T' CiCi is a traditional canard-style boost glider. Aye aye! Blimey! The canard be t' name for that smaller front wing, or horizontal stabilizer. Aye aye! 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, arrr, usually t' engine, to change into a glider. This is as opposed t' a rocket glider, where no parts are jettisoned, ya bilge rat, but rather other changes are made (movin' t' wing surfaces, matey, changin' t' angle o' elevons, arrr, etc. Ya scallywag! ) t' make t' transition from vertical boost mode t' horizontal glide mode. Avast!

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, also from Edmond's Aerospace, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Begad! Although sparse, shiver me timbers, 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. Blimey! T' instructions are fairly complete, matey, except that they never mention trimmin' t' glider, or t' supplied lump o' clay and what t' do with it. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Basically, arrr, t' instructions seem t' assume that you have trimmed a boost glider before. Begad! T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece be missing. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, but thar wasn't one in me kit. No big deal, there are o' plenty o' ways t' mark a straight line on a tube. Blimey! T' third thing that I noticed be that another piece be missing: t' launch lug. Begad! Again, nay a show-stopper, me bucko, since I have some extras lyin' around, arrr, but a rather inauspicious beginning. Ya scallywag!

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

T' instructions don't mention it, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide tests prior t' flight. Begad! Hmmm. Well, blow me down! . Avast! . Arrr! it glides ok, 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. Begad! 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. More hand-toss glide tests. Hmmm. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! . . Arrr! a slightly better glide attitude and landing, me bucko, matey, but still noticeably nose-down, and thar be no discernible arc to t' left (so that it will glide in circles). Aye aye! I added just a tiny bit more clay t' t' inside o' t' corner formed by t' main win' and t' left vertical stabilizer. 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. Time for some real flight tests.

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

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

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. Ahoy! Disappointing, but not the end o' t' world. Aye aye! A bit o' thin CA, and she'll be good as new. Blimey! Ya scallywag!

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

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

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

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