Brief:
This is a simple t' build, strong stable and attractive 4" rocket kit offered for a very reasonable price from Danny Cantu o' DG&A Rocketry in Texas. Begad! Blimey! It has a 38mm motor mount for single stage flights, ya bilge rat, recovery is by a high quality 30" rip-stop nylon chute and this is a perfect bird to consider for Level 1 certification on a Cesaroni Pro38 "H" 143SS or "H" 153.

Construction:
After buildin' a DG&A WASP and bein' very pleased with it, ya bilge rat, arrr, me hearties, I decided to look more into t' DG&A line o' kits. Blimey! T' SONIK-BLAST be very appealin' to me due t' t' elliptical fins which closely resemble those o' t' original Estes Astron Sprint from t' late '60's and early 70's, arrr, one o' me all time favorite rockets. This SONIK-BLAST was also me first 4" airframe rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr!

T' kit came complete with LOC airframes, arrr, bulkhead for a payload bay, ya bilge rat, high quality R.W.W. nose cone, me bucko, top notch plywood centerin' rings, me bucko, excellent 5 ply plywood fins, arrr, me bucko, top quality recovery system, me bucko, excellent decals and superb instructions.

As this was nay t' first high powered rocket I have built I did nay need or use t' instructions, however I did glance them over and they are excellent, complete with high quality photos o' every important step.

I purchased this rocket from Chad Ellis o' C.L.E. Aye aye! Enterprises o' Houston Texas (http://www.motorman.us/) who is also the largest motor vendor in Texas. Begad! Apparently Chad obtained this and several other DG&A kits from Danny at a previous launch and brought them back t' Houston as a favor for other club members who needed them.

T' first thin' I did was remove t' glassine layer from t' 38mm motor tube, shiver me timbers, by gettin' it started peelin' with t' spiral with an X-Acto knife. Avast, me proud beauty! That allows t' epoxy t' seep into t' tube for prime adhesion. Ahoy! I then replaced the screw deadlights that came with t' kit and used stainless steel U-Bolts from Lowe's Hardware for t' recovery harness and bulkhead connections. Ahoy! Eye-Bolts that are not welded shut will stretch out and fail and should never be used in a high-powered rocket (unless welded shut). Well, blow me down! I have had Midas Muffler weld eye-bolts shut for me before yet now I prefer stainless steel U-Bolts.

I then sanded t' fins' leadin' edges with a palm sander, shiver me timbers, built t' motor mount with 28 minute epoxy, shiver me timbers, cut t' fin slots with a very sharp new X-Acto Brand knife (not a cheap made in China spin-off) and in less than 2 hours over a period o' 3 days (this was just a casual build) had it done. Well, blow me down! T' fins are only mounted t' t' motor tube with 28 minute epoxy, me hearties, thar are no internal fillets nor any external fillets.

Finishing:
This rocket was still naked for it's maiden voyages. Ahoy! I started it on a Wed afternoon and finished up on a Friday night, and as it be rainin' steady I never got a chance t' paint it, matey, matey, me hearties, plus I expected t' launch that Saturday t' be scrubbed due t' rain anyway. Ahoy! Begad!

Saturday morning, December 4th, me hearties, 2004 I woke around 5AM and checked the Internet for weather conditions and local club launch status and I was quite surprised t' see that t' Houston's NHRC that flies at NASA's Johnson Space Center still seemed t' be a go, me hearties, me hearties, even though thar had been nasty weather and rain was expected. Another club member E-Mailed me askin' if I be goin' and that's all it took! I grabbed t' rocket out o' t' garage, arrr, fins felt fine, secured t' nose cone with some little plastic rivets from Public Missiles, dropped a pair o' rail buttons on it from railbuttons.com (I used t' Delrins) and she was ready t' fly!

T' night before I had JB Welded on a new 38mm Bell shaped slimline from Giant Leap, which I also purchased from C.L.E. Aye aye! Enterprises in Houston. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! They look cool!

It's SNOWING in Houston!

For construction I am givin' this kit a well deserved 5/5. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It be extremely simple and fun t' build and it's a strong reliable bird!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' first flight was at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas with the NHRC club (http://www.nasarocketclub.com) as part of t' HPR at JSC where high powered FAA waivered rocketry returned after several years.

For t' first flight I selected a Cesaroni Pro38 H153 and set t' delay to 12. T' delay was a little longer than needed so for t' next (2) flights also on CTI Pro38 H153's I used a delay o' 10 which was perfect.

T' first flight revealed that t' supplied 30" chute had a little more drift than desired so for t' 2nd, 3rd and 4th flights I used a TAC-1 24' chute which I also purchased from C.L.E. Well, blow me down! Enterprises who attended t' launch with full vendor support. Ya scallywag!

