Ireland

[silverstoned83]

I certainly don't want to cause some sort of explosion or fire on an airplane while travelling, but I figure if the battery is in fact malfunctioning on an airplane, we have a problem one way or the other. Kind of off topic but, all those full cell phone/camera/random electronics and charging stations at every seat seem to pose an issue also.

But if this half charge actually helps prevent an accident I'm all for it.

All those portable electronics use LiPo batteries with a much higher internal resistance, which limits the kind of current that can flow in a short circuit condition, thereby reducing the amount of heat it can generate. Our RC LiPo's internal resistance is far lower due to the amount of current they are required to push, which is the reason why they should be treated with more respect.

If you stab a fully charged iPhone battery with a knife, you might get some smoke and it would definitely get hot. Try that on an RC LiPo.... you better stand back and be prepared for some flames to shoot out.