E-FLITE Blade CP Manual - page 5
5
Lithium Polymer Battery Upgrade Recommendations
While the included Ni-MH battery pack will allow the Blade™ CP to perform very well as configured, Lithium
Polymer (Li-Po) battery packs are a very popular upgrade for improved performance and flight time, at similar or
even less weight than their Ni-MH counterparts.
Note: Lithium Polymer batteries are significantly more volatile than the alkaline, Ni-Cd or Ni-MH
batteries used in RC applications. All manufacturers instructions and warnings must be followed closely.
Mishandling of Li-Po batteries can result in fire.
The Blade CP electronic components are designed to operate with up to 11.1V (3-Cell) Li-Po battery
packs. However, the increased voltage under the load of 3-Cell Li-Po packs compared to 9.6V Ni-MH packs can
accelerate motor wear. For this reason, if using 3-Cell Li-Po packs, you
MUST change to a 370 main
motor with smaller pinion (8- or 9-tooth), while also adding heat sinks to both the main and tail motors.
(Please see our recommendations on page 6 for more detailed information on motor, pinion, heat sink and main
blade configurations when using 3-Cell Li-Po packs). These items are available separately:
Item
Description
EFLH1110A
370 Motor w/8T 0.5M Pinion: BCP
EFLH1110B
370 Motor w/9T 0.5M Pinion: BCP
EFLH1131
Tail Motor Heat Sink: BCP
EFLH1132
Main Motor Heat Sink: BCP
For sport flying, we suggest 3-Cell Li-Po packs from 860–1320mAh. Both E-flite™ and Thunder Power offer
excellent choices in high-quality, high-discharge packs in these sizes:
Item
Description
EFLB1005
11.1V 860mAh 3-Cell Li-Po, JST
EFLB1015
11.1V 1200mAh 3-Cell Li-Po, JST
THP9003SJPL
900mAh 3-Cell 11.1V Li-Po, JST
THP13203SJPL
1320mAh 3-Cell 11.1V Li-Po, JST
For those interested in aerobatic flying such as loops, rolls, inverted, and more, we recommend you purchase the
Blade CP Aerobatic Enhancement Kit (EFLH1168). This kit includes a symmetrical main blade set (EFLH1147B),
370 motor w/9T 0.5M pinion (EFLH1110B), tail motor heat sink (EFLH1131), and main motor heat sink
(EFLH1132) specifically intended for use with 3-Cell Li-Po packs. For the best aerobatic performance, we
suggest using 3-Cell 860-900mAh Li-Po packs. We recommend the E-flite and Thunder Power Li-Po packs
as listed above.
Note: You must only use Li-Po capable chargers for charging Li-Po battery packs. Failure to do
so may result in fire. Use of the included AC charger intended for 9.6V Ni-MH packs with Li-Po
batteries is dangerous and not permitted as it will result in damage to your Li-Po pack, potentially
causing a fire. We recommend using the E-flite Celectra™ 1-3 Cell Li-Po charger (EFLC3005) for safe
Li-Po battery charging.
Note: Li-Po batteries should not be discharged to below 3V per cell under load. In the case of 3-cell
packs as used for the Blade CP, you will not want to allow the Li-Po battery to fall below 9V during
flight. The Blade CP 4-in-1 unit does not feature a voltage cutoff of any type, so we suggest that you
stop flying when it requires more throttle than typical to maintain hover. Typically if you land when the
power just begins to fade, you have left a safe margin of capacity in the Li-Po battery pack. This may,
of course, vary greatly depending on the make, model, and performance of your specific Li-Po pack.
Please consult the instructions included with your Li-Po battery pack for more information on how to
prevent over-discharging.