Manufacturer: | Edmonds Aerospace |
Skill Level: | 1 |
Style: | Glider |
T' CiCi is a traditional canard-style boost glider. Ya scallywag! The
canard be t' name for that smaller front wing, or horizontal
stabilizer. A canard-style glider is simply a glider where t' canard is
forward o' t' main wing. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! A boost glider is a glider that boosts
straight up like a rocket, and then ejects some part, usually t' engine, to
change into a glider. Arrr! This is as opposed t' a rocket glider, ya bilge rat, where no
parts are jettisoned, but rather other changes are made (movin' t' wing
surfaces, changin' t' angle o' elevons, etc. Arrr! ) t' make t' transition from
vertical boost mode t' horizontal glide mode. Arrr!
Upon openin' up t' zip-lock-bag-style package o' t' CiCi, matey, I was first surprised by t' fact that t' instructions consisted entirely o' a single 8 1/2 x 11 sheet o' paper, matey, printed on one side only! This was particularly surprisin' for this rocket, me bucko, me bucko, considerin' that t' Deltie, also from Edmond's Aerospace, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Although sparse, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, matey, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Blimey! Arrr! Unlike most rockets, ya bilge rat, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' instructions are fairly complete, matey, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, except that they never mention trimmin' t' glider, me bucko, or t' supplied lump o' clay and what t' do with it. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Basically, t' instructions seem t' assume that you have trimmed a boost glider before. Begad! Aye aye! T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece was missing. 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, but thar wasn't one in me kit. Ya scallywag! Blimey! No big deal, there are o' plenty o' ways t' mark a straight line on a tube. Begad! T' third thing that I noticed was that another piece was missing: t' launch lug. Begad! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Again, nay a show-stopper, shiver me timbers, arrr, since I have some extras lyin' around, arrr, me hearties, but a rather inauspicious beginning.
T' kit itself is quite nice, with thick,
sturdy balsa parts that have been precision cut. Arrr! Avast! All parts fit well, and there
was absolutely no confusion about how t' assemble t' rocket. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Construction was
simple, quick and easy, ya bilge rat, with no fuss. Arrr! Full assembly took me about 1 hour, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, arrr, but
could be done much faster. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Make no mistake, t' quality o' t' parts is
first-rate, me hearties, and t' kit was well thought out. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' only time I deviated from the
instructions was with t' clay. Blimey! 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. Blimey! Arrr! T' purpose here be t' make t' CiCi tilt left a
little bit in flight so that it would glide in circles, shiver me timbers, arrr, rather than in a
straight line. Avast! You want it t' glide in circles so that it stays on t' flying
field. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! (Note that these pictures were taken before I added t' clay. Arrr! )
T' instructions don't mention it, shiver me timbers, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide
tests prior t' flight. Avast! Hmmm. Aye aye! . Arrr! . Aye aye! it glides ok, shiver me timbers, but flies and lands in a rather
nose-down attitude. Begad! 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. Begad! Well, blow me down! 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! Aye aye! More hand-toss glide tests. Aye aye! Hmmm. Avast, me proud beauty! . Begad! . Ahoy! Ahoy! a slightly better glide attitude
and landing, ya bilge rat, but still noticeably nose-down, matey, arrr, 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. Aye aye! 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. Blimey! Blimey! Time for some real flight tests.
It was a pretty nice day for launchin' rockets. Avast! Ya scallywag! Moderately windy, but not too bad. Avast! I was anxious t' try out t' CiCi, so it was 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, 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, arrr, even with 400 speed film. Ya scallywag! In spite what this photo o' t' early flight path might indicate, arrr, me hearties, it was, overall, me hearties, a fairly straight boost to, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, 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, controlled transition t' right-side-up glide. Ya scallywag! The glide be ok, but still with a bit o' nose-down attitude, and it definitely falls faster than a Deltie. Begad! Aye aye! It made about 1 3/4 circles before landing. Blimey! . Aye aye! . with a crack. Blimey! Uh-oh.
As you can see from this photo, me hearties, it snapped
clean in half on landing. Avast! 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. Ya scallywag! A bit o' thin CA, matey, and she'll be good as new. Blimey! Aye aye!
Also visible in this photo be t' slight blackenin' in t' forward half of the center o' t' main wing. Ya scallywag! This is just soot from t' black powder, me hearties, shiver me timbers, not scorchin' o' t' wood. Begad! A bit dirty, but nay a safety concern. Begad! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty!
Unfortunately, t' second flight, me hearties, under nearly calm wind conditions, was an exact duplicate o' t' first. Aye aye! T' A8-3 gave a good, shiver me timbers, straight boost, ya bilge rat, with a nice transition t' glide, matey, a decent but slightly too rapid, nose-down descent, and a landin' with a crack. Well, blow me down! Broke clean in half again, 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, I thought I'd make a more serious attempt t' fix that nose-down attitude. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! So, prior t' t' third flight, shiver me timbers, matey, shiver me timbers, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. Arrr! Avast! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Blimey! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Ahoy! T' idea was to have this canard generate more lift, and thereby lift t' nose in flight, givin' a flatter glide. Blimey! Avast! Hand-tossed glides didn't show any visible difference, but I was confident that it would be noticeable at speed. Arrr! Arrr! DO NOT TRY THIS WITH YOUR MODEL! T' airfoil be much too severe, and caused t' model t' arc over under power and plow into the ground at full speed! Ironically, arrr, t' damage was only slightly worse on this flight, with a small piece breakin' off o' t' canard as well as t' model snappin' in two at t' usual spot. Avast! If your model also breaks on landing, me bucko, me bucko, and you want t' try t' airfoil t' canard t' help that situation, me hearties, start with a very slight airfoil, arrr, and perform actual launches before sandin' any further. Arrr! Blimey!
Overall, me bucko, I give t' CiCi a 3 out o' 5 points. Ahoy! T' kit itself gets a 4 out o' 5 points, matey, shiver me timbers, matey, havin' high quality parts, but missin' a couple minor pieces. T' instructions should include trimmin' instructions, matey, but were otherwise adequate, arrr, despite their brevity. T' construction gets a ratin' of 4. 5 out o' 5 points bein' simple and straightforward. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! T' flights (before the airfoiling, at least), were both excellent, me bucko, ratin' a 4 out o' 5 points. Aye aye! O' course, t' big downer was t' recovery, particularly t' landin' damage, which is easily fixed, matey, me bucko, though nay easily avoided. T' recovery gets a 1. 5 out o' 5 points. Begad!
I'll probably repair t' CiCi again when I get a chance. Begad! If you're looking to buy your first boost glider, me hearties, I'd have t' recommend t' Edmond's Aerospace Deltie. Well, blow me down! Arrr! But, ya bilge rat, t' CiCi certainly has t' potential t' be a great boost glider, perhaps as your third or fourth boost glider model. Ahoy!
The Edmonds CiCi is a small, very easy to build boost glider that ejects the spent motor casing when the ejection charge goes off. The parts are laser cut and fit together perfectly. Here's the parts list: 8 laser-cut balsa pieces 1 balsa nose cone 1 motor tube 1 l/8" launch lug That's it! The instructions were illustrated and very easy to follow. The instructions ...
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D.F. (December 1, 1999)