Jetco Dauphin. Is it worth building?

[frank mccune]

     Hi All:

     While winterizing my attic for Winter, I found a nib Jetco Dauphin kit,  Will this kit build into a good flying airplane? How difficult is the kit to build, compared to the Green Box Nobler. 
 
                                                                                                                                            Tia,

                                                                                                                                            Frank McCune

[Ken Culbertson]

     Hi All:

     While winterizing my attic for Winter, I found a nib Jetco Dauphin kit,  Will this kit build into a good flying airplane? How difficult is the kit to build, compared to the Green Box Nobler. 
 
                                                                                                                                            Tia,

                                                                                                                                            Frank McCune

I built one a very long time ago and I didn't like it.  As far as the kit  , it was as good as anything you bought in the 60's but the wood was like everything you got from Jetco - HEAVY.   Much easier build than the Nobler.  What I didn't like was how it flew but with today's power plants it is probably better.  I was into lighter thicker wings and my Dolphin was heavy and rather thin.  However, if I had one I would probably build it.

Ken

[Dave_Trible]

The Dolphin is terrible.  To dispose of it carefully wrap it and send to my address........

If built a little lighter it’s a GREAT flying little airplane.  Use the wing ribs and shaped parts.  Replace all sheet wood and fuselage side with light wood,  finish it lightly,  then go win a few classic events with it.  It is meant to be much more simple to build than the Nobler-almost an advanced trainer though it will fly with any Nobler.  For fun I’d like to do a .60- size Dolphin one day.

Dave

[Ara Dedekian]

      Hello Frank

           A disclaimer: I've been flying C/L for about 65 years and just flew a full pattern (with pattern points) in competition for the first time this summer. So I'll defer to a felllow club member, James Mynes, who I know is lurking on the forum here somewhere, to chime in. He observes my flights and keeps telling me what a great flying plane it is. James is a seasoned PA flyer and judge.

          Wings are monokoted, painted fuselage, fixed leadouts (as per plans?), 4 oz RC clunk tank, OS 35 FP/10-5 prop and guessing, is in the middle to high 30's in weight. It corners well, is solid on the Spectra lines (an editorial), with plenty of line tension on the overhead maneuvers.

      Ara

[Randy Cuberly]

The Dolphin is terrible.  To dispose of it carefully wrap it and send to my address........

If built a little lighter it’s a GREAT flying little airplane.  Use the wing ribs and shaped parts.  Replace all sheet wood and fuselage side with light wood,  finish it lightly,  then go win a few classic events with it.  It is meant to be much more simple to build than the Nobler-almost an advanced trainer though it will fly with any Nobler.  For fun I’d like to do a .60- size Dolphin one day.

Dave

Hi Dave,
I believe the .60 size Dolphin exists...It's called a "Shark", and is a great flying competitive stunt plane...Not as easy to build as a Nobler though! 

Randy Cuberly

[Robert Zambelli]

YES YES YES!!!!!
Definitely worth building.
I built one from the Jetco kit while in collage.
It was a really good flyer with a Fox 35.
I plan on building another from plans, if I can find them.

Bob Z.

[Ken Culbertson]

      Hello Frank

           A disclaimer: I've been flying C/L for about 65 years and just flew a full pattern (with pattern points) in competition for the first time this summer. So I'll defer to a felllow club member, James Mynes, who I know is lurking on the forum here somewhere, to chime in. He observes my flights and keeps telling me what a great flying plane it is. James is a seasoned PA flyer and judge.

          Wings are monokoted, painted fuselage, fixed leadouts (as per plans?), 4 oz RC clunk tank, OS 35 FP/10-5 prop and guessing, is in the middle to high 30's in weight. It corners well, is solid on the Spectra lines (an editorial), with plenty of line tension on the overhead maneuvers.

      Ara

Is that an exhaust tube strapped to the LG?  Never seen that before - good idea, I think I will try it on my Nobler which gets drenched from a Jetstream muffler.

I can also tell from these posts that my dislike for the Dauphin came from putting a McCoy .29 on what must have been a 45oz log.  Ah, to be young and stupid again!

Ken

[Dave_Trible]

The one I have is 40 ou. with the ol’ Fox .35 - open face.  I think it would be pretty nose heavy with a muffler.  I’m told a good light one does well with a Veco .19.

