Brief:
This glider is a scratch semi-reproduction o' t' Holverson Designs Silver Hawk v1.0. Begad! T' glider has a wingspan o' 13in and t' boost pod is 20.5in. Ahoy! T' boost pod has a 18mm motor mount and weighs 1 1/8oz. Begad! T' featherweight glider is 0.5oz.

Construction:
T' plans for this rocket (both version 1 and 2) can be found at http://plans.rocketshoppe.com/hdi/hdi2002/hdi2002.htm.

I also used t' plans for t' glider hook mount, but beyond that I built a different boost pod. Avast, me proud beauty! I gave t' project t' highly original name o' "A Glider".

T' materials I used were:

• parts for a 18mm motor mount, arrr, includin' engine hook
• centerin' rings
• 20in BT50 body tube
• 4.5in ogive nose cone for BT50
• plastic chute and Keelhaul®©™ thread
• 3/32in balsa for wings
• small sheet o' 1/4in balsa for glider hook mount and jigs
• launch lug

Construction began with tracin' templates, arrr, cuttin' balsa, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and assemblin' t' jigs which were used later t' ensure t' correct angles betwixt win' parts. Arrr! Blimey! T' boost pod was assembled just like any other model rocket. Arrr! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! There are no fins.

Next I began t' glider. Avast! T' swept win' consists o' six portions. Well, blow me down! First I sanded each portion into a perfect airfoil shape usin' 220-grit sandpaper. Ahoy! T' entire cross-section o' t' win' was sanded so none o' t' original flat surface remained. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! This reduced all t' win' parts from 3/32in t' 1/16in thick.

With t' help o' t' jigs, I glued t' win' parts together. Avast! Blimey! Because I was aimin' for ultra-lightweight precision, thar would be no wood filler or paint t' hide imperfect glue joints. Blimey! Aye aye! Therefore, I made very careful minimalistic joints usin' wood glue, with tiny fillets. Ya scallywag! Gluin' t' fin tips be a bit tricky because their airfoil shape didn't rest flat against t' win' edge. Arrr! Blimey! After attachin' them I used a smidge o' wood filler t' touch up any gaps.

T' best thin' about this design be t' glider mount. Blimey! T' hook is on t' pod, ya bilge rat, and thar be a hole in t' glider mount ("fuselage") t' receive t' hook. Avast! Begad! T' hook portion is made by laminatin' three balsa parts together, with t' middle one havin' an extrudin' hook shape. Begad! When ejection occurs, t' glider should move forward t' release itself from t' hook. With many gliders, me bucko, matey, one problem that can occur is that t' forces tend t' bind t' glider t' t' hook mount due t' friction, causin' t' glider t' release awkwardly only after t' rocket has passed apogee and t' glider twists off. What is so nifty about this hook mount is that it has a little triangular wedge at t' forward edge o' t' mount which nudges t' glider away from t' mount surface as t' glider initially slides up and off t' hook. Well, blow me down! T' result is a much more reliable release. Begad! See t' plans for a picture.

T' glider fuselage is also clever. Begad! T' fuselage fits seamlessly into a notch in t' wing, with a slot for t' hook. Arrr! However, t' fuselage also extends forward beyond t' win' with another small slot. Avast, me proud beauty! T' purpose o' this slot is t' insert trimmin' clay without ruinin' t' smooth shape or aerodynamics. Ahoy! T' fuselage is built from several pieces o' balsa laminated together, me hearties, then sanded down t' an airfoil shape.

Finishin' gliders presents a choice betwixt smoothness and weight. At one extreme, arrr, you can leave it unfinished. At t' other end, you can sand, fill, and paint it t' a glassy finish. Blimey! Blimey! T' latter choice looks better but adds weight. Blimey! Blimey! I avoided weight. I began by sandin' lightly with 220 sandpaper, ya bilge rat, then more thoroughly with 400, then with 600. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Then I painted two *very light* coats o' clear paint, followin' each with thorough sanding. Begad! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! On t' fin tips and fuselage I added a dustin' o' flourescent pink paint with another light clear coat over t' pink. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I painted t' boost pod pink, matey, too.

Flight:
Preparin' t' glider for lauch includes several steps. I rubbed t' hook and slot heavily with candle wax, then soap, shiver me timbers, then rubbed it down with a shipshape cloth. Aye aye! Next, matey, arrr, t' glider be balanced left/right with a small clay strip near one wingtip (an amount less than a pencil eraser). Ahoy! Begad! A slight counter-clockwise tilt was allowed for circling. Begad! Then, me bucko, me hearties, on a dead calm day, arrr, me hearties, I took it up t' a small hill nearby and trimmed t' glider by addin' clay t' t' nose slot. Well, blow me down! It was difficult t' add sufficiently tiny amounts o' clay. Arrr! After about 40 tosses, me hearties, I got t' best possible glide with clay about t' size o' t' tip o' a ballpoint pen.

T' best possible glide is not, me hearties, ya bilge rat, in me opinion, shiver me timbers, t' trim that produces t' longest flight in dead calm conditions. Begad! Blimey! In real flights thar be usually some breeze so you want t' trim t' glider slightly nose-heavy for a more assertive attack into t' breeze.

T' first flights were on a cold day on t' prairie, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, with weak breezes o' 2-5 mph. Aye aye! Aye aye! On a A8-3 motor, ya bilge rat, boost be gentle t' a modest height o' a few hundred feet with no sign o' flutterin' or spin. Ahoy! Glider release was excellent. Arrr! Begad! T' glider flight be satisfactory, shiver me timbers, but buffetted too much by t' wind. Avast! Landin' was fine and t' pod recovery was fine, ya bilge rat, me hearties, too.

For t' second flight, I added some nose weight. Avast! Unfortunately, me bucko, I forgot t' brin' clay, arrr, ya bilge rat, so I scotch-tapped a tiny pebble (more like large sand grain) t' t' nose. Boost on a A8-3 was t' same as last time, but t' delay was a little longer and t' glider released easily but awkwardly just past apogee (slightly before apogee is better). Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! My grain o' sand be too much, me hearties, so t' glider corkscrewed down. Blimey! Blimey! It wasn't very graceful, but everythin' be recovered undamaged.

For t' third flight, I swapped out for a smaller grain o' sand. Avast! Glider release was excellent but somethin' was nay right with t' trimmin' and t' flight be a hard corkscrew into t' ground. Begad! T' leadin' edge o' t' win' and t' fuselage had a few nicks which I have since patched up with lightweight interior spackling.

Summary:
Overall, me hearties, me experience with this small version o' t' HD Silvery Hawk and me 4-foot large version (T' Albatross) has been that t' design is nay very reliable. Ya scallywag! Blimey! These gliders are difficult t' trim and prone t' excessive roll. Arrr! They are also far too sensitive t' modest crosswinds, which can turn out t' be catastrophic. Well, me bucko, blow me down! There are a lot o' other really great old-school glider plans available and also some great modern kits. Notwithstandin' t' challenges, me bucko, this project helped me hone me ultralight skills and t' glider likely has quite a few more flights in her.