"In the good old days of lead acid batteries pilots <cut>
Now we are using NiCad batteries <cut>"
All of the helicopters I fly (a couple of B206's and H500's) were factory fitted with NiCads out of the factory and a plethora of Battery over temp warning lights, but have all since been retrofitted with good old lead-acid, presumably for this reason. Does anybody fit NiCads as standard these days? Given their discharge characteristics and memory effects I think they make a poor choice (witness the automotive industry: Still with good old lead acid...)