Newbie here with a Newbie Kamado

Hello all, been reading and browsing the pics and I'm excited about this new adventure of of an old habit. Love BBQing, been at it for some time on barrel type grill/smokers. When mine finally worn out I started looking around some of the forums to see what others were using and was introduced to the kamado style smokers. I missed out on a really good deal from a friend who was selling his Primo xl, I wanted it but he'd already promised first dibs to another guy. That's the one I wanted at first but just couldn't bring myself to spend that kind of money on it. I did, however, come across the Vision Classic. It was in my budget, looked well made and carries a good warranty. So now I'm the owner of a brand spankin new Vision Kamado. Got it together Thursday night and will be cooking spatchcock chicken this evening. (Son, daughter-in-law and the previous Primo owner will be the Ginny Pigs)
I've bought a Kamado Joe heat deflector but didn't want to grind the notches in the firebox, so what I did to make it more secure, was to slightly bend the legs outward so they barely touch the inside of the box. Very secure, doesn't move a bit.
I've got a question, the first of many, I'm sure. I've got three chickens, the grill will be full. The heat deflector leaves about an inch gap. Will the parts of the chicken that may be above the gap burn? Oh yeah, one more, do I need a drip pan under them? Was thinking of using foil since the rack was going to be full.
Thanks in advanced for your input.

T-Roy

Here she is;