Author Topic: Jetco Dolphin Laser Cut kit (Read 7874 times)

Juan Valentin · « **on:** April 02, 2014, 07:58:35 PM »

I bought on ebay a laser cut Jetco Dolphin from Penn valley Hobby Center and I`m building it. When I received it i was pleased with the quality of the wood used. The kit includes a set of SIG plastic and metal horns,SIG bellcrank,foam wheels including tail wheel, wire landing gear ,metal pushrods and a plastic canopy. The sent original plans and a copy of the Dolphin magazine article.I never build the kits as they are in the box,always find things that I like to change. I made a tool to splice the spars and then I started building the wing. I placed all the ribs on the spars and leading edge with pins and made sure was straight before using CA to glue them .The center ribs were 1/16 inch short at the front so I added some shims.Here are some pics.
Juan

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #1 on:** April 02, 2014, 08:36:11 PM »

Some more pictures of the dolphin wing.I replaced the 1/8 of an inch wing tips and went with 1/4 inch to install adjustable leadouts. I have also installed a weight box. I will be posting more pictures is just that I have to resize them.
Juan

wwwarbird · « **Reply #2 on:** April 02, 2014, 09:42:51 PM »

Lookin' great!

That's the same way I splice spars whenever necessary, with an aggressive angular cut.

Some additional tips: I usually like to CA a piece of 1/64" plywood on the front and rear sides too, to help support the splice. The other thing I do is offset the splices within the wing structure. I'll put the top spar splice roughly in the center or toward the tip of the inboard wing panel and then the bottom spar splice the same on the outboard panel, or vice versa. I see that your past that point already on the Dolphin here Juan, just a suggestion for others reading this.

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #3 on:** April 03, 2014, 08:05:06 PM »

A few more pictures Of the wing with the flaps temporarily attached,tip weight box and the beginning of the fuse construction.I used 1/64 ply for a fuselage doubler since the plane was not designed with them for my peace of mind . I also made my own elevator control horn,since the space at the back was tight I decided to use a 4-40 kwik link that I improved a bit. I wrapped the threaded area with copper to make sure it would not spread and soldered the wire and applied a solder fillet to the riveted pin. I used Stay brite silver solder. I built the fuse on a jig that I made to make sure I had a straight fuse. will post more pics later.
Juan

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #4 on:** April 03, 2014, 08:07:34 PM »

more pics.

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #5 on:** April 03, 2014, 08:10:25 PM »

more pics.

tom brightbill · « **Reply #6 on:** April 03, 2014, 09:14:36 PM »

Beautiful, keep it coming!

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #7 on:** April 03, 2014, 10:44:27 PM »

A few more pics Showing the flap horn since I wanted to be able to do adjustments I placed my bellcrank glued to the top spar that way the flap pushrod comes out of the bottom of the wing and I`m going to have a hatch to do adjustments in the bottom of the fuse. To be able to do that my flap horn has two arms to be able to have a pushrod going to the elevator horn on the bottom also.
Juan

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #8 on:** April 03, 2014, 11:05:11 PM »

A few more pics. These show the elevator hatch I reinforced the area with some 1/64 ply on both sides of the fuse. The elevator pushrod is 3/16 carbon fiber with titanium ends and dubro ball links. I also made a CF pushrod to use from the bellcrank to flaps.
Juan

Bill Little · « **Reply #9 on:** April 04, 2014, 05:24:06 AM »

Hi Juan,

Excellent workmanship you're doing! The Dolphin is a "solid" airplane. What engine are you using?

Thanks!

BIG Bear
RNMM/AMM

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #10 on:** April 04, 2014, 11:20:28 AM »

hello Bill
I`m using an ENYA 30 SS because that was the recommendation by forum members.I didn`t want to overpower it with a .40 size engine plus the enya is light. Have you had experience with this airplane? I`m going to use the flap and elevator throws suggested in the plan. Weight at this point with the engine is 30 ounces.
Juan

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #11 on:** April 04, 2014, 08:37:09 PM »

Today I worked on the fuel tank for my Dolphin,I like to make them that way I know they have no corrosion and that they will fit my plane. I had done a fuel tank but was not happy with the space in the fixed cowling for the fuel filter. I never fly a plane without a fuel filter to avoid problems,I have seen the crud that they collect. I decided to make the fuel filter part of my fuel tank. Since I will have a hatch to remove the fuel tank it will be easy to clean the filter once in a while. Now I can glue the nose blocks that make the front cowling.
Juan

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #12 on:** April 04, 2014, 09:00:15 PM »

A few more pics.
Juan

john e. holliday · « **Reply #13 on:** April 05, 2014, 09:34:58 AM »

I love the idea of your fuel filter. Thanks.