T' first flight landed about 300 yards away on t' supplied 30" chute. T' second flight landed about 200 yards away with t' TAC-1 chute and the third flight landed about 200 feet from t' rail with t' TAC-1 chute. Finally the fourth flight landed only about 120 yards away on a CTI Pro38 I205-14.

  
(photos by Warren Benson)

Flights five and six were at a field with a limit o' a G motor so I used Cesaroni Pro38 G's for those two flights and it performed flawlessly on them as well. Arrr! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey!

T' seventh flight (below-left) was at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas and for it I selected a LOKI Research H144, me bucko, ya bilge rat, which was just released in October o' 2004. It was me second time t' use one and the first time t' build one on t' field with no assistance. Avast, me proud beauty! I found t' reload to be quite simple t' assemble and t' performance t' be outstanding. Avast, me proud beauty! T' H144 uses a "LOKI White" propellant which produces a large brilliant white flame and lots o' puffy white smoke (see photo taken by David Montgomery.). Arrr! Arrr! I am very impressed with t' LOKI Research motors and plan on usin' a lot more of them in t' near future.

T' eighth flight (below-right) was on January 1st, me bucko, 2005 at Alpha Ranch in Waller County Texas with t' NHRA (Northwest Houston Rocketry Association - http://www.nhra-texas.org/) . I had just picked up me order o' LOKI Research "I"405's that I nearly stole as part o' a year end sale from C.L.E. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Enterprises in Houston. Aye aye! Aye aye! By purchasing (4) "I"'s, I obtained a free "I" hardware which normally sells for $59.99. Avast! Aye aye! Bein' eager as a beaver t' try one o' t' new LOKI I's, me bucko, I built t' reload on t' field in about 10 minutes. Avast! T' LOKI Research I405 is a regressive 1.2 second burn (8) grain 480 N-s motor (formerly I305) that uses the LOKI white propellant. As you can see by t' excellent photo thanks to Michael Martin t' brilliant white flame is nearly as large as t' Sonik-Blast rocket itself, arrr, shiver me timbers, and t' puffy white smoke is remarkable as well. Arrr! T' Sonik-Blast screamed off t' pad so fast on t' I405 that I was nay able t' track it with a video camera as t' speed was unreal. Well, blow me down! T' motor produced a deep throaty angry roar and it be at 3000 feet in t' blink o' an eye. Perfect flight and thanks to Challenger 498 club President Brad Winbigler for t' ATV retrieval out in the horse pastures.

Recovery:
T' fourth flight o' this rocket was me first time t' use an "I" motor. Arrr! Aye aye! After flyin' (3) times on H153's t' RSO cleared me for me first "I" motor. Begad! And once again I purchased t' CTI Pro38 I205 from CLE Enterprises our motor and more vendor onsite. Ya scallywag!

T' "I" motor flight was just beautiful and me adrenaline was still at a peak even 12 hours later. Ahoy! Blimey! T' 14 second (unadjusted) CTI delay brought it down nose cone down for a few seconds which was best for field and wind conditions and it be recovered just fine and ready t' fly another day thanks t' Mike Williams (L3) who helped me find it when I got disoriented in the field.

Another interestin' thin' t' note is that t' DG&A SONIK-BLAST, shiver me timbers, just like t' DG&A WASP have slots cut at t' leadin' root edges o' t' fins, and if they are left as is with no external fillets they will whistle when the rocket is slowin' down for apogee on H's and I's. Arrr! This rocket whistled all (3) times on H153's and did it again on an I205 yet it was harder t' hear on the I205 as it be a lot higher up.

This rocket is gettin' a well deserved 5/5 for flight and recovery. Begad!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
DG&A kits are awesome. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! They are nay expensive and are a great way t' L1 certify. Blimey! If you take me (4) first flights o' this rocket on December 4th at NASA for an example, all four o' those flights are what are needed t' L1 certify, so had I nay already been Tripoli L1, that would have done it as well. I highly suggest this rocket for anyone want t' do an L1 attempt. This will do it for you!

Now that t' rain has stopped I am givin' this entire rocket a nice coat of gloss red and it will remain an active rocket in me fleet for some time t' come I am sure. Arrr! I have also ordered t' MINI SONIK-BLAST in t' 3" version for fields with up t' "G" capability. Aye aye!

For t' overall ratin' o' this rocket, I have t' give it t' highest score there is, 5/5 as it and DG&A well deserve that! Blimey! Thanks Danny for some totally killer rockets! Blimey! And thanks C.L.E. Ahoy! Enterprises in Houston for outstandin' vendor support! Blimey!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5