T' CiCi is a traditional canard-style boost glider. Avast, me proud beauty! The canard be t' name for that smaller front wing, me bucko, arrr, or horizontal stabilizer. Arrr! Blimey! A canard-style glider is simply a glider where t' canard is forward o' t' main wing. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! A boost glider is a glider that boosts straight up like a rocket, me bucko, arrr, and then ejects some part, usually t' engine, ya bilge rat, to change into a glider. Begad! Begad! This is as opposed t' a rocket glider, where no parts are jettisoned, but rather other changes are made (movin' t' wing surfaces, shiver me timbers, arrr, changin' t' angle o' elevons, me bucko, etc. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! ) 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, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I be first surprised by t' fact that t' instructions consisted entirely o' a single 8 1/2 x 11 sheet o' paper, me bucko, printed on one side only! This was particularly surprisin' for this rocket, considerin' that t' Deltie, ya bilge rat, also from Edmond's Aerospace, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Although sparse, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Unlike most rockets, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. Ya scallywag! 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. Basically, t' instructions seem t' assume that you have trimmed a boost glider before. Well, blow me down! T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece be missing. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! 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, me hearties, but thar wasn't one in me kit. Blimey! No big deal, there are o' plenty o' ways t' mark a straight line on a tube. Avast, me proud beauty! T' third thing that I noticed was that another piece be missing: t' launch lug. Ahoy! Again, nay a show-stopper, me bucko, arrr, since I have some extras lyin' around, me bucko, but a rather inauspicious beginning. Well, blow me down!

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

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

It was a pretty nice day for launchin' rockets. Blimey! Moderately windy, but not too bad. Blimey! I was anxious t' try out t' CiCi, 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, dictated usin' an A8-3. Aye aye!

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

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

Also visible in this photo be t' slight blackenin' in t' forward half of the center o' t' main wing. Aye aye! Arrr! This is just soot from t' black powder, ya bilge rat, not scorchin' o' t' wood. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! A bit dirty, but nay a safety concern.

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

Warning! Blimey! Do nay try t' followin' with your model!Bein' a bit o' a tinkerer, shiver me timbers, arrr, I thought I'd make a more serious attempt t' fix that nose-down attitude. So, matey, prior t' t' third flight, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. Blimey! Ya scallywag! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Begad! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. T' idea was to have this canard generate more lift, and thereby lift t' nose in flight, givin' a flatter glide. Arrr! Hand-tossed glides didn't show any visible difference, but I was confident that it would be noticeable at speed. Aye aye! DO NOT TRY THIS WITH YOUR MODEL! T' airfoil be much too severe, ya bilge rat, and caused t' model t' arc over under power and plow into the ground at full speed! Ironically, ya bilge rat, t' damage was only slightly worse on this flight, matey, with a small piece breakin' off o' t' canard as well as t' model snappin' in two at t' usual spot. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! If your model also breaks on landing, and you want t' try t' airfoil t' canard t' help that situation, shiver me timbers, me hearties, start with a very slight airfoil, me hearties, and perform actual launches before sandin' any further.

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

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