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

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

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

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

It was a pretty nice day for launchin' rockets. Moderately windy, arrr, me hearties, but not too bad. Ya scallywag! I be anxious t' try out t' CiCi, matey, 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, me bucko, ya bilge rat, me hearties, dictated usin' an A8-3.

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

As you can see from this photo, it snapped clean in half on landing. Aye aye! Aye aye! Note that although it's photographed here on cement (for clarity), arrr, arrr, it did land in t' grass when it broke. Disappointing, but not the end o' t' world. A bit o' thin CA, matey, matey, arrr, 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. Begad! This is just soot from t' black powder, not scorchin' o' t' wood. Avast! Avast! A bit dirty, but nay a safety concern. Ahoy! Avast!

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

Warning! Do nay try t' followin' with your model!Bein' a bit o' a tinkerer, arrr, ya bilge rat, I thought I'd make a more serious attempt t' fix that nose-down attitude. Blimey! So, me hearties, arrr, prior t' t' third flight, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. Begad! Well, blow me down! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Begad! Well, blow me down! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Aye aye! Begad! T' idea was to have this canard generate more lift, matey, matey, and thereby lift t' nose in flight, givin' a flatter glide. Begad! Hand-tossed glides didn't show any visible difference, but I be confident that it would be noticeable at speed. Blimey! Blimey! DO NOT TRY THIS WITH YOUR MODEL! T' airfoil was much too severe, me hearties, and caused t' model t' arc over under power and plow into the ground at full speed! Blimey! Ironically, t' damage was only slightly worse on this flight, me bucko, me hearties, 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, me hearties, 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, and perform actual launches before sandin' any further. Blimey!

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

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