Polk Hobbies DC3 / C47 anyone flown?
09-28-2005, 09:16 AM
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Polk Hobbies DC3 / C47 anyone flown?
www.polkshobby.com has a C47 and DC3 that is 72" WS adn 4 pounds with two 600 motors for $100. Exact location is http://216.86.38.243/POLKS/index.asp?CartId={3ACF8D6E-6B32-4C6C-A866-CDDF47EVEREST372A1F}
Has anyone flown these planes to say if they suck to fly or if they are a real treat in the air. A 60 amp esc is suggested and I don't see two 600 non geared motors pulling that much amps. I would like to hear from someone with experience and what their thought are for these planes at $100. Seems like a really good deal for a really big plane.
Carl
Has anyone flown these planes to say if they suck to fly or if they are a real treat in the air. A 60 amp esc is suggested and I don't see two 600 non geared motors pulling that much amps. I would like to hear from someone with experience and what their thought are for these planes at $100. Seems like a really good deal for a really big plane.
Carl
10-10-2005, 10:29 PM
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RE: Polk Hobbies DC3 / C47 anyone flown?
I posted some pics and a short video clip of the plane here.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/DC_3...2361304/tm.htm
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/DC_3...2361304/tm.htm
10-26-2006, 03:37 PM
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RE: Polk Hobbies DC3 / C47 anyone flown?
I have bought 3 Polks planes since originally posting this thread a year ago. Here is some good info for anyone looking.
They sell directly to individuals. You can buy on line or do what I do and just call in and place your order. www.polkshobbies.com I believe. I've had the Fokker tri plane, Lucy 3D and C-47. All are ARFs and don't take to long to build. The C-47 and Fokker come with servo leads installed. The planes are excellent quality in my opinion. They are very strong and can handle some hard landings. The Lucy 3-D I picked up for $50 on sale. Big 55" WS light 3D plane that flew terrific on a $50 Tower Pro 3520 outrunner from balsaproducts and 5 cell lipo. The Fokker comes in around 3lbs, after installing steerable tail wheel and adding several ounces to the nose,and flies excellent with plenty of power on a Walkera 3200kv inrunner with GWS B gearbox. Motor is around $30. Got motor and 15A esc from www.awlhobbies.com for about $45. It is a terrific slow flying plane I fly frequently with a 2000mah 8C 3 cell pack from www.commonsenserc.com for about $20. I can get 15 minute flights per pack and have had at least 50 flights or more.
The C-47 is a big 72" WS plane. Wing color is a little off from fuse but not something you'll notice at 10' away. The fuse in heavy duty plastic like a garbage can and can take serious abuse. I do not believe this plane will fly with the 7 cell Nicd pack they mention. The 600 electric motors provided barely get the plane off the ground on 8 cell nicd and if you pull up you will stall and crash. If you attempt a turn before up at least 75' you will spiral and crash. I have tried a set of big 680 motors on 3:1 gearbox and got the plane to fly much better on 8cell nicd. These came from the Multiplex Magister. I then switched to Nippy Black 1608-160 outrunner motors that now cost $15.90 each as a close out from Hobby Lobby. I just bought two more a week ago so they still have them. Using two Thunderbird 18A escs from Castlecreations at $34 each. I seem to get more power when I use cheaper towerpro 25A escs and also more power from Eflite 20A escs. Don't know why that is but I have 3 dual motor planes with these esc set ups. I fly with two polyquest 2100mah 20C packs in parrallel to give 3 cell 4200mah. The plane averages 15A total useage during flight. 6 minute flight uses 1500 total mah thus the average usage overall is 15A. More to take off and less in flight. I made a square cut out under the nose and about 5" back from the front just big enough to slide in the two packs perpendicular to the fuselage. The plane is so tail heavy that you want the packs as far forward as possible. I then made a quick and dirty simple rectangular "box" from cardboard that is open on both sides and slid it into the battery opening to define the battery space. I then filled the nose area to about 10" back with a partial can of expanding insulation foam from Home Depot. It's cheap, doesn't weight much and protects the batteries as well as holding them in place. I simply velcroed the battery "door" back in place after putting in the packs. I still had to add several ounces to the nose. I put a steerable tail wheel on it from great planes. It is the one for the great planes super sportster ep airplane available at towerhobbies.com. It required only a little bending of the supplied wire and mounted right onto the C-47 tail mount for the supplied rear wheel swivel. Last but not least the landing gear stinks the way it is. It has small wheels that will catch in the grass and eventually break the brackets on either side of each wheel. The landing gear has an enclosed spring on either side of each wheel. The spring is so stiff it will not compress under twice the weight of this plane thus it is useless. However they are very simple to remove and replace. Just remove one little pin and that's it. I took out the pins and springs and compressed them for several nights in a vice and this did next to nothing to soften them up. Best I could find was the spring in a pen. I tested many and found a pair of ink pen refills with larger than normal springs at Staples. They are made by Pentia and part number is 8004-4. These springs tested at just a shade under 1.5lbs of force to fully compress. The plane weighs right at 6lbs. there are 4 springs (two to each wheel) and the tail takes some of the weight. Bottom line. The wheels are fully extended when you set it down and they will absorb shock excellent when landing. The small wheels were replaced with 3" dia. Super Lited Wheels from Du-Bro # 300SL. They needed to be cut to be a little more narrow 16mm and work extremely well as I sometimes run out of runway on landing and end up in grass. I have used both 8x3.8 and 9x4.7 props with success. I can put up pictures if someone is interested.
