Brief:
This is a 3 inch airframe version o' t' full sized (4 inch) Sonik-Blast offered by DG&A High Power Rocketry in Texas. Ya scallywag! It is a single stage rocket with a 29mm motor tube and t' finished weight is considerably lighter than t' full sized version. Arrr! Arrr! After bein' extremely pleased with t' 4" Sonik-Blast and havin' flown it on everythin' from G t' I motors, I decided t' build this one specifically t' fly at a field with an up t' G motor and three pound weight limit and even more specifically t' test some brand new Ellis Mountain long burn motors.

Construction:
I purchased everythin' t' fly this rocket from vendors right here in t' great state o' Texas. Ya scallywag! T' kit itself came from C.L.E. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Enterprises, who delivered it t' me at me home along with me order o' Ellis Mountain motors (also made in Texas).

T' kit consists o' all high quality components: LOC airframes, shiver me timbers, matey, R.W.W. nose cone, superb quality aircraft plywood fins and rings, and a top notch recovery system. This is a rocket you can build without havin' t' modify it as everythin' comes with excellent quality! T' kit price is nay only reasonable t' begin with but t' add t' me glee I even got it on sale!

This rocket be extremely simple t' build. Arrr! Well, blow me down! I airfoiled t' fins leadin' and trailin' edges with a belt sander which took all o' about 10 minutes t' do. Ahoy! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' fin slots were quite simple t' cut usin' a real X-Acto brand knife and new blade. Avast! By usin' 28 minute epoxy only, t' entire build took about 2 hours and that be with me goin' slowly. It was fun t' build and while I did nay use t' instructions, they are typical DG&A--top notch, matey, me bucko, easy t' follow, shiver me timbers, and fully illustrated so anyone can build one o' these real easy, me bucko, even if you have never built a high powered rocket before.

Finishing:
This rocket was also quite easy and fun t' finish. I mounted a broom handle onto a heavy base (cardboard box full o' something) and stuck t' rocket on t' broom handle right up in its motor tube. Avast! 29mm motor tubes fit on broom handles perfectly for painting. Blimey! I selected a different color and type o' paint than I have ever used before: Rustoleum Paint for Plastic, ya bilge rat, which I found at Home Depot. Blimey! It does nay require primer and I choose a classy lookin' "Claret" or "Burgundy Wine" color. After usin' t' whole can t' coat t' rocket 4-5 times it looked well, classy. Blimey! T' kit came with some very nice decals and I used t' silver DG&A High Power Rocketry logo and t' gold foil stripe. Begad! Begad! They were a cinch t' apply and look great.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' first flight o' this rocket was this mornin' at Paul D. Aye aye! Rushin' Park in Katy, Texas with t' Challenger 498 rocket club. Avast, me proud beauty! T' motor I selected was a new Ellis Mountain G20-7. Well, blow me down! T' is a slow progressive 5.47 second burn G motor that was only available with a 3 second delay until very recently. Avast! T' motor is so new that it is nay even listed on Ellis Mountain's website yet. With this motor-to-weight ratio, a perfect flight is possible, me hearties, yet wind came into play today. Begad! Right after t' motors initial peak thrust, its power drops by about 40% for most o' t' duration o' t' flight. Begad! Avast! As winds today were betwixt 15-20 mph, shiver me timbers, right after t' rocket came off t' ten foot rail nice and straight, matey, shiver me timbers, wind caught t' fins and it weathervaned somethin' drastic for t' entire duration o' t' burn. Begad! I would estimate that it never went over 400 feet, matey, took a 5 second burn trajectory excursion right into t' wind, and flew almost perfectly horizontal over one cow pasture then another until finally a violent landin' durin' t' trackin' smoke phase. Ahoy! Begad! T' rocket appears t' have slowed down t' under 100mph and stuck t' entire nose cone in t' ground, ya bilge rat, then ejected t' airframe and chute perfectly. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Much t' me surprise thar's nay much damage other than cosmetic. T' airframe be distorted very slightly but as you will see, arrr, I went on t' fly it three more times after this very bizarre event.

T' second flight be about 30 minutes later this time on a new style Aerotech single use F50-6T Blue Thunder motor. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' rocket demonstrated perfect stability this time, nice apogee ejection, me bucko, and close recovery. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! For this flight I had switched out t' recovery system and instead used a 30" Top Flight X chute purchased from Quickburst.net. Avast! Even though I was usin' a 600# Roscoe swivel t' chute started t' self reef for a progressively increasin' descent rate. Begad! Blimey! Landin' be a little hard but it suffered no damage that was nay already present from t' first flight.

For t' third flight I decided t' revisit t' Ellis Mountain long burn motors again (I love t' things if you can't tell), ya bilge rat, arrr, and selected an Ellis G35-6 with an average o' 15ns more oomph. Begad! Once again it weathervaned but nay so bad this time. Avast! It was a nice flight with t' 4 second burn. Aye aye! I am lookin' forward t' a lower wind day t' see how well it does on another Ellis G35. Ya scallywag! I used t' stock 30" chute this time and t' rocket touched down nice and soft, me hearties, ready for more. Avast! Once o' t' club members even nicknamed t' rocket "Jason" as it came back from what should have been death, me hearties, just a little uglier.

For t' fourth flight I used one o' t' motors that t' kit actually recommends: t' new redesigned Aerotech G80-6T Blue Thunder. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! This is a perfect motor for this rocket. T' flight be straight up in 15-20 mph winds, it did nay twist or spin at all and was picture perfect. Avast, me proud beauty! It caught some higher altitude winds which resulted in a long walk, but that fast, loud boost and totally perfect apogee deployment were well worth t' walk.

I am goin' t' replace a section o' t' airframe that be buckled a little after t' unusual recovery from t' first flight but that is only t' repair cosmetic damage. This rocket is strong as an ox and ready t' fly again with or without revamping.

Recovery:
T' recovery system that came with t' rocket is top notch and works perfectly. Avast, me proud beauty! I replaced t' eye bolts that came with t' kit with me own stainless steel U-bolts.

I am goin' t' rate this rocket on flights 2 and 4 only as these flights were perfect and they were on motors that t' manufacturer recommends. I do nay feel it would be fair t' rate t' rocket on flights usin' envelope pushin' motors o' me own choice.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
DG&A Rocketry provides some very attractive, arrr, shiver me timbers, arrr, easy t' build rocket kits that come out strong and are fun t' try. Well, me hearties, blow me down! They are rockets that you can trust t' perform well and you can feel confident flyin' them. Begad! Considerin' that all o' t' components are o' high caliber, ya bilge rat, me bucko, matey, I don't think you can even scratch build a rocket like them for less than t' kit prices, shiver me timbers, as t' prices are low and very competitive. Begad! Well, blow me down! I highly suggest DG&A rockets in fact I just ordered t' Predator and am in t' process o' buildin' a Defender. Begad! Thank you DG&A for some fine rockets!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5