftlike skirt –nice! Thishas been replicated duringsubsequentlandings, even overslightlylonger,bumpy grass.The only thingIhavenoticedisthatthedroptanksare starting to losesomepaint on their undersides so Imight addstrips of cleartape to help protectthem -andmaybe coverupthe tail joinerslot too!
TheJPMB-339has flownmany times nowin awide rangeofconditions andithas proven to be ajoy to fly. Whilst youdon’t need to hare it aroundallthe time,likemostjetsitlooks itsbestgrooving aroundatpace.Alltheusual jetstyle aerobatics arepossible andshelooks particularlygood on an invertedpass.Pulling up forloops andsteep climbsiseffortless, rewardingthepilotwith asparklingvertical performance.Speaking of which…
Somemaythink thatthe50 mmfanunit maybenefitfrom the useofa 4SLiPo, butI thinkthat ’s probablyoverkill,especiallyas afresh 30 -50C 3Spack providessuchgood performance.The extraweight andpossible balanceissues,not to mentionthe difficulty of squeezingin abiggerpack, is likelyto overridethe advantagefromany possible increaseinthrust.You’reonyourownwith that one!
As forflyingtimes,my5-minutetimerhas proved to be atad tooconser vative andso I’llbe adding more timeinsmallincrements until my LiPos startshowing below30% capacity aftereachflight.
To sumup, herewehaveastylishsmall renditionofagreat lookingmilitary jetwhich not only flies very wellbutisalso kind to LiPos whilst offering reasonably longflight times. Youwon’t want to overdo things of course,but withtheJPMB-339 anda decent LiPoyou are sure to enjoymorethanjust ahandful of fast passes beforeneeding to land. ■
Thecompact size of HOTA’s D6 Procharger is apparent when compared to asmall apple.
AndrewJames continueshisquest to modernisehischarging capabilities byadding astate-of-the-artdualcharger to his accessor ycollection
D6 Procomes withoutany leadsbut XT60 equippedchargeleadsare widely availablefor allthe popularbattery connectors.
Awiderange of charge anddischargeoptionsare available.
“…thischargerissoeasyto usethatit reallydoesn’t needmuchexplanation”
Inthe JuneissueIreviewed asmallDC poweredsingleoutputcharger,soticking offa requirementfrom my ‘chargingwish list’toallowmetochargesmallLiPopacks formyelectricpoweredglidersattheflying field. Iwas very impressedwiththesimple user interfacethatthis,andmany othermodern chargersnowuse.Sowhenthe Editor offered methe HotaD6 ProSmartCharger to testwith similardisplays,thistimewithtwo325W outputs andAC/DCinputs,Iwas only toohappy to oblige.
My usual ‘athome’ chargeris arelatively modern affair,anditiseasy to setupanduse thanks to itsdual touchscreens.Butitisquite chunky andtakes up more thanhalfthespace in my outdoorcharging cabinet(asmallplastic gardenstoragecupboard)whentwo LiPos and theirassociatedleads have been connected. Thisdoesn’t leave much space foranother chargeralongside,although Ican squeezeina smallsingleoutputunit to boostthe numbers of packsthat Ican get readyfor aflyingsession. Iwasthereforeverypleased to findthatthe HotaD6hasalmostthesame footprintas my singleoutputunit,but offerstwofrontpanel outputs, effectively doubling my charging capabilitiesat anyonetime.
At home Ipowerthe Hotaviaits AC mains lead.Thisisthe only leadsuppliedso youwill need to sourceyourown chargeleads and balanceboards, as wellas an XT60socket
equippedDCpowerleadshould youwishto useit ‘offgrid’.But if youhaveother chargers thenit’slikelythat youwillhave built upa smallstock of leadsalready.Ifnot,thenthey arereadilyavailable to buytosuitallpopular connectortypes,notleastfrom4-Max,who suppliedthis Hotachargerfor review.
In some waysthelack of leadsisa good thingasmany of us willhave built up asmall mountain of wireswith thewrongtypes of connectorsthat we’veneverused andwhich camewitholderchargers.Sonothavingthem suppliednot only keepsthemanufacturing costs downbutalsosaveswasting preciousmaterials.
