T' CiCi is a traditional canard-style boost glider. Avast! Blimey! The canard be t' name for that smaller front wing, me hearties, or horizontal stabilizer. Aye aye! Begad! 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, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and then ejects some part, usually t' engine, to change into a glider. Arrr! Blimey! This is as opposed t' a rocket glider, where no parts are jettisoned, me hearties, but rather other changes are made (movin' t' wing surfaces, me bucko, matey, changin' t' angle o' elevons, matey, etc. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! ) t' make t' transition from vertical boost mode t' horizontal glide mode. 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, considerin' that t' Deltie, also from Edmond's Aerospace, me bucko, ya bilge rat, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Begad! Although sparse, shiver me timbers, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Avast! Aye aye! Unlike most rockets, matey, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. Avast! T' instructions are fairly complete, except that they never mention trimmin' t' glider, me bucko, matey, matey, or t' supplied lump o' clay and what t' do with it. Ahoy! Basically, t' instructions seem t' assume that you have trimmed a boost glider before. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece was missing. Avast! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' instructions say that thar be a small, triangular piece o' wood, ya bilge rat, arrr, curved on one side, that can be used t' mark a straight line on t' engine tube, arrr, me hearties, but thar wasn't one in me kit. Avast! 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. Again, matey, nay a show-stopper, since I have some extras lyin' around, arrr, me hearties, but a rather inauspicious beginning. Begad!

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

T' instructions don't mention it, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide tests prior t' flight. Ya scallywag! Avast! Hmmm. Avast! Avast! . . Aye aye! it glides ok, matey, 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. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Perhaps a small amount o' weight in t' aft might help. Ahoy! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! 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. Aye aye! More hand-toss glide tests. Hmmm. Avast! . Arrr! Well, me bucko, blow me down! . Aye aye! a slightly better glide attitude and landing, but still noticeably nose-down, me bucko, 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. After a couple more throws, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, 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. Begad! Time for some real flight tests.

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

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

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

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

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

Warning! Blimey! Do nay try t' followin' with your model!Bein' a bit o' a tinkerer, matey, I thought I'd make a more serious attempt t' fix that nose-down attitude. Avast, me proud beauty! So, me hearties, prior t' t' third flight, me bucko, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. Ahoy! Ahoy! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Blimey! Begad! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. T' idea was to have this canard generate more lift, me bucko, and thereby lift t' nose in flight, givin' a flatter glide. Arrr! Hand-tossed glides didn't show any visible difference, but I be confident that it would be noticeable at speed. Ahoy! 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, shiver me timbers, 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, matey, me proud beauty! If your model also breaks on landing, and you want t' try t' airfoil t' canard t' help that situation, arrr, matey, 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. Well, blow me down! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' kit itself gets a 4 out o' 5 points, me bucko, havin' high quality parts, shiver me timbers, but missin' a couple minor pieces. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' instructions should include trimmin' instructions, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but were otherwise adequate, despite their brevity. Blimey! T' construction gets a ratin' of 4. 5 out o' 5 points bein' simple and straightforward. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! T' flights (before the airfoiling, me hearties, at least), were both excellent, me hearties, ratin' a 4 out o' 5 points. Arrr! O' course, t' big downer was t' recovery, particularly t' landin' damage, which is easily fixed, me hearties, though nay easily avoided. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' recovery gets a 1. 5 out o' 5 points. Well, blow me down! Blimey!

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