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

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

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

T' instructions don't mention it, matey, me hearties, but I attempted some hand-tossed glide tests prior t' flight. Aye aye! Hmmm. Ahoy! . Begad! . it glides ok, 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. 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. Begad! Hmmm. Arrr! Well, blow me down! . . Ya scallywag! Begad! a slightly better glide attitude and landing, but still noticeably nose-down, shiver me timbers, 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. Begad! After a couple more throws, I still couldn't discern any arc t' the left, me hearties, but I didn't want t' add too much weight for fear o' adversely affecting the flight characteristics. Avast, me proud beauty! Time for some real flight tests.

It was a pretty nice day for launchin' rockets. Aye aye! Moderately windy, but not too bad. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! I was anxious t' try out t' CiCi, ya bilge rat, so it be first in line. Avast! 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. Well, blow me down!

It was a good, shiver me timbers, arrr, quick boost, shiver me timbers, as you can tell from t' blur it gives in this photo, shiver me timbers, me bucko, even with 400 speed film. In spite what this photo o' t' early flight path might indicate, it was, matey, overall, matey, 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, it make a smooth, controlled transition t' right-side-up glide. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! The glide be ok, but still with a bit o' nose-down attitude, me bucko, matey, and it definitely falls faster than a Deltie. Avast! Blimey! It made about 1 3/4 circles before landing. Avast! Blimey! . . with a crack. Blimey! Blimey! Uh-oh. Blimey! Blimey!

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

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

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

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. Begad! So, prior t' t' third flight, I sanded an airfoil into t' top o' t' canard. Begad! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Begad! I left t' bottom o' t' canard completely flat. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' idea was to have this canard generate more lift, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and thereby lift t' nose in flight, givin' a flatter glide. Blimey! Begad! Hand-tossed glides didn't show any visible difference, but I was confident that it would be noticeable at speed. Begad! Aye aye! DO NOT TRY THIS WITH YOUR MODEL! T' airfoil be much too severe, ya bilge rat, arrr, ya bilge rat, 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, shiver me timbers, with a small piece breakin' off o' t' canard as well as t' model snappin' in two at t' usual spot. 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, me bucko, me hearties, I give t' CiCi a 3 out o' 5 points. Blimey! T' kit itself gets a 4 out o' 5 points, ya bilge rat, arrr, havin' high quality parts, 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. T' flights (before the airfoiling, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, at least), were both excellent, shiver me timbers, ratin' a 4 out o' 5 points. O' course, arrr, me bucko, t' big downer was t' recovery, particularly t' landin' damage, which is easily fixed, me bucko, though nay easily avoided. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' recovery gets a 1. 5 out o' 5 points.

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