This plane flies very straight and true.  One disappointed Defiant builder had problems making his labor of love fly in a straight line.  Imagine his dismay after thousands of hours of work dubbing his plane "The Banana".

Defiant is fast but the LearJet is faster.   It is cheaper to buy and maintain the Defiant than the fuel cost on the Lear alone.

Defiant 675 TT R-engine & Airframe.  0 F-engine bottom end.   Always hangared.  Avgas 100LL run exclusively.  Always maintained great compressions,  Many extras.

Max speed 212 mph 

Average cruise 192 mph

Fuel capacity 120 gallons

Cruise fuel burn 8 gallons per engine (above 10,000 feet)

2 Lycoming IO-360 180 hp

4 seats and large luggage space

Seat belts and harnesses for all 4 passengers

Disc brakes

Electric rudder & elevator trim

Full nav lights with wingtip strobes

Prince P-Tip Prop 78" pitch

Collins Microline 760 radios & navs

Glideslope indicator

Marker beacon

King Transponder

Rc Allen Electric horizon gyro.  Bought new and recently rebuilt.

ADF receiver

Strikefinder radar

Radar altimeter

S-Tec autopilot  

Built-in 4-place intercom

Northstar Loran - Same tray accomodates the Northstar GPS

Fuel totalizer (reads both engines in one gauge)

Analog oil temp and pressure

Digital tachs

Digital stepping CHT & EGT separate for each engine

Digital OAT

Voltmeters and amp meters

This aircraft began its life in beautiful Ashville North Carolina .  The builder's name was Ted Rogers.  He was an ophthalmologist and was a very meticulous individual.  He spared no time or expense during the construction of this airplane.  I have the construction records.  He was a twin pilot and was looking for the ultimate in safety.  He had been flying a 310.  He built this plane with that goal in mind.  It came up for sale in 1996 after his untimely death in a motor-glider accident.  I was fortunate enough to purchase it at that time.  Since then I have enjoyed over 350 hours of wonderful flying.  That may not seem like a lot of time but you don't log as many hours in fast airplanes.

It is very roomy. The rear seat legroom is unbelievable.  There is a very large compartment behind the back seat.  It folds down as one piece and makes a super cargo space.  I am 5' 11" and I slept in there one night with the rear seat folded down at Sun-N-Fun.

Safety.  It goes without saying.  It has two engines but that is only the beginning.  It has two of almost everything including, 2 batteries, 2 complete and separate bussable electrical systems, 2 radio masters, 2 vacuum pumps, 2 alternators (also switchable to either or both systems).  Even the control sticks are independent.  If a cable were to break you can reach over and fly it from the co-pilot's stick.

In flight the plane feels very conventional in all modes of flight.  The controls are light but get more firm at high speed.  The plane can be easily trimmed for hands off flight or you can let the auto pilot do all the work.  It will not stall since the canard will stop flying before the main wing.  When I first brought it home my instructor and I put it through it's paces.  Once stall speed is reached (about 50 mph) the nose will gently drop and the aircraft immediately resumes flying.  At slow speeds during the landing phase the rudder is very helpful to give added control authority.   In case of an engine failure is also very capable when flown on either engine. 

I have flown a variety of cross countries including several flights from Indianapolis to Florida .  It loves that special slice of airspace above 10,000 feet to 18,000 feet.  There the lift and resulting drag of the canard seem to equalize with the main wing and the plane really sizzles!  It's lonely though.  You are above 99% of the average GA guys and below the serious commercial traffic. 

There are faster aircraft but the Defiant still beats them to the destination on long cross countries. You will pass them by while they are stopping for fuel!  With 120 gallons of fuel I can fly from Indianapolis nonstop all the way to Key West and not even touch the fuel selectors.

Over the years Defiant builders have tried a multitude of mods.  Many of them did not work out as planned.  Burt Rutan's original design just keeps coming back as the correct way to build a Defiant.  My plane was built to the exact plans with no deviations.  It flies straight and true.  One mod that has proven to be beneficial is to shorten the main gear legs.  This lowers the rear of the plane about 7 inches.  I did a lot of research and spoke to several owners before making the decision to do the conversion.  It was the right decision.  Here are the benefits:

 1. The most important first.  It significantly shortened the takeoff roll.  Before the legs were so tall that the plane was in nose-down attitude.  This put the canard in a negative angle of attack and held the plane on the runway longer.