I would not fly with the included 600 size motors unless you want a wrecked plane.
Carl
They sell directly to individuals. You can buy on line or do what I do and just call in and place your order. www.polkshobbies.com I believe. I've had the Fokker tri plane, Lucy 3D and C-47. All are ARFs and don't take to long to build. The C-47 and Fokker come with servo leads installed. The planes are excellent quality in my opinion. They are very strong and can handle some hard landings. The Lucy 3-D I picked up for $50 on sale. Big 55" WS light 3D plane that flew terrific on a $50 Tower Pro 3520 outrunner from balsaproducts and 5 cell lipo. The Fokker comes in around 3lbs, after installing steerable tail wheel and adding several ounces to the nose,and flies excellent with plenty of power on a Walkera 3200kv inrunner with GWS B gearbox. Motor is around $30. Got motor and 15A esc from www.awlhobbies.com for about $45. It is a terrific slow flying plane I fly frequently with a 2000mah 8C 3 cell pack from www.commonsenserc.com for about $20. I can get 15 minute flights per pack and have had at least 50 flights or more.
The C-47 is a big 72" WS plane. Wing color is a little off from fuse but not something you'll notice at 10' away. The fuse in heavy duty plastic like a garbage can and can take serious abuse. I do not believe this plane will fly with the 7 cell Nicd pack they mention. The 600 electric motors provided barely get the plane off the ground on 8 cell nicd and if you pull up you will stall and crash. If you attempt a turn before up at least 75' you will spiral and crash. I have tried a set of big 680 motors on 3:1 gearbox and got the plane to fly much better on 8cell nicd. These came from the Multiplex Magister. I then switched to Nippy Black 1608-160 outrunner motors that now cost $15.90 each as a close out from Hobby Lobby. I just bought two more a week ago so they still have them. Using two Thunderbird 18A escs from Castlecreations at $34 each. I seem to get more power when I use cheaper towerpro 25A escs and also more power from Eflite 20A escs. Don't know why that is but I have 3 dual motor planes with these esc set ups. I fly with two polyquest 2100mah 20C packs in parrallel to give 3 cell 4200mah. The plane averages 15A total useage during flight. 6 minute flight uses 1500 total mah thus the average usage overall is 15A. More to take off and less in flight. I made a square cut out under the nose and about 5" back from the front just big enough to slide in the two packs perpendicular to the fuselage. The plane is so tail heavy that you want the packs as far forward as possible. I then made a quick and dirty simple rectangular "box" from cardboard that is open on both sides and slid it into the battery opening to define the battery space. I then filled the nose area to about 10" back with a partial can of expanding insulation foam from Home Depot. It's cheap, doesn't weight much and protects the batteries as well as holding them in place. I simply velcroed the battery "door" back in place after putting in the packs. I still had to add several ounces to the nose. I put a steerable tail wheel on it from great planes. It is the one for the great planes super sportster ep airplane available at towerhobbies.com. It required only a little bending of the supplied wire and mounted right onto the C-47 tail mount for the supplied rear wheel swivel. Last but not least the landing gear stinks the way it is. It has small wheels that will catch in the grass and eventually break the brackets on either side of each wheel. The landing gear has an enclosed spring on either side of each wheel. The spring is so stiff it will not compress under twice the weight of this plane thus it is useless. However they are very simple to remove and replace. Just remove one little pin and that's it. I took out the pins and springs and compressed them for several nights in a vice and this did next to nothing to soften them up. Best I could find was the spring in a pen. I tested many and found a pair of ink pen refills with larger than normal springs at Staples. They are made by Pentia and part number is 8004-4. These springs tested at just a shade under 1.5lbs of force to fully compress. The plane weighs right at 6lbs. there are 4 springs (two to each wheel) and the tail takes some of the weight. Bottom line. The wheels are fully extended when you set it down and they will absorb shock excellent when landing. The small wheels were replaced with 3" dia. Super Lited Wheels from Du-Bro # 300SL. They needed to be cut to be a little more narrow 16mm and work extremely well as I sometimes run out of runway on landing and end up in grass. I have used both 8x3.8 and 9x4.7 props with success. I can put up pictures if someone is interested.
I would not fly with the included 600 size motors unless you want a wrecked plane.
Carl
