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

Upon openin' up t' zip-lock-bag-style package o' t' CiCi, me hearties, I was first surprised by t' fact that t' instructions consisted entirely o' a single 8 1/2 x 11 sheet o' paper, arrr, printed on one side only! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! This was particularly surprisin' for this rocket, considerin' that t' Deltie, me hearties, matey, also from Edmond's Aerospace, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Ya scallywag! Although sparse, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Ahoy! Unlike most rockets, me bucko, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. Aye aye! Begad! T' instructions are fairly complete, except that they never mention trimmin' t' glider, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, arrr, or t' supplied lump o' clay and what t' do with it. Aye aye! Begad! Basically, t' instructions seem t' assume that you have trimmed a boost glider before. Ahoy! Avast! T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece was missing. T' instructions say that thar be a small, triangular piece o' wood, shiver me timbers, me bucko, 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. Avast! No big deal, there are o' plenty o' ways t' mark a straight line on a tube. Ya scallywag! T' third thing that I noticed was that another piece be missing: t' launch lug. Ahoy! Again, nay a show-stopper, since I have some extras lyin' around, matey, arrr, but a rather inauspicious beginning. Begad!

T' kit itself is quite nice, ya bilge rat, me hearties, with thick, sturdy balsa parts that have been precision cut. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! All parts fit well, me hearties, and there was absolutely no confusion about how t' assemble t' rocket. Construction was simple, quick and easy, shiver me timbers, with no fuss. Ahoy! Full assembly took me about 1 hour, but could be done much faster. Make no mistake, t' quality o' t' parts is first-rate, shiver me timbers, and t' kit was well thought out. Avast! T' only time I deviated from the instructions be with t' clay. Blimey! 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. T' purpose here be t' make t' CiCi tilt left a little bit in flight so that it would glide in circles, 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. Begad! )

T' instructions don't mention it, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide tests prior t' flight. Arrr! Hmmm. Begad! . . Ahoy! Blimey! it glides ok, me hearties, but flies and lands in a rather nose-down attitude. Nose-down enough that t' balsa nose cone hits before the front edge o' t' canard. Aye aye! 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. Blimey! More hand-toss glide tests. Avast, me proud beauty! Hmmm. Ahoy! . . 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). Avast, me proud beauty! 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! After a couple more throws, I still couldn't discern any arc t' the left, ya bilge rat, 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 be a pretty nice day for launchin' rockets. Aye aye! Avast! Blimey! Moderately windy, ya bilge rat, but not too bad. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I was anxious t' try out t' CiCi, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, so it was first in line. Blimey! Blimey! I figured the light weight o' t' rocket, ya bilge rat, combined with t' moderate wind and t' fact that this was t' maiden flight, dictated usin' an A8-3. Blimey!

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

As you can see from this photo, me bucko, it snapped clean in half on landing. Well, blow me down! Note that although it's photographed here on cement (for clarity), me hearties, it did land in t' grass when it broke. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Disappointing, ya bilge rat, but not the end o' t' world. A bit o' thin CA, me hearties, 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. Arrr! This is just soot from t' black powder, ya bilge rat, not scorchin' o' t' wood. Begad! A bit dirty, but nay a safety concern. Blimey!

Unfortunately, matey, t' second flight, ya bilge rat, under nearly calm wind conditions, was an exact duplicate o' t' first. Begad! T' A8-3 gave a good, ya bilge rat, matey, straight boost, arrr, matey, with a nice transition t' glide, arrr, a decent but slightly too rapid, me bucko, shiver me timbers, nose-down descent, and a landin' with a crack. Arrr! 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, me hearties, 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. Ahoy! Blimey! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Aye aye! T' idea was to have this canard generate more lift, and thereby lift t' nose in flight, givin' a flatter glide. Avast, me proud beauty! Hand-tossed glides didn't show any visible difference, but I was confident that it would be noticeable at speed. Ahoy! DO NOT TRY THIS WITH YOUR MODEL! T' airfoil be much too severe, me bucko, 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, with a small piece breakin' off o' t' canard as well as t' model snappin' in two at t' usual spot. Begad! If your model also breaks on landing, and you want t' try t' airfoil t' canard t' help that situation, start with a very slight airfoil, matey, and perform actual launches before sandin' any further. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey!

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

I'll probably repair t' CiCi again when I get a chance. Aye aye! If you're looking to buy your first boost glider, me bucko, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I'd have t' recommend t' Edmond's Aerospace Deltie. Blimey! Ya scallywag! 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!