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

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, me hearties, considerin' that t' Deltie, me hearties, also from Edmond's Aerospace, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Although sparse, ya bilge rat, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Blimey! Unlike most rockets, me bucko, me bucko, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. Blimey! T' instructions are fairly complete, except that they never mention trimmin' t' glider, shiver me timbers, arrr, arrr, 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. T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece be missing. Aye aye! Begad! 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, matey, but thar wasn't one in me kit. Avast! Arrr! No big deal, there are o' plenty o' ways t' mark a straight line on a tube. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! T' third thing that I noticed was that another piece was missing: t' launch lug. Begad! Begad! Again, nay a show-stopper, matey, matey, since I have some extras lyin' around, but a rather inauspicious beginning.

T' kit itself is quite nice, with thick, sturdy balsa parts that have been precision cut. Ya scallywag! All parts fit well, arrr, and there was absolutely no confusion about how t' assemble t' rocket. Blimey! Construction was simple, shiver me timbers, matey, quick and easy, with no fuss. 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, me bucko, and t' kit was well thought out. 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. Well, blow me down! Well, me hearties, blow me down! T' purpose here be 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. Ya scallywag! You want it t' glide in circles so that it stays on t' flying field. Aye aye! Begad! (Note that these pictures were taken before I added t' clay. Well, blow me down! )

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

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

It be a good, quick boost, ya bilge rat, me bucko, as you can tell from t' blur it gives in this photo, me bucko, shiver me timbers, even with 400 speed film. In spite what this photo o' t' early flight path might indicate, it was, overall, arrr, a fairly straight boost to, 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, ya bilge rat, arrr, controlled transition t' right-side-up glide. Avast! The glide was ok, me bucko, me bucko, but still with a bit o' nose-down attitude, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and it definitely falls faster than a Deltie. It made about 1 3/4 circles before landing. . . with a crack. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Uh-oh. Ya scallywag!

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), it did land in t' grass when it broke. Begad! Ya scallywag! Disappointing, ya bilge rat, but not the end o' t' world. A bit o' thin CA, me hearties, me hearties, and she'll be good as new. Avast!

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, not scorchin' o' t' wood. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! A bit dirty, shiver me timbers, me hearties, ya bilge rat, but nay a safety concern.

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

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. Blimey! Blimey! So, shiver me timbers, prior t' t' third flight, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. Aye aye! Blimey! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Blimey! Blimey! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Aye aye! Blimey! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! 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 be confident that it would be noticeable at speed. Arrr! Blimey! DO NOT TRY THIS WITH YOUR MODEL! T' airfoil was much too severe, matey, me bucko, 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 bucko, with a small piece breakin' off o' t' canard as well as t' model snappin' in two at t' usual spot. Blimey! If your model also breaks on landing, arrr, and you want t' try t' airfoil t' canard t' help that situation, start with a very slight airfoil, me bucko, and perform actual launches before sandin' any further.

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

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