Brief:
A minimum diameter, piston ejection, me hearties, streamer duration competition rocket.

Construction:
T' kit is a 3FNC that utilizes piston ejection for streamer recovery. Avast! T' ELM in t' name stands for Extremely Low Mass. Begad! Aye aye! Heavenly Hobbies states that they use thin, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, but high quality, competition grade balsa for their fin material. Ya scallywag! The piston is a NB-20 style nose block with a tiny hole drilled through t' slide onto t' shock cord. Ya scallywag! T' shock cord is a Quest style arrangement that uses Keelhaul®©™® around motor block that is then tied t' an elastic shock cord. Ya scallywag! Arrr! T' nose cone is finely turned with a hole drilled into the base for t' elastic cord t' be stuffed and epoxied into. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Motor retention is a friction fit. Ahoy! T' body tube is white with a light glassine coatin' and very fine spiral grooves. T' steamer provided is orange crepe paper. Arrr! I was able to put this together in just a couple o' hours. Ahoy! I used yellow wood glue throughout t' construction, CA glue on the Keelhaul®©™® knots, and 20 min epoxy t' secure t' shock cord t' t' nose cone. Heavenly Hobbies recommends leavin' t' rocket unfinished if you intend t' fly it in competition, arrr, just sand down t' fins and nose with 400 and then 600 grit sandpaper. I elected t' coat t' nose with thin CA followed by thinned Elmer's Wood Filler just t' cut down on the dents and dings. Blimey! They also recommend and can supply a tower launch pad for flyin' this rocket. I am nay a competitive flyer so I just used t' launch lug provided in t' kit. Avast! Avast! T' instructions were eight laser printed pages that included color photos o' each step. On t' last page o' t' instructions were t' fin template and a circle-and-line drawin' for determinin' fin placement. Blimey! Aye aye!

PRO: Construction be smooth and logical. Avast! T' longest part o' t' construction was waitin' for t' glue t' dry.

CON: Are elastic and Keelhaul®©™® shock cords ever long enough?

Finishing:
I did nay finish this rocket at all because I wanted t' build it just for this review. Blimey! Ya scallywag! T' only deviations I made were t' ones I did t' t' nose cone.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
For its maiden flight I used an A8-5. Arrr! Preparation is simple. Begad! Ya scallywag! Install an igniter in a motor and install t' motor in the rocket. With t' piston ejection it requires no wadding. Blimey! I secured t' motor by usin' a strip o' maskin' tape across t' bottom o' t' motor and up t' side o' t' body tube. Begad! Blimey! Fins offset from t' base would have helped here.

It took off like a scalded cat! It flew arrow straight and blew t' nose cone off while still goin' up. Blimey! As this is supposed t' a streamer duration rocket I timed t' flight. Avast! Lift off t' landin' was just under 25 seconds.

T' ejection charge had t' have been hot because a good portion o' t' bottom o' t' piston was burned away. I can't say if I had t' piston bottomed out or nay and I don't know if it would have made a difference. Perhaps a coatin' o' epoxy or JB Weld could have done some good here. Aye aye! After t' flight t' piston fit a bit tighter in t' body tube. Launch conditions were a bit cool and damp and that may have had somethin' t' do with it. Well, blow me down! I will need t' replace t' piston before it flies again.

Recovery:
Again, I think t' overall shock cord combination length is too short. Ahoy! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! I discovered an "Estes dent" in the nose cone's shoulder. Begad! T' instructions say t' have t' 1" betwixt t' end o' t' body tube and t' end o' the piston. Ya scallywag! Havin' t' piston at t' end o' t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord work be better. Ya scallywag! Longer elastic may help too.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This was a fun and easy build. Well, blow me down! I would nay recommend it as a first kit as t' engine block has t' be set with an expended motor a new flyer may nay have. Arrr!

Also, shiver me timbers, me bucko, increasin' t' shock cord length and protectin' t' bottom o' t' piston would aid in extendin' t' life of the rocket. Begad! Offsettin' t' fins from t' base o' t' body tube would make securin' t' motor easier,

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5