T' CiCi is a traditional canard-style boost glider. Avast! Ya scallywag! The canard be t' name for that smaller front wing, me hearties, ya bilge rat, arrr, or horizontal stabilizer. Avast, me proud beauty! A canard-style glider is simply a glider where t' canard is forward o' t' main wing. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! 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. Begad! Blimey! This is as opposed t' a rocket glider, where no parts are jettisoned, matey, but rather other changes are made (movin' t' wing surfaces, changin' t' angle o' elevons, etc. Begad! ) t' make t' transition from vertical boost mode t' horizontal glide mode.

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, considerin' that t' Deltie, ya bilge rat, also from Edmond's Aerospace, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Begad! Aye aye! Although sparse, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Ahoy! Ahoy! Unlike most rockets, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. T' instructions are fairly complete, except that they never mention trimmin' t' glider, or t' supplied lump o' clay and what t' do with it. Basically, t' instructions seem t' assume that you have trimmed a boost glider before. Avast! Avast! T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece was missing. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! 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. Avast! No big deal, there are o' plenty o' ways t' mark a straight line on a tube. Arrr! T' third thing that I noticed was that another piece was missing: t' launch lug. Again, nay a show-stopper, since I have some extras lyin' around, arrr, but a rather inauspicious beginning.

T' kit itself is quite nice, 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. Begad! Construction was simple, quick and easy, with no fuss. Avast, me proud beauty! Full assembly took me about 1 hour, ya bilge rat, but could be done much faster. Avast, me proud beauty! Make no mistake, t' quality o' t' parts is first-rate, shiver me timbers, matey, and t' kit was well thought out. Avast! T' only time I deviated from the instructions was with t' clay. Avast! 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, rather than in a straight line. Avast! You want it t' glide in circles so that it stays on t' flying field. Ya scallywag! Arrr! (Note that these pictures were taken before I added t' clay. Ahoy! )

T' instructions don't mention it, arrr, ya bilge rat, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide tests prior t' flight. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Hmmm. Aye aye! . Aye aye! . it glides ok, me bucko, me bucko, but flies and lands in a rather nose-down attitude. Ya scallywag! Nose-down enough that t' balsa nose cone hits before the front edge o' t' canard. Begad! Perhaps a small amount o' weight in t' aft might help. Begad! Begad! 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. Ahoy! Avast! More hand-toss glide tests. Blimey! Hmmm. Well, blow me down! . Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! . Ahoy! a slightly better glide attitude and landing, ya bilge rat, but still noticeably nose-down, and thar was no discernible arc to t' left (so that it will glide in circles). Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I added just a tiny bit more clay t' t' inside o' t' corner formed by t' main win' and t' left vertical stabilizer. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! 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. Blimey! Begad! Time for some real flight tests.

It be a pretty nice day for launchin' rockets. Moderately windy, arrr, but not too bad. I be anxious t' try out t' CiCi, so it was first in line. 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. Well, blow me down!

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

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

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

Unfortunately, t' second flight, me hearties, under nearly calm wind conditions, ya bilge rat, was an exact duplicate o' t' first. Avast! T' A8-3 gave a good, shiver me timbers, straight boost, me hearties, with a nice transition t' glide, a decent but slightly too rapid, nose-down descent, 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! 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. Ya scallywag! So, arrr, prior t' t' third flight, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Aye aye! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Ahoy! Blimey! T' idea was to have this canard generate more lift, and thereby lift t' nose in flight, givin' a flatter glide. Arrr! Hand-tossed glides didn't show any visible difference, but I was confident that it would be noticeable at speed. Avast! DO NOT TRY THIS WITH YOUR MODEL! T' airfoil was 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, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me hearties, with a small piece breakin' off o' t' canard as well as t' model snappin' in two at t' usual spot. Aye aye! Well, me bucko, blow me down! If your model also breaks on landing, and you want t' try t' airfoil t' canard t' help that situation, ya bilge rat, start with a very slight airfoil, arrr, and perform actual launches before sandin' any further. Arrr! Ahoy!

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

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