The dolphin is an awesome aircraft man, the change to 6s makes it such a beast to fly. I’m slowly getting used to my hook and new career as a pirate for hire 😆

It reminds me in many ways of the mini drak, especially the way it just "sits down" in level flight and is extremely stable. It is easier to launch than a mini drak though. I like the way that on stock settings it will pootle around on 5A for a pretty long flight,. and, is very happy on much more aggressive 4s/6s settings giving high speeds and lots of fun. An amazing airframe at an amazing price.

Same thing happened to a friend that launched my flying wing. Since that incident I hold my planes at the wing, not at the fuselage as I always did

Launching pusher planes can be sketchy sometimes. You can get 1000 successful launches. But your next 1001 launch can get you injured. A little CG shift, a gust of wind or the way you grip the plane could be a deciding factor. So that made me setup a bungee launch system. It's time consuming process, but guarantees safety to both pilot and aircraft.

My dolphin cut me up bad in the same way. I was alone at the field bleeding all over my car as I rummaged for the first aid kit. Not fun! Now I never launch the dolphin without a heavy duty work glove on.

@MCsCreations

29 күн бұрын

Now imagine if you have a woodworking shop as I do... (Just for hobby as well.) You always need to have emergency supplies with you!

@FPVFIEND

28 күн бұрын

Wow at least you had a first aid kit! I just cut myself today on a runaway flying fish. Wasn’t nearly as bad though

That's why i wear a Kevlar motorcycle glove, chopped my knuckles off on a nitro engine down to the bone adjusting the mixture.....great video

Great air to air shots and showing what the Dolphin has to offer. Hope Tobys hand heals soon so he can get launching again….. Rotor Flex.

And after Tobys capture as a Pirate he was sentenced to fly one-handed Avatas with Motion Controler for life.

@tobyallensdrones

28 күн бұрын

I’d rather have hooks on both hands than do that haha!

Caught my fingers years ago. Inav auto launch is a must. Been using it since it came out.

@tobyallensdrones

28 күн бұрын

This was with autolaunch enabled. Unfortunately I was holding it to close the rear of the aircraft, causing it to pitch up and catch me :(

"I think he likes it!" 2:34 ♥👍 Great edit Giz! Loved it all, except the last few seconds. A good reminder.

I got bitten by my Dolphin too after a hundred troublefree launches or so. 2806 motor, 7" prop, 6S, full power during launch to give it a fair chance to build up airspeed quickly enough when loaded with batteries. Fingers were cut open to the bone. Fingernail was literally sliced in half. Later on I caught an inflammation in those wounds making things even worse. I was lucky; no critical parts were damaged and all is well now except for some scars to remind me of the accident. Starting the motor after the lauch does not work; mine is built too heavy for that and the torque roll kills it. Launching the Dolphin with a discus throw works 9 out of 10 times; not good enough. Welding glove+dart throw is a hassle. Did not try a catapult but that's a hassle too. Overhead launch is not entirely safe either and then it is the face in the danger zone. I will convert my Dolpin to twin motor and see if the excellent flying characteristics remain. If not, it must go. Which I hope not, because I truly love that plane.

Looks like Toby was lucky. I sliced my tendon in 2 places a few years back. Was bloody sore. Finger sits funny now.

@tobyallensdrones

28 күн бұрын

Very lucky mate, healing up nicely :)

My Dolphin only lasted 2 weeks. Was worried about cutting my hand so set a low autolaunch idle, on one launch it just didnt get up enough speed and slammed into the ground. Only foam broke so I'll transfer everything into a swordfish. Props away from my hand then.

Yikes! I have an Aggressor which is basically like a giant version of the Dolphin. I never gave this a second thought until I watched a video of myself launching and realized how close my hand was to the prop. I used it with a KoPilot for a while, which had nice baked in autolaunch timing. Now have to set same thing up for iNav.

I launch all my wings from the tip of the wing and had 0 problema, the wings doesn´t have autopilot so with autolaunch may be easy.

Been there too, but with a 5 inch quad.

Awesome plane! Once I get my nanodrak up and running will have to look at one!

