More Info on World's Cheapest ARF

I managed to sneek down to the basement to get a closer look at Doroth

(still a stupid name).

Instructions are lousy. Parts fit perfectly. All flying surfaces hinge with real hinges and movement is free. All push rods are in place and a excellent servo tray is provided. Landing gear fits perfectly in slot and all holes drilled for screws. Covering is Solarfilm. Hardware i complete and of excellent quality. Tank comes with all tubes pre-bent Comes with a heavy duty sprung tail wheel and a nice set of wheels SuperTigre .45 fits perfectly on beams. Covering needs to be shrunk i places and the fuselage is a different shade of red and is opaque. C is right on the Spar. A forty looks ridicules on it. I wish I ha something smaller.

Tomorrow I'll go to the LHS and get some trim. Tomorrow night I'll pu Polk's claim of one hour assembly to the test. I estimate it will b more like two hours. Yes the fit is that good

-- flyboyanderso

----------------------------------------------------------------------- flyboyanderson's Profile:

this thread:

Hehe, sounds like you're bursting with anticipation! Keep us posted on your results.

Coincidentally, Sport Aviator (the AMA e-zine) has a write-up about the Dorothy II:

Looks like you're not the only person interested in it!

Somebody else, can not find the post now, mentioned that there was a write up about the "Dorothy". So I read up on it. Not a bad write-up at all, and not half bad for a "new trainer". Then I read up on the polk website........ Really funny in the end. The plane is listed as being thirty (30), yes three zero, pounds !!!! Oh well, them dose darn speel chuckers nefwer werkz !!!

http://216.86.38.243/POLKS/itemdesc.asp?CartId={CEA84C70-B6BB-4E05-B44EVEREST3-FA82DA8422C3}&ic=PLK10045&eq=&Tp=

I sent them an email regarding that and their response was that the box was so large that UPS forced them to use that weight due to the oversize box.

Great Link Ed, now I have some instructions. Didn't get to build, jus

too darn close to Christmas. I have off next week I'll be flying th Dorothy for sure. Should we start a new thread?

Just got back from Midnight Mass.

Merry Christmas All!

and...

Please dear God "Peace on Earth" ( I have two kids in the military

-- flyboyanderso

----------------------------------------------------------------------- flyboyanderson's Profile:

this thread:

Just flew the Dorathy today.

With a super tigre .45 it takes about 30 feet to takeoff. After that went darn near verticle till it was a speck; shutdown the engine an just let her glide for about 3-4 minutes. Deadstick landings are breeze. A great trainer

-- flyboyanderso

----------------------------------------------------------------------- flyboyanderson's Profile:

this thread:

Hehe, nice description! So is the Dorothy a glow trainer, or a glow-powered glider?

Sounds like you had a good time flying, that's what counts.

Anyone tried converting this plane to Electric yet?

Dan

TrueRC

I would be interested in converting the Dorathy to 'lectric!

I will probably buy another one very soon to take advantage of th sale. But I would love to find an inexpensive (relatively) electri combo for this Trainer. I seriously think it would fly with th equivalent of a .25 - .30 glow engine.

Do you know much about electric conversions? I know nothing.

Perhaps we should start a new thread somewhere else

-- flyboyanderso

----------------------------------------------------------------------- flyboyanderson's Profile:

this thread:

Yes, I would be happy to help you out.

It is commonly adopted that you need 100Watts of power per pound of static weight

this 100Wats its true for 3D flying where you need 1:1

For this trainer You would be ok with 60-80W per pound.

The only thing left is to pick the Motor and prop. We have a $50 motor available that could pull this plane around with ease (that's why if anyone tried to electrify this plane) and I have my sights on this inexpensive setup for the summer fun project ( one of my million daily ideas) The motor is Brushless Outrunner Motor 2915-5 that delivers 3.25 lb of thrust with a 11x6 APC and a 4 cell lipo and

40A ESC

I will get this plane and start the thread as soon as possible.

