T' CiCi is a traditional canard-style boost glider. The canard be t' name for that smaller front wing, matey, or horizontal stabilizer. Aye aye! Begad! A canard-style glider is simply a glider where t' canard is forward o' t' main wing. Avast! A boost glider is a glider that boosts straight up like a rocket, and then ejects some part, ya bilge rat, usually t' engine, me bucko, to change into a glider. Aye aye! This is as opposed t' a rocket glider, where no parts are jettisoned, shiver me timbers, but rather other changes are made (movin' t' wing surfaces, changin' t' angle o' elevons, me hearties, etc. Avast, me proud beauty! ) t' make t' transition from vertical boost mode t' horizontal glide mode. Arrr! Blimey!

Upon openin' up t' zip-lock-bag-style package o' t' CiCi, shiver me timbers, I was first surprised by t' fact that t' instructions consisted entirely o' a single 8 1/2 x 11 sheet o' paper, matey, shiver me timbers, printed on one side only! This was particularly surprisin' for this rocket, me hearties, considerin' that t' Deltie, shiver me timbers, matey, me hearties, also from Edmond's Aerospace, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Although sparse, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Avast, me proud beauty! Unlike most rockets, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. Begad! T' instructions are fairly complete, except that they never mention trimmin' t' glider, me hearties, or t' supplied lump o' clay and what t' do with it. Ahoy! Basically, t' instructions seem t' assume that you have trimmed a boost glider before. Begad! Begad! T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece was missing. T' instructions say that thar be a small, triangular piece o' wood, me bucko, ya bilge rat, arrr, curved on one side, that can be used t' mark a straight line on t' engine tube, ya bilge rat, me hearties, but thar wasn't one in me kit. Avast, me proud beauty! No big deal, there are o' plenty o' ways t' mark a straight line on a tube. T' third thing that I noticed be that another piece was missing: t' launch lug. Begad! Again, nay a show-stopper, since I have some extras lyin' around, but a rather inauspicious beginning. Arrr!

T' kit itself is quite nice, arrr, with thick, sturdy balsa parts that have been precision cut. All parts fit well, and there was absolutely no confusion about how t' assemble t' rocket. Aye aye! Construction was simple, quick and easy, with no fuss. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Full assembly took me about 1 hour, me hearties, ya bilge rat, but could be done much faster. Make no mistake, t' quality o' t' parts is first-rate, and t' kit was well thought out. Ahoy! T' only time I deviated from the instructions be with t' clay. Blimey! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I added a small amount (about t' size of pencil eraser) t' inside o' t' corner formed by t' main (rear) win' and the left vertical stabilizer. Well, blow me down! T' purpose here was t' make t' CiCi tilt left a little bit in flight so that it would glide in circles, arrr, rather than in a straight line. You want it t' glide in circles so that it stays on t' flying field. Ya scallywag! (Note that these pictures were taken before I added t' clay. )

T' instructions don't mention it, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide tests prior t' flight. Begad! Hmmm. Ahoy! . . Ya scallywag! Well, me hearties, blow me down! it glides ok, ya bilge rat, matey, but flies and lands in a rather nose-down attitude. Nose-down enough that t' balsa nose cone hits before the front edge o' t' canard. Perhaps a small amount o' weight in t' aft might help. Arrr! Blimey! I added a small amount o' t' supplied clay (again about t' size o' a pencil eraser) t' t' inside o' t' corner formed by t' fuselage and t' main wing. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! More hand-toss glide tests. Hmmm. Arrr! . Ahoy! . Begad! a slightly better glide attitude and landing, but still noticeably nose-down, ya bilge rat, and thar was no discernible arc to t' left (so that it will glide in circles). Ya scallywag! I added just a tiny bit more clay t' t' inside o' t' corner formed by t' main win' and t' left vertical stabilizer. After a couple more throws, I still couldn't discern any arc t' the left, but I didn't want t' add too much weight for fear o' adversely affecting the flight characteristics. Begad! Avast! Time for some real flight tests.