Dave

[frank mccune]

         Hi Ara et. al.:

         Ara, your Dolphin looks smashingly great!

         I do have a couple of the Veco .19BB engines that run very well.  However, I think that my TL OS .35-ST.46 hybrid will find a home in it.

         Oh yes, speaking of green box Noblers, I got lucky  and won another one at our club drawing.  It will join the other one in the attic.  I built one of these things when I was younger but now???

                                                                                                                             Thanks for the replies,

                                                                                                                              Frank McCune

[Frank Imbriaco]

On my list.
Got half way through the build around 1967 and abandoned it. Besides the heavy wood, I had a non-cored foam wing. Way heavy.

[Tony Drago]

     Hi All:

     While winterizing my attic for Winter, I found a nib Jetco Dauphin kit,  Will this kit build into a good flying airplane? How difficult is the kit to build, compared to the Green Box Nobler. 

Frank.
 A NIB Dolphin. Put it on Ebay. Most likely you will get a decent price for it. Lets say $100.00 to $135.00 after the fees.
 Then add a few dollars and get a Laser cut kit from Walter Umland. You will then have a better kit with excellent wood to build from.
 
                                                                                                                                           

[John Tate]

The kit I hade back in 2011 had very heavy wood. I did the cad of the kit drawing and got Brodak to laser cut me a short kit. I still fly the Dolphin and it flies nice for me. A picture of the model even made the cover of Flying Model magazine years back. Keep the Dolphin on a diet and it should fly nice for you.

[Ken Culbertson]

Just out of curiosity, to they porpoise when they are out of trim?

Ken

[wwwarbird]

 Never heard of the "Dauphin". 

[RogerGreene]

I have a suggestion, use the heavy wood pieces as patterns to trace on to lighter balsa. Just a thought.

[Ara Dedekian]

Is that an exhaust tube strapped to the LG?
Ken

         Ken

            It's a piece of silicone tubing that, according to McMaster-Carr is good to 400 degrees. The engine doesn't seem to know it's there. It's a food grade tubing
         as I got it at the local brewery supply store.

            It does keep almost all of the goo off the plane.

          Ara

[wwwarbird]

 
 I think Walter Umland once kitted the Dolphin. His kits are excellent, it would definitely be worth checking with him or finding someone with one they're willing to part with.

[Keith Renecle]

YES YES YES!!!!!
Definitely worth building.
I built one from the Jetco kit while in collage.
It was a really good flyer with a Fox 35.
I plan on building another from plans, if I can find them.

Bob Z.

Hi Bob,

Here are two jpg files of the original plans that I found somewhere on the net. You can import them into a drawing program and scale them up to the correct size for printing the parts you need. I use a free program called Inkscape which can export to a pdf file to take to a print shop. Mostly I just trace the parts in Inkscape and print them in pieces on my A4 printer and then just glue them together for cutting parts. I had a Dolphin in 1969 and I can remember that with the Fox .35 it was tail heavy but once balanced, it flew quite well and was less work than the Nobler. If you need some help with sorting out these jpeg files in Inkscape, then send me a PM and I'll be happy to help you.

Keith R

[Keith Renecle]

Here is the second half of the plans..........

[Jim Mynes]

      Hello Frank

           A disclaimer: I've been flying C/L for about 65 years and just flew a full pattern (with pattern points) in competition for the first time this summer. So I'll defer to a felllow club member, James Mynes, who I know is lurking on the forum here somewhere, to chime in. He observes my flights and keeps telling me what a great flying plane it is. James is a seasoned PA flyer and judge.

          Wings are monokoted, painted fuselage, fixed leadouts (as per plans?), 4 oz RC clunk tank, OS 35 FP/10-5 prop and guessing, is in the middle to high 30's in weight. It corners well, is solid on the Spectra lines (an editorial), with plenty of line tension on the overhead maneuvers.

      Ara

Ara, you give me too much credit.
That airplane does fly very well when you get the needle setting right. As you know, I’m a big fan of electrons vs. needle valves.
Now that you’ve guessed at the weight, I’m interested in what it actually weighs. The next time I see you I’ll have a scale with me. I think that rubber hose must be good for 3-4 ounces.
In the meantime, I’ll add my endorsement to the “YES” votes for the Jetco Dolphin. This might not be the first one I’ve seen, but it’s the first one I’ve paid any attention to. It seems to be a very capable airplane.