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

Upon openin' up t' zip-lock-bag-style package o' t' CiCi, me hearties, matey, I be 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! Blimey! This be particularly surprisin' for this rocket, considerin' that t' Deltie, shiver me timbers, also from Edmond's Aerospace, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Although sparse, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Blimey! Unlike most rockets, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Ahoy! Blimey! Basically, matey, t' instructions seem t' assume that you have trimmed a boost glider before. Ahoy! T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece be missing. Blimey! 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, arrr, me bucko, but thar wasn't one in me kit. Blimey! No big deal, there are o' plenty o' ways t' mark a straight line on a tube. Arrr! Aye aye! T' third thing that I noticed be that another piece was missing: t' launch lug. Blimey! Again, arrr, nay a show-stopper, me hearties, me bucko, since I have some extras lyin' around, but a rather inauspicious beginning. Begad!

T' kit itself is quite nice, shiver me timbers, with thick, sturdy balsa parts that have been precision cut. Arrr! All parts fit well, shiver me timbers, and there was absolutely no confusion about how t' assemble t' rocket. Well, blow me down! Begad! Construction was simple, quick and easy, me hearties, shiver me timbers, with no fuss. Avast! Full assembly took me about 1 hour, but could be done much faster. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Make no mistake, 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. 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. Begad! T' purpose here be 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. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! You want it t' glide in circles so that it stays on t' flying field. Ya scallywag! (Note that these pictures were taken before I added t' clay. Begad! )

T' instructions don't mention it, arrr, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide tests prior t' flight. Well, matey, blow me down! Hmmm. Ahoy! . Well, blow me down! . it glides ok, but flies and lands in a rather nose-down attitude. Blimey! Nose-down enough that t' balsa nose cone hits before the front edge o' t' canard. Avast! Perhaps a small amount o' weight in t' aft might help. 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. More hand-toss glide tests. Hmmm. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! . Avast, me proud beauty! . Blimey! a slightly better glide attitude and landing, me hearties, but still noticeably nose-down, me hearties, and thar was no discernible arc to t' left (so that it will glide in circles). Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! 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! After a couple more throws, matey, 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. Ahoy! Time for some real flight tests.

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

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

As you can see from this photo, 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. Well, blow me down! Disappointing, arrr, ya bilge rat, but not the end o' t' world. Begad! Arrr! A bit o' thin CA, me bucko, and she'll be good as new. Well, blow me down! Begad!

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

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

Batten down t' hatches! 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. Ya scallywag! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! So, arrr, prior t' t' third flight, shiver me timbers, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. Ya scallywag! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Blimey! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' idea was to have this canard generate more lift, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and thereby lift t' nose in flight, givin' a flatter glide. Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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, ya bilge rat, and caused t' model t' arc over under power and plow into the ground at full speed! Blimey! Ironically, me hearties, 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! Blimey! If your model also breaks on landing, me bucko, and you want t' try t' airfoil t' canard t' help that situation, me hearties, me hearties, start with a very slight airfoil, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and perform actual launches before sandin' any further. Avast!

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

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