Dan

Has any one flown theirs yet and have a maiden report and pics/vide

they can post

-- habutt

----------------------------------------------------------------------- habutti's Profile:

this thread:

Habutti

Which plane, the evolution or the Dorathy?

I've flown both, no pictures or video yet

-- flyboyanderso

----------------------------------------------------------------------- flyboyanderson's Profile:

this thread:

flyboyanderson, my request is for the Evolution.

Thank

-- habutt

----------------------------------------------------------------------- habutti's Profile:

this thread:

Habutti

The Evolution flies like a basic aileron trainer. The thunder tiger .4 hauled it off easily and it trimmed out fine. It prefers to be flow faster than what I would like for basic training purposes. Slow fligh characteristics were poor, it had a tendency to snap when stalled. Thi snapping tendency I incorrectly identified as a glich when I first fle it about a month ago.

Basically It doesn't fit in with the way I fly. I'll probably use it a a mule for breaking in new engines; or, I'll let someone use it wh wants to transition to an aileron trainer; or, I might just give i away.

Its not a bad model, Its just nothing special, interesting, o challenging.

Habutti, what kind of flying are you looking to do

-- flyboyanderso

----------------------------------------------------------------------- flyboyanderson's Profile:

this thread:

Well actually I am trying to get started in RC flying and bought it a

an inexpensive entry level plane to see if I really get the hand o this, and if it crashes early I can easily replace it without going to much out of pocket. I have an OS MAX 40 FP engine that I intend to pu in it, once Raidentech replaces the broken wing :( I already have a SIG KAVALIER kit on the shelf as a second plane. Wha is your take/opinion

-- habutt

----------------------------------------------------------------------- habutti's Profile:

this thread:

Flew the Dorathy again today. This time I programmed in Aileron/Rudde

mix. What a difference. Since this is a "rudder" loving plane th application of rudder and aileron really makes for great turns and mor effective roll. I feel confident that anyone with a little help coul easily fly this plane. I added more throw for more down elevator bu there still is not enough to hold inverted. It might be a tad nos heavy. The landing gear is to far aft which makes keeping the nose ou of the dirt difficult. I may try bending it forward.

Again, most of my flying was done at 1/4 throttle. It's a blast t takeoff across the runway and climb almost straight up; shut off th engine and see how many loops you can do. Also, great for deadstic spot landings. Landing does require planning as this plane will floa the entire length of the runway at idle speed.

My next mod will be to install two Aileron/Flap servos and progra flaperons. This should help to control glide path better.

Two club members bought Dorathys and should have them flying shortly We joked about having a Dorathy formation flight. That would be a exciting as watching paint dry

-- flyboyanderso

----------------------------------------------------------------------- flyboyanderson's Profile:

this thread:

Actually its Dorothy not Dorathy. I've been spelling it incorrectly.

The Dorothy is a big ARF 72" trainer. I'm told it is like a Telemaster. Here is a link to Picture:

http://216.86.38.243/mmPOLKS/Images/PLK10045.jpg Thanks to Ed there is a review here:

And it can be bought here:

If your looking for a very docile trainer then this is an excellent choice. It is light weight and floats like an old timer so you can fly it low and slow with confidence. Also its size makes it easier to see. The quality is very good, the hardware is good, but the instructions leave a lot out.

I enjoy flying it. It offers different challenges. One of the ways I hotdog with the Dorothy is to takeoff ACROSS the runway; climb almost straight up till it is a speck; shutdown the engine and see how many loops I can do; Pitchout for landing at very low altitude and see how close I can land it to me.

I need a student! I'll enjoy training with this plane and I'll get a lot of satisfaction out of it.

John, hope this helps

Hehe, I can't imagine you'll be able to fly for very long without somebody coming along and taking an interest in what you're doing! Just keep your buddy box with you at the field and I'm certain someone will come along who wants to give it a try.