T' CiCi is a traditional canard-style boost glider. Avast! The canard be t' name for that smaller front wing, ya bilge rat, or horizontal stabilizer. Aye aye! A canard-style glider is simply a glider where t' canard is forward o' t' main wing. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! A boost glider is a glider that boosts straight up like a rocket, shiver me timbers, arrr, and then ejects some part, ya bilge rat, usually t' engine, arrr, 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, changin' t' angle o' elevons, arrr, etc. Ahoy! Blimey! ) t' make t' transition from vertical boost mode t' horizontal glide mode. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

Upon openin' up t' zip-lock-bag-style package o' t' CiCi, I be first surprised by t' fact that t' instructions consisted entirely o' a single 8 1/2 x 11 sheet o' paper, matey, arrr, printed on one side only! This was particularly surprisin' for this rocket, considerin' that t' Deltie, matey, me hearties, also from Edmond's Aerospace, me bucko, ya bilge rat, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Well, blow me down! Begad! Although sparse, matey, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Blimey! Unlike most rockets, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. T' instructions are fairly complete, except that they never mention trimmin' t' glider, shiver me timbers, or t' supplied lump o' clay and what t' do with it. Basically, me bucko, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, t' instructions seem t' assume that you have trimmed a boost glider before. T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece be missing. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! T' instructions say that thar be a small, triangular piece o' wood, matey, curved on one side, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, that can be used t' mark a straight line on t' engine tube, me bucko, 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, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! T' third thing that I noticed was that another piece was missing: t' launch lug. Again, nay a show-stopper, me hearties, matey, since I have some extras lyin' around, me bucko, but a rather inauspicious beginning.

T' kit itself is quite nice, with thick, sturdy balsa parts that have been precision cut. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! All parts fit well, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and there was absolutely no confusion about how t' assemble t' rocket. Begad! Ahoy! Construction was simple, quick and easy, ya bilge rat, me bucko, with no fuss. Full assembly took me about 1 hour, but could be done much faster. Well, blow me down! Make no mistake, shiver me timbers, t' quality o' t' parts is first-rate, ya bilge rat, and t' kit was well thought out. T' only time I deviated from the instructions was with t' clay. Begad! 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. Arrr! Begad! 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. Ahoy! You want it t' glide in circles so that it stays on t' flying field. Arrr! (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. . Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Blimey! . it glides ok, but flies and lands in a rather nose-down attitude. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Nose-down enough that t' balsa nose cone hits before the front edge o' t' canard. Perhaps a small amount o' weight in t' aft might help. 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. Arrr! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! Hmmm. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! . . a slightly better glide attitude and landing, but still noticeably nose-down, and thar was no discernible arc to t' left (so that it will glide in circles). Blimey! Begad! 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. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! After a couple more throws, me hearties, 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. Moderately windy, arrr, me hearties, but not too bad. Ya scallywag! I was anxious t' try out t' CiCi, so it be first in line. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! 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. Ya scallywag!

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

As you can see from this photo, me hearties, it snapped clean in half on landing. Well, blow me down! Note that although it's photographed here on cement (for clarity), shiver me timbers, it did land in t' grass when it broke. Avast! 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, shiver me timbers, matey, not scorchin' o' t' wood. Ya scallywag! A bit dirty, arrr, shiver me timbers, but nay a safety concern. Avast, me proud beauty!

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

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

Overall, I give t' CiCi a 3 out o' 5 points. 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, but were otherwise adequate, ya bilge rat, despite their brevity. Begad! Blimey! T' construction gets a ratin' of 4. 5 out o' 5 points bein' simple and straightforward. T' flights (before the airfoiling, shiver me timbers, at least), were both excellent, me bucko, ratin' a 4 out o' 5 points. O' course, arrr, t' big downer was t' recovery, particularly t' landin' damage, matey, me hearties, arrr, which is easily fixed, me hearties, though nay easily avoided. Begad! T' recovery gets a 1. 5 out o' 5 points.

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