Lithium Polymer Battery Safety:

Always charge your LiPo batteries with a recommended charger.

Always charge outdoors or in a fireproof container.

Store batteries in a fireproof container.

Keep sand or a dry fire extinguisher handy in the event of a fire.

Never charge batteries unattended.

Do not keep cells in temperatures that exceed 140 degrees F, like in a hot car.

Do not use cells that have been damaged.

Do not discharge cells over the factory maximum allowed rate.

Do not charge cells over the factory maximum allowed rate.  This is normally 1C or 1 times the capacity.  (For 2100 mAh cells it would be a maximum of 2.1 amps.)

Never combine different cell sizes or capacities together in the same pack.

Never extinguish a lithium polymer fire with water.

To dispose of LiPo batteries, first discharge to 3 volts per cell.  Puncture a small hole in the cells and soak in salt water for several hours.  Cover one of the terminals with electrical tape and dispose in the trash.

     I have one more item that is just my opinion regarding safely flying on windy days.

1. Place your airplane at the start up area.

2. Sit down on the bench with a cup of coffee.

3. If the wind blows your airplane over or across the field completely come back later and repeat steps 1 and 2.

4. If the airplane remains upright - fly it like it owes you money.
   

     The Fun - Fly was held on Saturday May 19, 2007 at 10AM with 9 participants.  It was a very nice day for flying, with light winds and an overcast sky.  Because of the skill and luck of the pilots there were no crashes during the events.  There were 3 events:

   The first event was too taxi upwind, go around a pylon which was placed near the end of the runway, taxi downwind, go around the second pylon, and take-off and land in the shortest amount of time.  The winner of that event was Dave Dentz.  He completed this in 56.53 seconds.

   The second event was for each pilot to take off, fly around and land.  The pilot that came closest to 1-minute time, either over or under, was the winner.  The winner was Paul Castrodale with a time of 1 minute and 53/100 of a second.

   Third and last event was 5 touch and goes and land on the runway in the shortest amount of time.  The winner was Kevin Carlson.

   He overall winner was also Kevin Carlson and the order of finish is as follows:

1.   Kevin Carlson
2.   Dave Dentz
3.   Al Spearbecker, Bob Nagle - Tie
4.    Paul Castrodale
5.   Scott McCarthy
6.   Marc Davis
7.   Andy Noll
8.   Dale Anderson - This was Dale's first time to fly in the fun-fly, way to go Dale.

     The next Fun-Fly will be held on June 23, 2007 at 10AM. THE FLIGHT LINE WILL OPEN AT 9AM to trim the planes.

         Try to come out and participate or to watch these pilots go through these maneuvers.  It will make you want to come back, it's exactly as the name implies, a fun time.

                                                               Bob Nagle