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

Upon openin' up t' zip-lock-bag-style package o' t' CiCi, me hearties, I be first surprised by t' fact that t' instructions consisted entirely o' a single 8 1/2 x 11 sheet o' paper, matey, printed on one side only! This was particularly surprisin' for this rocket, considerin' that t' Deltie, ya bilge rat, also from Edmond's Aerospace, arrr, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Although sparse, arrr, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Well, blow me down! Unlike most rockets, me bucko, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. Begad! Avast! T' instructions are fairly complete, shiver me timbers, except that they never mention trimmin' t' glider, arrr, or t' supplied lump o' clay and what t' do with it. Avast, me proud beauty! Basically, me bucko, me hearties, t' instructions seem t' assume that you have trimmed a boost glider before. Ya scallywag! T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece was missing. Avast! T' instructions say that thar be a small, triangular piece o' wood, curved on one side, matey, that can be used t' mark a straight line on t' engine tube, arrr, 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. Begad! Begad! T' third thing that I noticed was that another piece was missing: t' launch lug. Again, ya bilge rat, nay a show-stopper, shiver me timbers, since I have some extras lyin' around, but a rather inauspicious beginning. Begad!

T' kit itself is quite nice, me bucko, with thick, sturdy balsa parts that have been precision cut. Blimey! Begad! All parts fit well, shiver me timbers, and there was absolutely no confusion about how t' assemble t' rocket. Avast! Construction was simple, quick and easy, me hearties, with no fuss. Aye aye! Full assembly took me about 1 hour, but could be done much faster. Begad! Make no mistake, t' quality o' t' parts is first-rate, me bucko, and t' kit was well thought out. Begad! 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, me proud beauty! You want it t' glide in circles so that it stays on t' flying field. Aye aye! (Note that these pictures were taken before I added t' clay. Ahoy! )

T' instructions don't mention it, matey, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide tests prior t' flight. Begad! Avast! Hmmm. Aye aye! . Blimey! . Well, blow me down! Begad! it glides ok, arrr, but flies and lands in a rather nose-down attitude. Arrr! Nose-down enough that t' balsa nose cone hits before the front edge o' t' canard. Begad! Blimey! Perhaps a small amount o' weight in t' aft might help. Avast! 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. Blimey! Ahoy! More hand-toss glide tests. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Hmmm. Aye aye! . Blimey! Avast! . Arrr! a slightly better glide attitude and landing, but still noticeably nose-down, me bucko, and thar was no discernible arc to t' left (so that it will glide in circles). 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! After a couple more throws, 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. Time for some real flight tests.

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

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

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), arrr, 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, 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This is just soot from t' black powder, not scorchin' o' t' wood. A bit dirty, matey, shiver me timbers, but nay a safety concern. Begad! Blimey!

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

Batten down t' hatches! Do nay try t' followin' with your model!Bein' a bit o' a tinkerer, shiver me timbers, I thought I'd make a more serious attempt t' fix that nose-down attitude. Well, arrr, blow me down! So, prior t' t' third flight, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Avast! T' idea was to have this canard generate more lift, me bucko, 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. Arrr! 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 be only slightly worse on this flight, ya bilge rat, 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, ya bilge rat, start with a very slight airfoil, ya bilge rat, and perform actual launches before sandin' any further. Avast!

Overall, I give t' CiCi a 3 out o' 5 points. T' kit itself gets a 4 out o' 5 points, arrr, havin' high quality parts, matey, but missin' a couple minor pieces. Blimey! T' instructions should include trimmin' instructions, ya bilge rat, but were otherwise adequate, shiver me timbers, despite their brevity. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! 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, ya bilge rat, ratin' a 4 out o' 5 points. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! O' course, t' big downer be t' recovery, particularly t' landin' damage, arrr, me bucko, which is easily fixed, though nay easily avoided. Blimey! T' recovery gets a 1. 5 out o' 5 points. Ya scallywag!

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