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

Upon openin' up t' zip-lock-bag-style package o' t' CiCi, ya bilge rat, I be 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 be particularly surprisin' for this rocket, matey, arrr, considerin' that t' Deltie, also from Edmond's Aerospace, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Blimey! Aye aye! Although sparse, shiver me timbers, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Unlike most rockets, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. T' instructions are fairly complete, matey, me bucko, except that they never mention trimmin' t' glider, or t' supplied lump o' clay and what t' do with it. Aye aye! Basically, arrr, t' instructions seem t' assume that you have trimmed a boost glider before. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece be missing. Begad! T' instructions say that thar be a small, triangular piece o' wood, me bucko, curved on one side, me bucko, 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. Avast! T' third thing that I noticed was that another piece was missing: t' launch lug. Aye aye! Again, nay a show-stopper, me bucko, since I have some extras lyin' around, but a rather inauspicious beginning. Arrr! Begad!

T' kit itself is quite nice, arrr, with thick, sturdy balsa parts that have been precision cut. Ahoy! All parts fit well, and there was absolutely no confusion about how t' assemble t' rocket. Construction was simple, me hearties, quick and easy, me bucko, with no fuss. Arrr! Begad! 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 be well thought out. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! T' only time I deviated from the instructions was 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. 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. Ya scallywag! 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. )

T' instructions don't mention it, ya bilge rat, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide tests prior t' flight. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Hmmm. . Begad! Arrr! . Ya scallywag! it glides ok, arrr, me bucko, but flies and lands in a rather nose-down attitude. Avast, me proud beauty! Nose-down enough that t' balsa nose cone hits before the front edge o' t' canard. Ahoy! Perhaps a small amount o' weight in t' aft might help. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! 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! Arrr! More hand-toss glide tests. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Hmmm. Begad! . . Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! a slightly better glide attitude and landing, me bucko, but still noticeably nose-down, and thar be 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. 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. Blimey! Blimey! Time for some real flight tests.

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

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

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

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

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

Batten down t' hatches! 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. Ahoy! So, prior t' t' third flight, me bucko, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. Blimey! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Well, blow me down! T' idea was to have this canard generate more lift, shiver me timbers, and thereby lift t' nose in flight, givin' a flatter glide. Ya scallywag! 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 was much too severe, and caused t' model t' arc over under power and plow into the ground at full speed! Ironically, matey, 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. Begad! 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, and perform actual launches before sandin' any further.

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

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