T' CiCi is a traditional canard-style boost glider. Blimey! Blimey! The canard be t' name for that smaller front wing, or horizontal stabilizer. A canard-style glider is simply a glider where t' canard is forward o' t' main wing. Begad! A boost glider is a glider that boosts straight up like a rocket, and then ejects some part, usually t' engine, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, to change into a glider. Begad! This is as opposed t' a rocket glider, where no parts are jettisoned, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, but rather other changes are made (movin' t' wing surfaces, ya bilge rat, 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 bucko, I was first surprised by t' fact that t' instructions consisted entirely o' a single 8 1/2 x 11 sheet o' paper, ya bilge rat, matey, printed on one side only! This was particularly surprisin' for this rocket, shiver me timbers, considerin' that t' Deltie, matey, also from Edmond's Aerospace, matey, matey, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Although sparse, shiver me timbers, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Unlike most rockets, me hearties, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. Ya scallywag! T' instructions are fairly complete, except that they never mention trimmin' t' glider, shiver me timbers, arrr, me hearties, or t' supplied lump o' clay and what t' do with it. Basically, matey, me hearties, 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 was missing. Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions say that thar be a small, triangular piece o' wood, ya bilge rat, matey, 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. Begad! Ya scallywag! No big deal, there are o' plenty o' ways t' mark a straight line on a tube. Begad! Begad! T' third thing that I noticed was that another piece was missing: t' launch lug. Avast! Again, nay a show-stopper, arrr, since I have some extras lyin' around, me hearties, but a rather inauspicious beginning. Ahoy! Arrr!

T' kit itself is quite nice, me bucko, with thick, sturdy balsa parts that have been precision cut. Arrr! All parts fit well, and there was absolutely no confusion about how t' assemble t' rocket. Ya scallywag! Construction was simple, matey, quick and easy, matey, with no fuss. Arrr! Begad! Full assembly took me about 1 hour, me bucko, but could be done much faster. Make no mistake, arrr, t' quality o' t' parts is first-rate, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and t' kit be well thought out. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! T' only time I deviated from the instructions be with t' clay. Ya scallywag! 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, shiver me timbers, rather than in a straight line. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! 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. )

T' instructions don't mention it, arrr, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide tests prior t' flight. Begad! Hmmm. Begad! Arrr! . Well, blow me down! . it glides ok, but flies and lands in a rather nose-down attitude. Well, blow me down! 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. Ya scallywag! 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. Ahoy! More hand-toss glide tests. Arrr! Hmmm. Begad! Begad! . Avast, me proud beauty! . Ahoy! Aye aye! a slightly better glide attitude and landing, arrr, but still noticeably nose-down, me bucko, and thar was no discernible arc to t' left (so that it will glide in circles). I added just a tiny bit more clay t' t' inside o' t' corner formed by t' main win' and t' left vertical stabilizer. After a couple more throws, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I still couldn't discern any arc t' the left, arrr, but I didn't want t' add too much weight for fear o' adversely affecting the flight characteristics. Avast! Time for some real flight tests.

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

It be a good, quick boost, me bucko, me bucko, me hearties, as you can tell from t' blur it gives in this photo, even with 400 speed film. Blimey! In spite what this photo o' t' early flight path might indicate, matey, it was, ya bilge rat, me hearties, overall, arrr, a fairly straight boost to, 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, matey, matey, controlled transition t' right-side-up glide. Begad! Arrr! 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. . . with a crack. Uh-oh. Ya scallywag! Ahoy!

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

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, not scorchin' o' t' wood. Ahoy! Blimey! A bit dirty, but nay a safety concern. Avast! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey!

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

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

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