Sky Pirates Adopt A Highway

Sky Pirates have adopted a 2 mile section of Rt 611 in Doylestown.  It starts at Broad St (the first exit north of 202) and continues north to Danbury (where the divided highway comes back together).  We will have our first clean up on Saturday, April 17.  The plan is to meet at the K-Mart parking lot near Rita’s Water Ice at 8 a.m.    Please contact Dave by Wednesday, April 14  if you will be able to help.

Jarrett’s Flying Video

Very nice video showing our field from the air.

Apartment for rent at the Sky Pirates field!

Here is an opportunity to greatly reduce your travel time to the flying field – - by living right at the field!  Our landlord and fellow club member Terry has an apartment for rent.  It has 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, washer and dryer, and there is a separate entrance at his house.  If you know of anyone looking for an apartment, please pass the word.  Anyone interested can contact Terry using his phone number on our membership list, or contact me by phone or by using the email link provided on this website and I will pass the word.

Check you batteries!

It’s that time of year again! With springtime and flying season just around the corner, this is a good time to check your batteries. I’m speaking mainly to those of you who fly glow and gas; you electric flyers are always on top of your batteries.

If your packs use NiMH or high-capacity NiCd cells then their lifetime is typically only about 3 years. If your packs use lower capacity NiCd cells (for example the 500 and 600 mAh packs that come with transmitters and receivers) then your packs may stay good for longer. Storing at a high temperature, charging at a high rate, leaving your pack constantly on charge, using an unreliable peak-detect charger, and other abuse will shorten your pack’s lifetime.

Cycle your pack and get a capacity reading. If the capacity is less than 80% of the rated capacity then you should replace the pack. After a full charge, let the pack just sit for about 5 days. Then cycle it and see how much capacity was lost through self discharge. If the pack loses more than 15% in 5 days then replace it.

Of course, before each flight everyone should check their receiver’s voltage using a loaded voltmeter and their transmitter’s voltage using the transmitter’s built in voltage indicator or readout.