 2. Rear engine oil can be checked with feet flat on the ground.  I used to have to tip toe to reach it.  Others needed a stool.

 3. Front step is lower so it is easier to get in and out.

 4. Front prop clearance is increased.  Rear prop still has about 3 times the Mooney prop clearance.

 5. Plane looks better setting on the ramp.

If you are looking for a serious traveling machine with speed, looks, hauling capability and safety, you have found it.

I will post more info here as time permits so keep checking back.

Yours truly,

Jerry Chasteen  

The following pictures were taken in the days gone by.

We were once mistaken for a Beech Starship in Florida by a King Air.  

My reply was" Thanks for the compliment mate."  "By the way. . . your are a lot closer

than you think!"

This shot (above) was taken back in 1987 just after completion of the Defiant N23TR.  The "TR" stands for Ted Rogers the builder of the aircraft.

You will notice the small white UFO just off to the left and ahead of the Defiant.  This is documented proof that the Earth is routinely visited by alien spacecraft.  (Actually it was a spec of lint on the photo when I scanned it.)

Coming in for a deck level high speed pass over the runway.   FAA likes it better if you call it a missed approach.

This is the view of the Defiant as seen by Bonanzas.  Just jokin' guys.  I love all those planes and my Mooney was one of my personal favorites (When it was not in the shop).

  This Defiant jumps off the runway in well less than 2000’ with one pilot.  I had it into a 3500’ strip in NJ with trees at the end.  We got out fine and there were 3 of us on board each weighing approx 190lb.   It was summer and in the 90s.  I was not heavy on fuel or baggage but that was intentional.  I don’t routinely fly into small strips so I didn’t know what to expect.  None of my passengers felt threatened by the trees.   They were well below us when we flew over them.   This was also before the gear mod.  Most of my flying is into larger airports so I never much worried about short strips.  Initial single pilot climb rate is 1500 fpm or better.  I generally get up to pattern as soon as I can and then pull the engines back for a nice 500-800 fpm cruise-climb increasing power on the way up to my desired altitude, preferably above 10,000’.   I always felt this was easy on the engines.  

  As far as cabin heat goes you won’t be disappointed.  The front engine uses a Grumman Tiger exhaust system complete with heat muff.  I had it completely rebuilt a few years ago and it works great.  My favorite slice of airspace is between 14,500’ and 15,500’ .  I have done this in the dead of winter and we have never been cold.  My son will tell you that he was also warm in the back seat.  This is a function of the fact that the cabin seals up nicely and proper leaning of the front engine really puts some heat through the Tiger heat muff.

  The reverse is also true.   The cabin has a fresh air vent on the firewall and one on top of the canopy.  The lower vent blows cool air from under the panel.  It has a scat tube in the engine compartment that runs all the way out to the front cooling intake of the cowling to make sure the incoming air is pristine.   The canopy vent closes flat and flush on top of the canopy.  When it is opened it boosts air down through two eyeball vents that blow directly on the pilot and co-pilots heads.  In 90 degree weather you’ve got great air conditioning as soon as you climb through 6,000’.

  Tach vs hobbs :  All the time on my engines is based strictly on hobbs and not tach time.  This is significant since an engine time based on a tachometer will have spun a lot more revolutions in it’s TBO than an engine with the same numbers of hobbs hours.  If my 670 hrs was done on a tach the engines would probably show more like 550 hours.  Aircraft tachometers rack up an hour for every 2310-2566 depending on manufacturer.  Your Mooney is probably 2310-2400 to create an hour.  If you do taxi operations for 30 minutes and fly for 30 minutes you will only rack up approx .7 hours on a Mooney.  In my plane it racks up an hour no matter how many revs have turned.  It also has racked up time on the ground any time the masters are on.  How many hours could I have racked up in avionics troubleshooting alone?  I guess what I am saying is that the guy that buys this plane also gets some low time motors.  By the way I have looked at a lot of experimental planes lately and guys seem to be repairing a lot of cylinders before TBO.  My engines have never been apart or have any jugs been removed since this plane was built.  All the compressions are up above 75/80.  This tells you that these engines are cooled right and they have not been abused.

  Happy flying,

  Jerry Chasteen

Cell: 317-413-4756

Home: 317-888-0959

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