The Dolphin is the best aircraft I have owned so far. It handles and carries nice. It was also the first time I got checked by the police. Long....very long story short Ive put 8" prop on it carrying 10500mAh.....basically 4S3P LG MJ1.....went for endurance test......it flown 110km trip for an 1 hour 50 minutes......WHY the POLICE you ack?? We didnt know and we wanted to land on empty battery so we stayed at the field after work untill pitch black.....we had to turn on the car head lights to see where to land so some 'nice person' called police on us that we DRIVE AT NIGHT ON THE FIELDS.....people huh?

YES..a real UAV doesn't need a catapult..and I think you throw with your left hand..the first time I saw how fast "that thing" can be..another great video

@tobyallensdrones

28 күн бұрын

I’m left handed so yes I launch with my left hand :) an unfortunate mistake on my part. All healing up well now :)

That was an unfortunate accident; This is the only reason I have stayed away with this pusher-type setup. I only have dual-motor planes, only for safe launching.

Fantastic flying, dude! That's a great airplane indeed!!! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

@M-H433

28 күн бұрын

How original bobby...😮

The one thing that has stopped me from buying a dolphin is the fact that it is a well-known finger-eater. I would have to make a bungee launch system for it if I wanted to seriously fly one of these without risk of slicing my fingers clean off.

How do you avoid cutting your finger like this with pusher planes? I have yet to maiden my dolphin. It’s my first pusher and I have been worried about the throwing technique. I just started to get comfortable with the idea of it, but then I saw this video.

Also it would be useful if you share your hardware and software configuration :)

Whilst it was a fluke accident in a way… it was (no offence) a very weak / floppy… half hearted attempt. I know people think launching this way is dangerous and as shown, it can be when you don’t concentrate and get complacent. Anyway…. Loved the ‘sonic’ sound effect 😂

Hey giz I dropped u a message in your other vid is this a reasonable plane to get back into fpv and also is my taranis x9d plus still a good to. One last question what long range receiver and tx you using pal

@gizfpv

29 күн бұрын

Hey man. Really depends on your experience and skill. I absolutely wouldn't recommend the dolphin to someone who's new, it's a bit of a animal lol. Something like a HeeWing T1, Swordfish or a Bixler would be much better. As for radios, I use a Radiomaster Pocket (ELRS version) alongside a Radiomaster RP1 ELRS receiver. That setup will easily do 10-20km, if not more probably. The X9D is still a respectable radio, albeit a bit outdated. If you wanna use that just pair it with a long range module, like ELRS or Crossfire 🙂

@andreelb

21 күн бұрын

I'm still rocking an X9D plus! But have yet to maiden my T-1. Waiting for better pan servo and 21700 cells!

@ScouserStreamz

20 күн бұрын

@@andreelbdo you use a long range system with yours?

Anyone who launches a pusher this way is asking for this to happen and shouldn't be surprised when it does. Hopefully he didn't cut any tendons or ligaments and only needed a few stitches to close up the skin. I'm building my Dolphin as a twin tractor for this reason. Just isn't worth the risk.

I have the same, what is your set up combo motor propeller

Auto launch is good for avoiding that if set up just right.

@tobyallensdrones

28 күн бұрын

This is with autolaunch, I was holding it too close to the rear causing it to pitch up stinking my hand. All healing well :)

В inav придумали автозапуск, чтобы пальцев не лишиться. Зачем запускать в ручную? Inav has autolaunch so you don't lose your fingers. Why run it manually?

I need to make my own rig at some point. Any pointers for a total newbie who only has spurts of motivation here and there for super intricate work? 😅

@gizfpv

29 күн бұрын

If you're a total newbie and don't wanna put in loads of work, get a Swordfish, specifically the RTH or RTH+FPV version. It'll arrived at your door almost entirely prebuilt, and crucially it's super easy to fly 🙂

it's no longer a plane but a rocket 😃

@gizfpv

29 күн бұрын

It is on 6s! Launches out your land like it was fired from a cannon!! 😂

If you insist on a powered launch, at least stick some 600 grade wet and dry to the grips.