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

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

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

T' instructions don't mention it, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide tests prior t' flight. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Hmmm. . Ya scallywag! . Well, blow me down! it glides ok, shiver me timbers, 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! Well, blow me down! Perhaps a small amount o' weight in t' aft might help. Ahoy! 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. Arrr! More hand-toss glide tests. Begad! Hmmm. . Blimey! . Aye aye! 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! I added just a tiny bit more clay t' t' inside o' t' corner formed by t' main win' and t' left vertical stabilizer. Arrr! After a couple more throws, arrr, shiver me timbers, 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. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Time for some real flight tests.

It was a pretty nice day for launchin' rockets. Aye aye! Arrr! Moderately windy, but not too bad. Begad! I be anxious t' try out t' CiCi, so it was first in line. Blimey! I figured the light weight o' t' rocket, combined with t' moderate wind and t' fact that this was t' maiden flight, dictated usin' an A8-3.

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

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

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

Unfortunately, t' second flight, matey, ya bilge rat, under nearly calm wind conditions, arrr, ya bilge rat, was an exact duplicate o' t' first. T' A8-3 gave a good, straight boost, with a nice transition t' glide, a decent but slightly too rapid, ya bilge rat, matey, nose-down descent, me hearties, and a landin' with a crack. Avast! 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. So, me hearties, prior t' t' third flight, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Well, blow me down! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. 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. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! DO NOT TRY THIS WITH YOUR MODEL! T' airfoil was much too severe, matey, and caused t' model t' arc over under power and plow into the ground at full speed! Ironically, t' damage was only slightly worse on this flight, ya bilge rat, 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, and perform actual launches before sandin' any further. Ya scallywag!

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

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