Glenn (Gravitywell) Reach · « **Reply #14 on:** April 05, 2014, 10:15:25 AM »

I agree with John, thats a real neat idea and I am going to use it! Its one of those things that is so easy, but I just never think of. I make all my own tanks and this will solve some problems for sure.

Bill Little · « **Reply #15 on:** April 05, 2014, 02:06:12 PM »

Hi Juan,

The best Dolphin I have seen over the years was the one Todd Lee had. Powered by a stock Fox .35, and light, it would do a square 4 leaf clover! Flew as good as any model I have seen. I always wanted to build a Dolphin myself, just too many other projects and the odd case of laziness........... might get me one of those laser cut kits and just go for it! Yours looks great, it's light, and that Enya should fly it real well! Good Luck!

BIG Bear
RNMM/AMM

P.S. I like that fuel filter idea, too!!

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #16 on:** April 07, 2014, 04:43:10 PM »

I`m working on the fuse top blocks and added landing gear also shaping the nose of the plane using a Veco 1 3/4 spinner have a lot of sanding to do.
Juan

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #17 on:** April 07, 2014, 04:45:29 PM »

A few more pics.
Juan

john e. holliday · « **Reply #18 on:** April 08, 2014, 10:53:46 AM »

You are doing some awesome work on this plane.

wwwarbird · « **Reply #19 on:** April 08, 2014, 11:37:46 AM »

I don't get it, where is all the dust?

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #20 on:** April 08, 2014, 01:48:29 PM »

Hello Guys
I`m sanding but I go outside behind the house to the back stairs,there`s a lot of wind in the afternoon plus the house acts as a shade.I sanded the elevator and flaps using some home made forms to get the contour I want. They are small, light and easy to handle plus I get the shape needed. I have one V shaped for the front of the flaps and elevators,For the back I made a round one because by hand I was never able to get it right. I know that there are people that can do it free hand and my hat is to them.
Juan

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #21 on:** April 14, 2014, 04:52:40 PM »

I haven`t posted in a few days,because I have been doing other things on my Bike but here are a few pictures of how I did my leading edge. As we all know is very important to have the same curvature on both sides of the leading edge to get good performance, On this old designs the leading edge is designed to be sharp. I was reading some advice on the ARF Nobler given by Brett Buck about making the leading edge blunter to get better performance out of the plane. When it came time to sand my leading edge I decided to follow his advice. I made a small sanding form to get the same shape on both sides of my leading edge.I had done the same thing to my scratchbuilt P-51B Excalibur and the plane flew great right side up or upside down the plane would turn the same. Here are some pics.
Juan

john e. holliday · « **Reply #22 on:** April 14, 2014, 07:56:24 PM »

Yes, a lot of kit plans showed sharp leading edges for some reason. Years ago when the late Johnny Clemons had his shop, I was fortunate enough to visit him at his shop. We got to talking planes and he related a story of a young man that was having trouble getting his plane to fly level and stable. Johnny said he looked at the plane and asked the lad if he could do some work on it at the field. He was given permission and Johnny said he took the old pen knife to the leading edge. He thought the lad was going to faint. Had some tape to put over it when he got it carved nice and smooth. They then flew the plane and he said the lad couldn't thank him enough. Of course the young man refinished the plane and guess flew it for years. Your leading edge looks great.

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #23 on:** April 19, 2014, 12:22:39 AM »

Well I`m very close to finishing building the Dolphin. I made sure everything was at 0 degrees and then I glued the wing,elevator,rudder and the top blocks after doing some carving.The controls are installed and working smoothly.I decided to go with the instructions on flap and elevator that were specified by Mr.Mcfarland on the kit plans. 25 degrees of flap to 33 degrees for the elevator. I also did some work on the cockpit using thin cardboard to make an instrument panel and a seat backrest.To add some color I made a small blue joy stick and two red cilinders behind the seat. Getting ready to dedust canopy before gluing it. I will drill a tiny hole at the back of the canopy to avoid distortion with temperature changes.Here are some pics.
Juan

EddyR · « **Reply #24 on:** April 19, 2014, 07:19:25 AM »

What kide of bike were you working on> I build vintage racing and road bikes

1972 Raleigh 531 frame

john e. holliday · « **Reply #25 on:** April 19, 2014, 08:16:50 AM »

If you haven't glued the canopy on yet and don't want to drill a hole in it, drill a small hole in the cockpit area where it is not too noticeable. There should be an open area underneath. It is looking really great.

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #26 on:** April 19, 2014, 11:13:37 AM »

Hello Eddy and John
That`s a great looking bike Eddy. When I wrote bike I meant motorcycle I have 3 british Triumph motorcycles.Here is a pic of my 1978 Bonnie.

