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

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, ya bilge rat, also from Edmond's Aerospace, arrr, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Although sparse, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Well, blow me down! Unlike most rockets, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' instructions are fairly complete, except that they never mention trimmin' t' glider, me bucko, or t' supplied lump o' clay and what t' do with it. Ya scallywag! Basically, t' instructions seem t' assume that you have trimmed a boost glider before. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece was missing. Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions say that thar be a small, triangular piece o' wood, curved on one side, shiver me timbers, that can be used t' mark a straight line on t' engine tube, but thar wasn't one in me kit. Well, blow me down! No big deal, there are o' plenty o' ways t' mark a straight line on a tube. Avast! Begad! T' third thing that I noticed be that another piece be missing: t' launch lug. Blimey! Again, me bucko, nay a show-stopper, since I have some extras lyin' around, arrr, but a rather inauspicious beginning.

T' kit itself is quite nice, me bucko, ya bilge rat, with thick, sturdy balsa parts that have been precision cut. Avast! All parts fit well, shiver me timbers, and there was absolutely no confusion about how t' assemble t' rocket. Ya scallywag! Construction was simple, me bucko, me hearties, quick and easy, matey, with no fuss. Begad! Full assembly took me about 1 hour, but could be done much faster. Aye aye! Aye aye! Make no mistake, matey, t' quality o' t' parts is first-rate, and t' kit was well thought out. Ahoy! T' only time I deviated from the instructions was with t' clay. Blimey! 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. Aye aye! T' purpose here was t' make t' CiCi tilt left a little bit in flight so that it would glide in circles, matey, me hearties, rather than in a straight line. Arrr! You want it t' glide in circles so that it stays on t' flying field. Well, blow me down! (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. Aye aye! Hmmm. Ahoy! . Aye aye! Begad! . it glides ok, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but flies and lands in a rather nose-down attitude. Begad! Aye aye! Nose-down enough that t' balsa nose cone hits before the front edge o' t' canard. Arrr! Perhaps a small amount o' weight in t' aft might help. Avast! 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. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! More hand-toss glide tests. Hmmm. Blimey! Arrr! . Begad! . Aye aye! a slightly better glide attitude and landing, me hearties, but still noticeably nose-down, matey, and thar was no discernible arc to t' left (so that it will glide in circles). Blimey! I added just a tiny bit more clay t' t' inside o' t' corner formed by t' main win' and t' left vertical stabilizer. Blimey! 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. Time for some real flight tests.

It be a pretty nice day for launchin' rockets. Well, arrr, blow me down! Moderately windy, me bucko, but not too bad. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I was anxious t' try out t' CiCi, 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, dictated usin' an A8-3.

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

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

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

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

Warning! Blimey! Do nay try t' followin' with your model!Bein' a bit o' a tinkerer, me bucko, me hearties, I thought I'd make a more serious attempt t' fix that nose-down attitude. Well, blow me down! Arrr! So, arrr, me bucko, prior t' t' third flight, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. Blimey! Arrr! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Ahoy! 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. Arrr! 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 be much too severe, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and caused t' model t' arc over under power and plow into the ground at full speed! Ironically, shiver me timbers, t' damage be only slightly worse on this flight, arrr, with a small piece breakin' off o' t' canard as well as t' model snappin' in two at t' usual spot. Aye aye! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! If your model also breaks on landing, and you want t' try t' airfoil t' canard t' help that situation, arrr, start with a very slight airfoil, me bucko, me bucko, and perform actual launches before sandin' any further. Avast! Blimey!

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

I'll probably repair t' CiCi again when I get a chance. Aye aye! If you're looking to buy your first boost glider, I'd have t' recommend t' Edmond's Aerospace Deltie. 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! Ahoy!