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

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, ya bilge rat, considerin' that t' Deltie, also from Edmond's Aerospace, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Begad! Blimey! Although sparse, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Unlike most rockets, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. T' instructions are fairly complete, me bucko, me hearties, except that they never mention trimmin' t' glider, or t' supplied lump o' clay and what t' do with it. Basically, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, t' instructions seem t' assume that you have trimmed a boost glider before. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece was missing. Avast! Blimey! T' instructions say that thar be a small, triangular piece o' wood, me bucko, curved on one side, arrr, that can be used t' mark a straight line on t' engine tube, but thar wasn't one in me kit. Begad! Blimey! 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 be missing: t' launch lug. Again, nay a show-stopper, shiver me timbers, since I have some extras lyin' around, arrr, but a rather inauspicious beginning. Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey!

T' kit itself is quite nice, with thick, sturdy balsa parts that have been precision cut. Aye aye! All parts fit well, and there was absolutely no confusion about how t' assemble t' rocket. Ahoy! Construction was simple, shiver me timbers, quick and easy, arrr, with no fuss. Full assembly took me about 1 hour, but could be done much faster. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Make no mistake, t' quality o' t' parts is first-rate, me hearties, and t' kit was well thought out. Begad! T' only time I deviated from the instructions be with t' clay. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! 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. Aye aye! T' purpose here was t' make t' CiCi tilt left a little bit in flight so that it would glide in circles, rather than in a straight line. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! 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, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide tests prior t' flight. Begad! Avast! Hmmm. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! . Blimey! . Ahoy! it glides ok, ya bilge rat, but flies and lands in a rather nose-down attitude. Ahoy! Nose-down enough that t' balsa nose cone hits before the front edge o' t' canard. Arrr! Perhaps a small amount o' weight in t' aft might help. Arrr! 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. Begad! More hand-toss glide tests. Hmmm. Aye aye! . Aye aye! . Ya scallywag! Blimey! a slightly better glide attitude and landing, arrr, but still noticeably nose-down, and thar be 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. Arrr! Begad! After a couple more throws, me hearties, me hearties, me bucko, I still couldn't discern any arc t' the left, me hearties, but I didn't want t' add too much weight for fear o' adversely affecting the flight characteristics. Aye aye! Time for some real flight tests.

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

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

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

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, ya bilge rat, not scorchin' o' t' wood. A bit dirty, matey, but nay a safety concern. Blimey!

Unfortunately, t' second flight, under nearly calm wind conditions, was an exact duplicate o' t' first. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' A8-3 gave a good, matey, straight boost, with a nice transition t' glide, a decent but slightly too rapid, nose-down descent, arrr, shiver me timbers, and a landin' with a crack. Ya scallywag! Broke clean in half again, me bucko, 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. Aye aye! Blimey! So, prior t' t' third flight, arrr, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. Arrr! Arrr! Blimey! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Avast! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Blimey! T' idea was to have this canard generate more lift, and thereby lift t' nose in flight, givin' a flatter glide. Blimey! Blimey! Hand-tossed glides didn't show any visible difference, but I was confident that it would be noticeable at speed. Arrr! DO NOT TRY THIS WITH YOUR MODEL! T' airfoil be much too severe, and caused t' model t' arc over under power and plow into the ground at full speed! Ironically, t' damage was only slightly worse on this flight, shiver me timbers, 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, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and you want t' try t' airfoil t' canard t' help that situation, start with a very slight airfoil, me hearties, and perform actual launches before sandin' any further.

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

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