John thanks for the advice I will drill a mall hole in the fuselage.
Juan

EddyR · « **Reply #27 on:** April 19, 2014, 11:31:32 AM »

I have a top limit of about 25MPH. I bet you can top that

Ed

Dennis Adamisin · « **Reply #28 on:** April 19, 2014, 08:54:32 PM »

Just wonderful Juan! you can bet somewhere Lew McFarland is smiling.

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #29 on:** April 19, 2014, 10:09:28 PM »

Hello Dennis
I have an old Kit plan book that was published by the AMA that has a lot of the old C/L kit plans and every time I looked at the Dolphin I wanted to have one. I thought about scratch building one about 10% bigger to use an OS.40 FP that I have but while surfing the bay I found this kit made by Penn Valley Hobby Shop and bought it. Now I have one of the planes of my youth that I always wanted. I have been a modeler since 1963 And I started with C/L. I have a soft spot for Stunters. I also have to say that I`m glad you have read my thread and commented on it because I read and admired your designs in the modeling magazines.I hope my memory doesn`t fail me, I thought that your single main L/G V tailed Snoopy stunter was interesting and different.
Juan

Guy B Jr · « **Reply #30 on:** April 27, 2014, 11:15:31 PM »

Thanks for bringing up the fact that PVHC made a laser cut kit of the Dolphin. I had never heard of it before. Anyway, I checked their E-Bay hobby shop and found they had one left. It is now mine. Thanks again.

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #31 on:** April 28, 2014, 08:31:39 PM »

Yep they had only one left,I thought about buying it too but I still have many planes to build,like the U name it,Talon stunter,Veco thunderbird II,Veco Thunderbird I,Veco Hurricane,Sterling Spitfire,Veco Chief,Veco mustang,Continental,SIG chipmunk and a few more that I don`t know if I`ll be able to fly by the time I get to the last one. I hope this thread helps you.
Juan

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #32 on:** April 20, 2021, 08:07:53 PM »

I decided to finally finish my Dolphin and started priming the fuse,flaps,tank hatch and elevators. I decided to remove the tape I had placed on the canopy after priming the fuse and the tape left a very sticky residue that stuck to my fingers and the canopy. To remove it I masked around the canopy to protect the primer and using a small piece of paper towel that I folded I placed a few drops of CRC 6-56 and started rubbing over the tape residue. I was able to remove all the residue. I cleaned the area with windex several times to make sure the oil didn`t soak into the primer. I will be doing some sanding and masking to apply color to the plane. I have also been breaking in the Enya SS30S I bought for it. I have been heat cycling the engine and have over an hour of run time.All up weight with out paint is 32 oz.Here are some pics.
Juan

Dave Hull · « **Reply #33 on:** April 20, 2021, 11:31:42 PM »

Nice work!

Glad to see this project again, and moving forward.

Hope you enjoy flying it as much as we enjoyed watching you build it.

Thanks,

Dave

Frank Imbriaco · « **Reply #34 on:** April 21, 2021, 06:30:50 AM »

Is the laser cut of this kit still available ?

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #35 on:** April 21, 2021, 01:18:42 PM »

Hello Frank
I think Your best bet on finding the Shive/penn valley laser cut kit of the Jetco Dolphin would be posting a wanted ad in the classifieds here and in the other internet sites like RC groups and RC universe. that has been the way I have been able to find kits no longer in production. There are guys that might have them unbuilt that they bought for a future project. You can also search ebay every so often to see if one shows up, that is the way I found mine a few years back. I went to the umland site but is down as they are doing some work in it. I guess you can contact them via message here and find out if they have one. Good Luck.
Juan

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #36 on:** April 21, 2021, 01:37:46 PM »

Quote from: Dave Hull on April 20, 2021, 11:31:42 PM

Nice work!

Glad to see this project again, and moving forward.

Hope you enjoy flying it as much as we enjoyed watching you build it.

Thanks,

Dave

Hello Dave
I do enjoy building slow. It make take a while but it will get done now. I want to get my grandson hooked on modeling. He is only 2 years and 3 months old but we have to get them interested early. I have a few cox .049 and trainer plans waiting for him to get older. I want to teach him modeling skills that might help him in other areas of life.
Juan

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #37 on:** April 22, 2021, 02:01:08 PM »

I applied a silver blocking coat to the plane using dupli color radiant silver. I can see now a few areas that need work. I will let it dry for a few days before I do any paint sanding. I did not apply any primer to the SLC covering on the wing of this plane to see the results and how good the paint sticks to it. In other airplanes I have used Transtar 4633 white primer with good results, it sands real easy and is advertised as being good for plastic and metal. Now back to break in the engine with some more runs.

juan

kenneth cook · « **Reply #38 on:** April 22, 2021, 05:29:10 PM »

Bob Klauss who was Sterling Models draftsman assisted in bringing this kit and a few others back through Penn Valley Shives Industries. Shive Industries was the kit manufacturing shop for Penn Valley Hobby Shop. Penn Valley hobby shop closed a few years back when the owners decided to retire. Bill Shive passed away this past February.

