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T' Defender is one o' DG&A's larger kits, me hearties, shiver me timbers, measurin' 87 inches in length and 4 inches in diameter. It has three large trapezoidal fins with an unusual feature - a 3-inch hole in t' center o' each. Well, blow me down! It's difficult to describe in words, ya bilge rat, me hearties, but this unusual design attribute really sets this model apart from other three-fins-and-a-nose-cone rockets. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! T' Defender also incorporates t' unique finned-nozzle found on other DG&A models, me hearties, ya bilge rat, me bucko, just like t' even larger DG&A Armageddon. Arrr!

I didn't expect good news when I saw t' box holdin' t' Defender high-power rocket kit. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' Post Office had done it's best t' fold, spindle, arrr, me bucko, and mutilate t' container on it's way t' me house. Avast, me proud beauty!

Fortunately, I be relieved t' find that t' contents were well protected in generous amounts o' packing material. Blimey! One tube had a very minor crease - but overall, arrr, I would say that SG&A had defeated t' package-crushing machines at t' U.S. Arrr! Ahoy! Postal Service.

After extractin' t' contents from t' mutilated shippin' container, I laid out t' contents. Begad! Begad! They were well organized and easy t' sort out. Well, blow me down! T' components included LOC nose cone and body tubes, arrr, and cardboard couplers. Avast, me proud beauty! T' bag of recovery components came complete with a ripstop nylon parachute, me bucko, arrr, nylon web harness, me hearties, and all t' nuts, matey, ya bilge rat, bolts, arrr, and washers required t' hold it all together. Ahoy! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty!

T' couplers are cardboard and a little flimsy right out o' t' package. Begad! T' instructions don't call for it, but I soaked mine inside and out with thin CA t' make them a little more rugged. Well, blow me down! But on t' plus side, ya bilge rat, me hearties, thar are dozens of cut wood pieces in this kit, arrr, me hearties, many o' them tiny, used in t' construction o' t' finned nozzle and t' fin details. All o' them are precision-cut and go together perfectly. Ya scallywag! T' 48-inch parachute is well made, matey, arrr, but a little dainty for this size rocket -- so unless you're able brin' in t' finished rocket weight at around three pounds it's goin' t' land pretty hard.

T' fins are skillfully cut from fine 1/4-inch Baltic birch plywood. Well, me hearties, blow me down! T' bulkheads and centerin' rings were a nice, shiver me timbers, tight fit, matey, but they were cut from lighter and softer 1/4-inch luan plywood, me hearties, me bucko, t' stuff often used as an underlayment in t' installation o' linoleum. Avast! Aye aye! This is probably strong enough t' contain stresses from thrust -- there are four rings and t' fins are mounted t' t' motor tube -- but may be a little flimsy for t' shock cord mount or motor retention. I opted t' make new rings out o' birch. Blimey! I also changed t' rocket slightly t' incorporate use an an anti-zipper design. Click [HERE!] t' read more about this feature. Ya scallywag! T' photos on that page were taken while building the Defender. Ya scallywag! Aye aye!

Speakin' o' motor retention; thar isn't any. Begad! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' finned nozzle is a sweet visual feature but makes most traditional motor retention methods impossible. Arrr! T' instructions mention that you might want t' plan ahead t' install motor retention o' your own design if friction fittin' your motors doesn't appeal t' you. Arrr! Unfortunately, matey, it only says so on t' last page o' t' instruction, me bucko, shiver me timbers, a little late for t' warnin' t' do you any good if you don't read the instructions all t' way through before you start.

There were a number o' places where t' instructions were practically unintelligible -- either because t' grammatical construction was peculiar or t' technical descriptions were poorly worded or both. Begad! An email to SG&A for clarification o' a particularly confusin' paragraph wasn't a lot o' help because t' response was no more than a cut-and-paste passage clipped directly out o' t' instructions. Begad! Once t' instructions were deciphered t' kit went together quite easily. Avast! T' components were cut with precision. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' body tube was nay pre-slotted, so cuttin' the fin slots was probably t' most challengin' construction step (which I did with t' help o' Brad, his router table, and custom fin-slottin' jig). I aligned t' fins usin' t' fin-jig template described [HERE!]. Blimey!

T' finned nozzle was time-consumin' but nay difficult. Blimey! Well, blow me down! This bird comes stock in a single-deployment configuration. Avast! Ahoy! T' instructions don't mention it, me hearties, ya bilge rat, but thar are plenty o' couplers and joints in t' design t' convert it t' altimeter-based dual deployment, which I did. Blimey! After primin' and paintin' comes t' application o' the computer-cut vinyl decals -- and they are really nice -- makin' t' final rocket extremely impressive. Begad!

T' Defender is advertised t' take motors from a I211 t' a K550. Arrr! I did a simulation o' three-pound and four-pound Defenders flyin' on K550s, arrr, and found that velocity is predicted t' peak at about 1100 feet per second. Begad! With these large fins and an unreinforced airframe, peak velocity in t' trans-sonic zone is a shred waitin' t' happen -- so if you're able t' build t' Defender light enough t' return under t' provided parachute you certainly don't want t' fly it on a K. Ya scallywag!

T' finished Defender weighed in at 8 pounds 14 ounces fully loaded in a dual-deployment configuration without t' motor. RockSim predicted an altitude o' 2490 feet on a J350 with a maximum velocity o' 425 feet per second. Avast! Blimey! T' actual flight was just as straight and beautiful as it could be, with drogue deployment right at apogee -- 2465 feet accordin' t' t' G-Wiz MC ridin' inside. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It returned gently under two Rocketman R7C parachutes after a terrific boost. Ahoy! Blimey! In this configuration a K motor flight looks very enticing.

Visit Rocket Team Vatsaas t' enjoy their incredible rocket talents and an all around fun rocketry website!