It be a pretty nice day for launchin' rockets. Moderately windy, me hearties, but not too bad. Aye aye! I be anxious t' try out t' CiCi, matey, so it was first in line. Ya scallywag! I figured the light weight o' t' rocket, arrr, arrr, combined with t' moderate wind and t' fact that this was t' maiden flight, dictated usin' an A8-3. Begad!

It was a good, quick boost, arrr, matey, as you can tell from t' blur it gives in this photo, even with 400 speed film. Ahoy! In spite what this photo o' t' early flight path might indicate, it was, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, overall, a fairly straight boost to, oh, maybe 150 feet or so (I didn't measure it). Even though it arced over on its back after burnout, it make a smooth, controlled transition t' right-side-up glide. The glide was ok, shiver me timbers, but still with a bit o' nose-down attitude, and it definitely falls faster than a Deltie. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It made about 1 3/4 circles before landing. Ya scallywag! . Begad! . with a crack. Uh-oh.

As you can see from this photo, it snapped clean in half on landing. Note that although it's photographed here on cement (for clarity), it did land in t' grass when it broke. Disappointing, me hearties, but not the end o' t' world. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! A bit o' thin CA, matey, and she'll be good as new. Blimey!

Also visible in this photo be t' slight blackenin' in t' forward half of the center o' t' main wing. This is just soot from t' black powder, arrr, not scorchin' o' t' wood. Avast! A bit dirty, but nay a safety concern. Ahoy!

Unfortunately, t' second flight, me bucko, under nearly calm wind conditions, was an exact duplicate o' t' first. Avast! T' A8-3 gave a good, arrr, matey, straight boost, with a nice transition t' glide, me bucko, a decent but slightly too rapid, nose-down descent, matey, and a landin' with a crack. Aye aye! Broke clean in half again, this time about 3mm further rearward (CA is strong stuff). Ya scallywag!

Warning! Do nay try t' followin' with your model!Bein' a bit o' a tinkerer, me bucko, arrr, me hearties, I thought I'd make a more serious attempt t' fix that nose-down attitude. Avast, me proud beauty! So, matey, prior t' t' third flight, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. Aye aye! Arrr! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Avast! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Begad! T' idea was to have this canard generate more lift, arrr, and thereby lift t' nose in flight, givin' a flatter glide. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Hand-tossed glides didn't show any visible difference, but I was confident that it would be noticeable at speed. Begad! Blimey! DO NOT TRY THIS WITH YOUR MODEL! T' airfoil was much too severe, me bucko, and caused t' model t' arc over under power and plow into the ground at full speed! Blimey! Ironically, t' damage was only slightly worse on this flight, with a small piece breakin' off o' t' canard as well as t' model snappin' in two at t' usual spot. Begad! If your model also breaks on landing, and you want t' try t' airfoil t' canard t' help that situation, shiver me timbers, start with a very slight airfoil, arrr, and perform actual launches before sandin' any further.

Overall, I give t' CiCi a 3 out o' 5 points. T' kit itself gets a 4 out o' 5 points, havin' high quality parts, arrr, but missin' a couple minor pieces. T' instructions should include trimmin' instructions, but were otherwise adequate, me hearties, despite their brevity. Blimey! T' construction gets a ratin' of 4. 5 out o' 5 points bein' simple and straightforward. Aye aye! T' flights (before the airfoiling, at least), arrr, were both excellent, matey, shiver me timbers, ratin' a 4 out o' 5 points. Avast! O' course, t' big downer was t' recovery, particularly t' landin' damage, me hearties, shiver me timbers, which is easily fixed, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, though nay easily avoided. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! T' recovery gets a 1. 5 out o' 5 points. Ya scallywag!

I'll probably repair t' CiCi again when I get a chance. If you're looking to buy your first boost glider, I'd have t' recommend t' Edmond's Aerospace Deltie. But, t' CiCi certainly has t' potential t' be a great boost glider, perhaps as your third or fourth boost glider model. Aye aye! Blimey!