Sport Pilot Talk

My Sting has not started well for the last few flights and would not turn over at all on Saturday. My 4 year old Odyssey PC310 had died despite being on an Odyssey recommended/manufactured charger/tender for it's entire life. I had hoped for better life given the premium cost. Oh well.

Anyway, I had a trip planned this morning that could be moved if necessary but would be inconvenient. I could not find a TL-Ultralight approved battery locally and could not find a on online source that could get me a battery by Monday morning. I did a some research and found a suitable replacement that was available locally as well as US nation-wide. It was listed as a PC310 replacement and had the same or better specs than the other approved batteries.

I texted Bill Canino at SportAir at 5pm on Saturday with a request to add Duracell Ultra 9-BS Power Sports battery to the approved list. He evaluated the information and agreed to add it. I ordered my battery online at Batteries Plus Bulbs, picked it up the following day and installed it. Come Monday morning I was on my merry way.

This is not to say that Bill approves all requests. He is very diligent and does ensure the products on the list are the right choice for the fleet. He does do a good job of updating the list as technology evolves.

Thanks Bill!

I am actually surprised Bill has the power to add items to the MEL list , perhaps this list only applies to the US market , in which case it would make sense ...

What a timely post! I do think there is something in the Sting's DNA that is "hard" on batteries. I just keep replacing them way faster than I should have to. My first indication is getting intermittent "low battery" warnings, especially if I have the strobe lights on. I just live with it drop in another new one that I always have sitting on the shelf, fully charged. Then, I'm usually good for about another 200 hours. I get all of mine on Amazon; they used to run around $50, but have crept up to $70, now, probably because Amazon "has my number" on this purchase

What battery do you order from Amazon?

Dave, I use this one from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N ... UTF8&psc=1

Something odd, here, and why I say it may be in the Sting's DNA (some electrical issue): the batteries I pull out and replace always test out just fine on the bench! So, I have lots of used ones sitting around--for some future use!

Batteries aren't a big deal, but Technically any mods are supposed to be tested by the factory to certify them on their aircraft configuration. Just signing things off could have unexpected consequence should anything happen.

I had a well respected shop replace the specified Fiamm battery in my Sky Arrow with a Powersonic, with no LOA apparent.

Surprised me, given the liability were something to have gone wrong. The ability to use my own discretion in things like batteries, landing lights, tires and the like was the main impetus to my going Experimental. There would have been a bit less reason had 3i, then the manufacturerof the Sky Arrow, been more responsive to requests for LOA’s.

Re: My comment above, about "low battery warnings." Sometimes, I guess it's prudent to do a search on here--and then go back and re-read your own words. My problem was just solved, with a little work on the six spade-foot terminals at the base of the Ducati Regulator/Rectifier:
http://sportpilottalk.com/viewtopic.php ... ier#p20148

This should cut down my "new battery" expenses, a bit.

What did you do? Clean the spade connectors?

Yes, for now, just shot some spray electrical contact cleaner up each of the six contacts. No " low-battery" warnings on today's flight. If the problem comes back, l'll pull that 6-pronged electrical block down and clean more extensively--and crimp the female spade-foots down a bit.