Suppliedin ablack,cubeshapedbox,the D6 Promeasures108 x105 x76mm, soisjust aboutpalmsized.As previouslymentioned,it comeswith amainspowerlead,fittedwitha UK3-pinplugwhenpurchasedfrom 4-Max. No manualissupplied,just aspecification sheetwhichincludes adrawing of thecharger withlabelsshowingall theports andfunctions. Ididfind aslightlymorein-depthmanual online afterabriefsearchbut to be fairthis chargerissoeasy to use thatit reallydoesn’t needmuchexplanation– more on thatlater. Thereisnow alink to thefull HotaD6manual on the4-Maxwebsiteshould youwish to take alook.
Afull-colour 2.8” screen dominatesthe angled frontpanel. Task settings screen poised readytoclick on the ‘Select task’menu.
Let’sstartwith abrief tour of the unit,starting withthe angled2.8-inchfullcolourscreen.To theleftis achannelselectbutton forswapping betweenthetwochargingports andtothe rightis aredscrollbar. This willbe familiar from many radiocontroltransmitters;scrollsideways to runthroughthemenus andpressdown to select aparticularfunctionortoconfirma setting. Forinstance,the topmenu(calleda task by Hota)is Select Task. Rollthescrollbar until Select Taskishighlighted ingreenthen pressdown to seethe drop-downmenu.Roll thebaragain to selectthetaskthat yourequire, mostlikelyBalanceCharge or Storage,and press to confirm.Othertasks available are: PowerSupply, Charge,Discharge, External Discharge andSyncCharge.
At the rear arethe AC andDCinputs.ACis 100 -240VwhilstDC is 6.5 -30VviaanXT60 plug. Thismeansthat youcan poweritfrom awide range of DCsources,not only 12V car or leisure batteries,butalso regulatedsolar supplies andevenotherLiPos too. Onething youcan doif youhaveacouple of fullycharged large capacityLiPosspare whilstoutflyingis to usethem to chargeyoursmallerpacks,hence reducingtherisk of flatteningyourcar’sbattery. Thepowerfulcooling fanisalsomountedinthe back of the casesobesure to keepthe fan’sinlet vent unobstructedwhilst inuse,likewisethe outlet vent on the underside of thecharger. Ontheright-handside of the unit area smallUSBupdateportand a5V/2.1AUSBport. This wouldbe very handytochargea radio transmitterthatsupportsUSBchargingorother similarlychargeddevicessuchascamerasetc.
Thesmallfrontpaneliswhereyouwillfind thetwooutputs andtheirassociated6Sbalance ports.Eachoutputisfittedwith an XT60plug, forwhichmatching chargeleads or adapters arecommonlyavailable.Tomakethingseven easier4-Maxgiveafulllist of matchingleadsat thebottom of theD6 webpage: https://www.4max.co.uk/HOTA-D6-Pro-wireless-charger. html
There’salso abonuschargefunctioninthe form of awireless chargingplateontop of the unit,whichisperfectfor topping up your mobilephonewhilstattheflyingfield.
TheD6Pro has to be oneofthe easiest chargers to set up anduse,atleast forLiPocharging and discharging,because once youhaveplugged in apackand connectedthebalanceleadit willautomaticallyanalysethepack andsetup most of theparameters foryou.Thisleavesyou justneedingtocheckthatallthesettings are okay andthen choose your favouredcharge or discharge rate.Althoughmodernpacks arecapable of extremelyfast charging Istill
Name: HOTA D6 Pro
Producttype: AC/DCDualChannel
SmartCharger
Supplied by: 4-Max
https://www.4-max.co.uk
RRP: £109.99
Compatible chemistries: LiPo, LiFe, LiIon,LiHV, NiMH,NiCd,Pb,Eneloop
Lithiumcellcount: 1–6S
NiMH /NiCdcellcount: 1–16S
Input voltage: DC 6.5 -30V
Charge current: 0.1 –15A x2
Discharge current: 0.1 –3Ax2
Charge power: DC 325W x2input voltage>24V,AC200W
Discharge power: Internal15W x2. External325W x2
Balancecurrent: 1600 mA x2
USBoutput: 5V /2.1A
Screensize: 2.8”,320 x240 260000colours
Size: 108 x105 x76mm
Weight: 575g
stick to theoldrule of thumb of charging anddischargingat1C.Asanexample,when charging my 5S5200mAh packs Iwill set the chargeat5.2A on each channel. TheD6 takesthisinitsstride anditdoesagreat job of chargingtwopacks simultaneously, showing closelybalanced cells whenchecked witha batterycheckerimmediatelyafter charging. It knocksthesocks offmy‘old’chargerinthis respectand Ialwaysthoughtthat onedida prettygoodjob of balancing aLiPo’scells… Eachchannel cansupportcharge ratesofup to 15 amps,but dischargingislower, witheach channelallowing up to 3amps discharge rate.I tend to use theStoragefunction(akatask) to dothis andagaintheD6 providesa very wellbalancedset of cells atthe default8.4Vpercell setting. Thecell voltageis adjustable should youwish to setit abit higher.
