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

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, arrr, ya bilge rat, printed on one side only! This be particularly surprisin' for this rocket, ya bilge rat, considerin' that t' Deltie, me hearties, ya bilge rat, also from Edmond's Aerospace, matey, had a 10+ page booklet for instructions. Although sparse, me hearties, shiver me timbers, t' instructions here are obvious and straightforward. Aye aye! Unlike most rockets, t' order o' assembly for t' CiCi is largely irrelevant. Aye aye! 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. Aye aye! Basically, ya bilge rat, t' instructions seem t' assume that you have trimmed a boost glider before. Arrr! T' second thin' that I noticed about t' kit contents was that a piece be missing. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' instructions say that thar be a small, triangular piece o' wood, curved on one side, matey, that can be used t' mark a straight line on t' engine tube, matey, ya bilge rat, me hearties, but thar wasn't one in me kit. Begad! 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 was missing: t' launch lug. Aye aye! Aye aye! Again, me hearties, nay a show-stopper, since I have some extras lyin' around, ya bilge rat, me hearties, but a rather inauspicious beginning. Arrr! Well, blow me down!

T' kit itself is quite nice, ya bilge rat, arrr, me bucko, with thick, sturdy balsa parts that have been precision cut. Ya scallywag! All parts fit well, shiver me timbers, and there was absolutely no confusion about how t' assemble t' rocket. Avast! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Construction was simple, quick and easy, with no fuss. Begad! Arrr! Full assembly took me about 1 hour, but could be done much faster. Arrr! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Make no mistake, 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 be with t' clay. Arrr! 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. Blimey! 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. Begad! Arrr! (Note that these pictures were taken before I added t' clay. )

T' instructions don't mention it, shiver me timbers, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide tests prior t' flight. Arrr! Blimey! Hmmm. Avast! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! . Blimey! Blimey! . 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. Perhaps a small amount o' weight in t' aft might help. Ahoy! Blimey! 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! Blimey! More hand-toss glide tests. Hmmm. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! . Avast! Blimey! . Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! a slightly better glide attitude and landing, but still noticeably nose-down, ya bilge rat, and thar be no discernible arc to t' left (so that it will glide in circles). Arrr! 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. After a couple more throws, matey, I still couldn't discern any arc t' the left, me bucko, 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, but not too bad. I was anxious t' try out t' CiCi, me hearties, arrr, shiver me timbers, so it be first in line. Aye aye! Blimey! I figured the light weight o' t' rocket, me hearties, combined with t' moderate wind and t' fact that this be t' maiden flight, dictated usin' an A8-3. Blimey! Avast! Blimey!

It was a good, quick boost, ya bilge rat, as you can tell from t' blur it gives in this photo, me hearties, even with 400 speed film. Avast! Blimey! In spite what this photo o' t' early flight path might indicate, it was, overall, a fairly straight boost to, oh, maybe 150 feet or so (I didn't measure it). Even though it arced over on its back after burnout, me bucko, it make a smooth, 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. Aye aye! Blimey! It made about 1 3/4 circles before landing. Begad! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! . Begad! Blimey! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! . with a crack. Uh-oh. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey!

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

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

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

Warning! 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. Aye aye! So, ya bilge rat, prior t' t' third flight, shiver me timbers, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Blimey! T' idea was to have this canard generate more lift, me bucko, and thereby lift t' nose in flight, givin' a flatter glide. Begad! Hand-tossed glides didn't show any visible difference, but I was confident that it would be noticeable at speed. DO NOT TRY THIS WITH YOUR MODEL! T' airfoil be much too severe, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and caused t' model t' arc over under power and plow into the ground at full speed! Ironically, arrr, t' damage was only slightly worse on this flight, matey, with a small piece breakin' off o' t' canard as well as t' model snappin' in two at t' usual spot. Avast! 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.

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

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