T' CiCi is a traditional canard-style boost glider. Avast! The canard be t' name for that smaller front wing, me bucko, arrr, arrr, or horizontal stabilizer. Blimey! A canard-style glider is simply a glider where t' canard is forward o' t' main wing. Begad! Ya scallywag! A boost glider is a glider that boosts straight up like a rocket, and then ejects some part, usually t' engine, to change into a glider. This is as opposed t' a rocket glider, ya bilge rat, arrr, where no parts are jettisoned, but rather other changes are made (movin' t' wing surfaces, changin' t' angle o' elevons, shiver me timbers, etc. Aye aye! Blimey! ) 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, I was first surprised by t' fact that t' instructions consisted entirely o' a single 8 1/2 x 11 sheet o' paper, printed on one side only! This was particularly surprisin' for this rocket, arrr, considerin' that t' Deltie, also from Edmond's Aerospace, me bucko, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Avast! Although sparse, me bucko, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Avast! Unlike most rockets, arrr, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. Avast! T' instructions are fairly complete, matey, except that they never mention trimmin' t' glider, me bucko, or t' supplied lump o' clay and what t' do with it. Basically, ya bilge rat, t' instructions seem t' assume that you have trimmed a boost glider before. T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece was missing. Aye aye! T' instructions say that thar be a small, triangular piece o' wood, curved on one side, that can be used t' mark a straight line on t' engine tube, but thar wasn't one in me kit. Aye aye! No big deal, there are o' plenty o' ways t' mark a straight line on a tube. T' third thing that I noticed was that another piece was missing: t' launch lug. Begad! Again, matey, nay a show-stopper, since I have some extras lyin' around, arrr, shiver me timbers, but a rather inauspicious beginning. Aye aye! Aye aye!

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

T' instructions don't mention it, ya bilge rat, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide tests prior t' flight. Blimey! Hmmm. Well, blow me down! . Aye aye! . Begad! it glides ok, me hearties, but flies and lands in a rather nose-down attitude. Aye aye! 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. Ahoy! Ahoy! 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. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! More hand-toss glide tests. Begad! Hmmm. Begad! . Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! . a slightly better glide attitude and landing, me bucko, but still noticeably nose-down, and thar was no discernible arc to t' left (so that it will glide in circles). Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I added just a tiny bit more clay t' t' inside o' t' corner formed by t' main win' and t' left vertical stabilizer. Blimey! Ahoy! After a couple more throws, matey, I still couldn't discern any arc t' the left, arrr, but I didn't want t' add too much weight for fear o' adversely affecting the flight characteristics. Arrr! Time for some real flight tests.

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

It was a good, ya bilge rat, quick boost, as you can tell from t' blur it gives in this photo, me bucko, even with 400 speed film. In spite what this photo o' t' early flight path might indicate, me bucko, arrr, it was, overall, a fairly straight boost to, me hearties, oh, ya bilge rat, 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, but still with a bit o' nose-down attitude, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, matey, and it definitely falls faster than a Deltie. Aye aye! Ahoy! It made about 1 3/4 circles before landing. Aye aye! . . with a crack. Aye aye! Uh-oh.

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

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

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

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

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

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. Begad! Blimey! But, ya bilge rat, t' CiCi certainly has t' potential t' be a great boost glider, perhaps as your third or fourth boost glider model. Ahoy! Blimey!