Originally Posted by
Cyclic Hotline
Does anyone still actually use Nicads?
Yes. In 407 ops with a high start/flight ratio a NiCad provides a better margin and increased life over the lead acid. Several operators in the GOM tried to switch but went back to NiCad due to start issues, minimum voltage issues, etc. Plus in that environment the lead acids were prematurely failing their capacitance checks, some after just a year TIS.
Most EMS 407 ops went to lead acid as the start/flight was manageable for the lead acid and it added to the reduced DOCs for that type of ops.