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

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

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

T' instructions don't mention it, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide tests prior t' flight. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Hmmm. Avast! Blimey! . . it glides ok, arrr, but flies and lands in a rather nose-down attitude. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Nose-down enough that t' balsa nose cone hits before the front edge o' t' canard. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Perhaps a small amount o' weight in t' aft might help. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! 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. More hand-toss glide tests. Begad! Blimey! Hmmm. . . Begad! Blimey! a slightly better glide attitude and landing, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but still noticeably nose-down, and thar be no discernible arc to t' left (so that it will glide in circles). Arrr! Blimey! 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! Blimey! After a couple more throws, ya bilge rat, I still couldn't discern any arc t' the left, me bucko, but I didn't want t' add too much weight for fear o' adversely affecting the flight characteristics. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Time for some real flight tests.

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

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

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

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. Arrr! A bit dirty, but nay a safety concern. Begad!

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

Batten down t' hatches! Blimey! 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, me bucko, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Avast, me proud beauty! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Begad! T' idea was to have this canard generate more lift, 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. Ya scallywag! DO NOT TRY THIS WITH YOUR MODEL! T' airfoil be much too severe, arrr, and caused t' model t' arc over under power and plow into the ground at full speed! Ironically, matey, matey, t' damage be only slightly worse on this flight, me hearties, with a small piece breakin' off o' t' canard as well as t' model snappin' in two at t' usual spot. Ahoy! Ahoy! If your model also breaks on landing, me hearties, and you want t' try t' airfoil t' canard t' help that situation, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, start with a very slight airfoil, matey, and perform actual launches before sandin' any further. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down!

Overall, I give t' CiCi a 3 out o' 5 points. Ahoy! T' kit itself gets a 4 out o' 5 points, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, havin' high quality parts, but missin' a couple minor pieces. Begad! Blimey! T' instructions should include trimmin' instructions, but were otherwise adequate, despite their brevity. Avast! 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, ratin' a 4 out o' 5 points. Begad! O' course, me bucko, ya bilge rat, t' big downer was t' recovery, particularly t' landin' damage, shiver me timbers, which is easily fixed, shiver me timbers, me bucko, me hearties, though nay easily avoided. T' recovery gets a 1. 5 out o' 5 points. Aye aye!

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