Bob built the prototype Dolphin and it was given to the Philly Fliers Club. I received the plane which wasn't 100% complete. I sadly didn't complete it and another club member owns it currently. It's yet to be flown and last I saw of it it was undergoing surgery to get the tank out of it. The tank was too small and due to it being what appeared to be a Acme tank, it was decided in the best interest it should be taken out.

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #39 on:** April 26, 2021, 07:09:28 PM »

I have been working on my dolphin and realized that the dope that I used on the wing fillet area shrunk away from the fillet and I had to sand the area and do the fillets again. I tried to make them as small as I could. Used Devcon 30 min epoxy and a lot of micro balloons. the silver allowed me to se the areas that needed extra work. I`m a slow builder and I like to take my time to avoid further grief.
Juan

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #40 on:** May 03, 2021, 10:44:55 AM »

Well painting over SLC with scotchbrite scuffing did not work for me,maybe I didn`t do enough scuffing. Since I used duplicolor spray silver and it was peeling a little bit I just hit the paint with some acetone and paper towels and removed all the silver paint on the wings. I did some more scuffing with scotchbrite but I decided to use transtar white primer sanding it a lot until it was very thin then I painted again with duplicolor silver acrylic lacquer. I `m masking to paint some more very carefully to avoid problems and will apply a little heat with my heat gun when removal of the masking tape and stripping tape.

Juan

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #41 on:** May 06, 2021, 05:15:11 PM »

I have done some more painting on my Dolphin. I masked the plane with masking paper I bought at my local auto paint shop. It works real good for me and I think it will last forever. I still have not decided what color to use on the antiglare panel in the nose of the plane. I had used black on a previous airplane but it got too hot in the sun and bubbled. What ever the paint used I will be covering it a rag to avoid a problem. here are some pics of my progress.
Juan

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #42 on:** May 08, 2021, 01:02:33 PM »

I`m painting the elevators to match the paint scheme of the airplane. I`m masking using 3m 1/8 inch vinyl tape Pn 06404 . After I apply the vinyl tape I use the masking paper from the roll I bought at the auto paint store and with a pair of scissors I cut the paper to follow the vinyl tape line so only about 1/4 of the masking tape sticks out from the paper. I apply the masking making sure the masking tape is only touching the vinyl tape then I fold the paper and tape it shut forming like a bag. That way I avoid applying masking tape to the paint to hold the masking in place. It save me the grief that the masking tape might cause me if it lift the paint. I know most of you guys know this but I`m posting in case somebody doesn`t know.
Juan

Dave Hull · « **Reply #43 on:** May 20, 2021, 01:39:55 AM »

Looking good, Juan!

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #44 on:** May 20, 2021, 11:57:12 AM »

Hello Dave
Thanks, I finished the plane and it came out at 37.8 ounces. center of gravity is very close to what Lew suggested in the plan. I will fly it as is to gauge the flight. I still need to make some lines and I want to make a balsawood/aluminum handle. Here are some pics.
Juan

Dave Hull · « **Reply #45 on:** May 25, 2021, 02:27:54 AM »

Like it, like it, like it.....

The white outlines really pop the red trim. Nice.

I see that they designed the flaps with limited span so that the trim would not have to go across the flap hinge line. Clever.

You will have to give us a flight report once you give it a whirl. This one looks like a good flyer to me.

Dave

Juan Valentin · « **Reply #46 on:** May 26, 2021, 07:21:05 PM »

Quote from: Dave Hull on May 25, 2021, 02:27:54 AM

Like it, like it, like it.....

The white outlines really pop the red trim. Nice.

I see that they designed the flaps with limited span so that the trim would not have to go across the flap hinge line. Clever.

You will have to give us a flight report once you give it a whirl. This one looks like a good flyer to me.

Dave

Hello Dave
I will let you know how it performs. I decided to ad some nose weight since it is usually windy where we fly out of caution as I don`t want to have a problem. I made two using 1/8 inch brass one weights .2oz and the other .35oz, now the plane weights 38.2oz. I`m making sure nothing comes loose on the plane by using threadlock on the engine mounting screws,spinner screw,muffler screws and landing gear screws. I still need to make the .015 control line and might not fly it yet until I make new lines. I`m a slow worker. here are some pics.
Juan