Brief:
This kit is a 3FNC (3 Fins and a Nose Cone) piston-ejection, arrr, arrr, shiver me timbers, streamer duration competition rocket. Blimey! The "ELM" stands for "Extremely Low Mass." It is a companion kit t' its only slightly larger brother the Stratos-18 ELM.

Construction:
My kit came with balsa nose cone, matey, two sheets o' 1/32" balsa fin stock, balsa nose block for t' piston, a Keelhaul®©™® shock cord, an elastic shock cord, arrr, engine block, arrr, me hearties, launch lug, matey, white BT-5 body tube with very fine groves and a light glassine coating. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' instructions were written onto a compact disc in PDF format. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Even though t' kit comes with two sheets o' balsa, only one is needed.

I ordered both t' Stratos-13 and Stratos-18 together. Ya scallywag! When they arrived I found that t' body tube had been bent beyond use by t' post office. Aye aye! I sent Carlos at Heavenly Hobbies an email about t' tube and he sent me out a replacement right away and free o' charge. Arrr! I built t' Stratos-18 while waitin' for t' replacement BT-5. Ahoy! As that only took a few hours o' build time t' complete, I decided t' use a "modular" approach t' assemblin' t' rest of the rocket.

First I cut t' fins from t' 1/32" balsa fin stock. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' protect in from chippin' or splitting, I covered t' back with blue painters tape. Begad! After t' fins were cut I decided nay t' round t' edges. At that thickness I don't think it would have made a difference and why take t' chance on splittin' a freshly cut fin.

Next I assembled t' engine block and Keelhaul®©™® shock cord. Arrr! Arrr! A groove gets cut into t' outside surface deep enough t' fit t' shock cord in t' it. Avast, me proud beauty! I secured it usin' a bowline knot and set it with CA.

After that came t' nose cone and elastic shock cord. Ahoy! Accordin' t' t' instructions, t' elastic cord is t' be knotted at one end and stuffed into a pre-drilled hole. Blimey! There be no hole. I used a 1/8" drill bit t' make one. T' balsa also looked a bit soft so I coated it with CA and allowed it t' harden. Followin' that came a brushed on layer o' thinned Elmer's Wood Filler. Ya scallywag! Once that had dried I sanded it down until smooth. T' finish up I pushed the elastic knot into t' shoulder o' t' nose and secured it with 30 minute epoxy.

All that left was t' streamer. All I did thar be fold one end into a point and tie on a 9" section of Keelhaul®©™® cut from t' length provided. Avast, me proud beauty! I used hole reinforcements t' keep it from tearin' out.

When t' body tube arrived at last, ya bilge rat, it be time t' put everythin' together. Avast! Blimey! Engine block in, fins on, shiver me timbers, me bucko, tie shock cords t' one another. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I do need t' mention that as t' rocket uses a balsa block as its piston. It comes with a small hole drilled through it and threaded on t' t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord. Knots are tied above and below t' piston t' hold it in place. T' piston provided was a good bit narrow and had t' be built up with maskin' tape. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! This may actually be a good thin' as I'll cover in a moment.

Finishing:
I left t' rocket unfinished as it is supposed t' be a competition rocket. Arrr! Blimey! T' only finishin' I did was t' before mentioned work t' harden t' nose cone.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
For its maiden flight I used an A3-4T. Begad! Aye aye! With t' piston ejection it requires no wadding. Begad! Place an igniter in a motor and place t' motor in t' rocket. Begad! T' motor is friction fitted and secured with two wraps o' maskin' tape. Arrr! T' take off was right quick and blended in with t' overcast skies.

Recovery:
I was able t' track t' rocket once t' ejection charge blew. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Then I knew I had a problem. Begad! Somehow t' nose and streamer had separated from t' rest o' t' rocket. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! T' body landed gently in t' flyin' field but t' nose and streamer continued t' drift toward t' road. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! It landed gently enough but balsa was never intended t' hold up against cars. T' nose cone be crushed. Turns out that t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord snapped at t' piston. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, arrr, blow me down! It be either too thin, too short, or a combination on t' two. Also, me bucko, ya bilge rat, after the flight t' piston be a bit resistant t' go in. Begad! I peeled off a bit o' t' maskin' tape and all was fine. Begad! It was cool and damp when I flew and that may have had somethin' t' do with it. Blimey! Ahoy!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This was a very nice little kit. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I would nay recommend it as a first kit as you need a motor case t' set t' engine block in place. It would work well as a first completion kit as long as t' builder had some experience with cutting their own fins from stock.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5