Power andbalance connections to thetwo channels aremade viathe frontpanel.
Backpanel showingthe AC andDCinputsaswellasthe ef ficient coolingfan.
TheD6Pro supports awide rangeof battery chemistries,includingalltheusualR/Ctypes: LiPo, LiHV, LiIon,LiFe, Pb,NiCd,NiMh. There’s even aseparate task forcharging Eneloop cells.Thereare also Smartbattery,LiXX, and NiZnoptions.
When achannelischargingitsdisplaylightsup orange.Whenchargingiscompleteitwillturn green,whichindicates acelldifferenceof less than20mV. Thepackcan beusedatthispoint, or youcan leave it abitlongertofullybalance thecells to lessthan10mVdifference. At this stagethedisplayturnsblue.So, it’sgreen forgo ifattheflyingfield or justleave it to turnblueif youhaveabitmore time(maybeifchattingto clubmates or having acoffee!) or arecharging athome.
D6 Procan charge allcommonbattery chemistries, with NiCd,NiMhand Pb furtheralong thescroll down list.There’s even adedicatedEneloopsetting.
Channeldisplaysturnorangeduringcharging. This CH2display also showsthe Internal Resistance of each cell.Itlooks like cell onewillneedkeeping an eyeon!
Whenapackisfully chargedthe screen turnsgreen. Thebattery canbesafelyusedatthisstage or…
If youare carefulthenbalance leadscan be connectedwithout usinga balanceboard,aswiththis4-Max Purple Powerpack. Anotherneat trickisthe abilitytoplugEC3 socketsdirectlyintothe XT plugs.
“It’salsocleverenoughto copythe settings acrosstothesecondchannel“
Whilstcharging,thedisplaycan be changed to showingthestatusofeachchannel or youcan callup asplitscreen to showthetwochannels side by side.The screensalsoshowseveral parameters of connectedpacks, including cell type,number of cells andthetargetcell voltage. Youcan alsoseeindividual celldataincluding voltage andinternal resistance. It takes acouple of minutes fortheIR values to appear, butthey
Both channels canbedisplayed usingthe splitscreen function.
…waitalittlebit longer andthe displayturns blue showingthatthe pack is fullybalanced.
areworth keeping an eyeonasany marked differencebetween cellswillhelp show whena packisstarting to degrade.
Whendischarging,thedisplaywill light up purple,changing to an olive greenwhenthe taskis complete.
SUMMARY
Ihavedeveloped arealliking forthischarger, mainlybecause of itssmall footprint andthe speedatwhichitcan besetup andused. It’s trulyaSmartChargerbecauseafter connecting apackitdoes agreatjob of analysingthe cells andsetting up mostparameters,just leaving youtodoa quick check of thesettings andtoset your preferred charge rate.
It’salsocleverenough to copythesettings across to thesecond channel. So,ifyou are chargingtwopacks of thesametype andcapacity then youwillfindeverythingis pre-set foryou, readytostart chargingthesecondpack. Easy!
Differentcolours areusedtoshowdischarge status. Here channelone is purple showinga 2S LiHV pack beingdischargedusing theStorage task,whilst channeltwo is olivegreen showingthatthe cellsofa 3S LiPo areclose to reaching theirchosenStorage voltages.
