Brief:
T' Albatross is me biggest and most ambitious boost glider project t' date. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! It took nearly 10 months t' complete. With a wingspan just shy o' 4 feet and weighin' exactly 1 pound, shiver me timbers, this glider casts a huge shadow over t' earth below. An 11oz BT-70 boost pod for 29mm motors carries t' bird skyward.

Construction:
T' glider was built first from 1/4" balsa. Begad! Each win' portion was sanded t' a full airfoil profile. T' wings were glued together before I began t' body portion o' t' bird. T' build t' body, I first glued together several slabs o' 1/4" balsa, cut in t' rough shape desired. Begad! This included a sturdy mountin' bracket on t' underside of the body. T' body/head/mountin' assembly was then sanded t' get t' albatross shape. Begad! Begad! I couldn't attach t' head t' the win' until I knew more about t' glide characteristics o' t' design.

It was time t' trim t' glider. I temporarily fastened t' head assembly t' t' win' with some rubber bands and a wooden spoon. Avast, me proud beauty! Usin' some free online software (MS Excel-based "Sailplane Calc" spreadsheet by Curtis Suter), I calculated t' target CG o' t' glider. Ahoy! However, me hearties, this spreadsheet is made for gliders with fuselages and horizontal and vertical tail stabilizers. Mine was basically a flyin' win' with a bird head. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! For what it's worth, t' program said that t' neutral point was 11.9" back from leadin' win' edge, arrr, almost exactly at t' cantin' point (which is 16.1deg). Arrr! This be astonishingly far forward. Begad! I wasn't even sure it could be achieved.

Usin' me Dremel, me hearties, I hollowed out me gorgeous bird head, me bucko, carvin' a huge hole in it. Avast! Every bit of possible space be needed in this cavity. Into t' hole I put a quarter pound o' lead, ya bilge rat, then sealed t' hole with epoxy and wood filler. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Blimey! Then I glued t' head t' t' win' at t' position needed t' achieve t' correct CG.

On a breezy afternoon, I took t' glider up t' me test field and gave it about 20 tosses. Begad! Ahoy! I got a few decent glides but be worried about roll stability. I also needed t' induce circling. Back in t' basement, me hearties, arrr, I embedded a washer in one win' tip t' encourage turnin' then filled and smoothed over t' top o' this. Well, blow me down! Returnin' t' t' park, shiver me timbers, I tried some more test tosses, matey, and that's when disaster struck. Ahoy! On a bilge-suckin' toss, she crashed hard and be pretty much demolished. Begad! Begad! In disgust, I set t' debris aside.

Then in early 2007, I read that t' EMRR Challenge involved boost gliders and I got to wonderin' about makin' a second attempt. I took out t' carcass and started rebuilding. Begad! After makin' a new head and scavengin' other parts, I fiberglassed t' head, me bucko, me bucko, shoulders, etc. Ahoy! Blimey! with several layers o' 6oz glass. O' course, ya bilge rat, these parts are very curved with lots o' edges and corners, so t' fiberglassin' looked absolutely horrible with ragged loose threads, folds, and fabric edges everywhere. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! I set t' project aside again in frustration.

Then when t' warm weather o' sprin' came six weeks later, me bucko, I took it out, me hearties, arrr, slowly sanded it down, me bucko, inserted head weight again, matey, and made some real progress. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! This time, I kept t' test glides very limited. Nothin' be broken during testing, but I didn't have much confidence in t' glide. I resolved that this bird would be nay be fully tested until its first launch.

Thus, I went ahead and painted t' glider. It took a lot o' white t' cover t' massive wingspan. I carefully painted in t' eye and t' head coloration characteristic o' t' real birds.

Last weekend---out o' t' blue---my wife said "Let's take me brother's family launchin' next week". (Pretty good wife!) Well, I took this as a sign that I had t' finish t' Albatross.

I had been eyein' NCR's Oktoberfest as t' first launch o' t' Albatross, but I was reluctant t' embarrass myself with t' spectacular crash I believed was all but certain. Begad! T' launch it next weekend, I could destroy it with far fewer witnesses!

So, shiver me timbers, I smartly finished t' boost pod. Avast, me proud beauty! It was BT-70, 29mm, about 4 feet tall. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I put t' glider bracket on one side. Avast! Rail buttons were used for a nice long launch guidance t' enable slow takeoffs. Ahoy! Begad! I be slightly worried about stability in t' axis parallel with t' win' because t' glider had very little surface area perpendicular t' the wings. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! So I decided t' add a fin shaped like a fish. Begad! This made it look like t' albatross was carryin' t' fish in its claws. Aye aye! Arrr! Aside from that, me bucko, stability wasn't an issue at all because t' CG o' t' glider be so far forward (due t' the lead head) that I could make t' CG o' t' whole rocket anywhere I wanted by shiftin' t' vertical placement o' the mountin' bracket. It is set 4.5" from t' tail o' t' tube, me hearties, and I added 0.5oz o' nose weight t' be sure.

T' fish be painted silver and t' rest o' t' pod was black. Arrr! I didn't even have time t' clear coat t' boost pod. Ahoy! Aye aye! In fact, I be so rushed t' make t' launch date that when I tried t' insert t' motor t' night before takeoff, I discovered that I had forgotten t' put an engine block in t' motor tube and me motor retention brackets didn't work because t' single-use motor I chose be shaped differently than me 29mm RMS casing. Begad! With a quick epoxy job and some bending, both problems were easily fixed.

Flight and Recovery:
Because o' t' rush t' launch that weekend, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I couldn't order t' ideal motor online so I settled for a single-use 29mm F25-6 from a local store. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Bein' o' t' firm belief that t' Albatross would be good for only one flight, arrr, ya bilge rat, I was determined nay t' miss t' takeoff photo. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Well, I missed it anyway! Blimey! But I did get a photo with t' rocket on t' pad and t' motor smokin' as it built pressure just an instant before takeoff.

T' F25 be a nice choice in terms o' power. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! It yielded a fairly slow liftoff with modest altitude. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' glider separated perfectly, slightly before apogee. Begad! Blimey! As I had feared, me bucko, me bucko, t' 6-sec delay was way too long for t' boost pod. Begad! Blimey! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! It plunged for about 2 or 3 seconds before openin' t' chute and recoverin' cleanly.

T' me utter amazement, me hearties, t' glider soared easily through t' sky, me bucko, settlin' in t' a series o' broad, me hearties, lazy circles about 700 feet high. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Everybody started cheering. Blimey! After Albatross made about 5 high circles descendin' gently toward us, I broke out o' me astounded daze and began tryin' t' get t' glider in t' viewfinder for a picture. Well, blow me down! I just couldn't find it. Blimey! As I be trying, t' cheers turned t' gasps. I didn't really see t' last part, but me wife and brother-in-law tell me that about 75 feet off t' ground, me hearties, t' Albatross turned into a steep spiral and then into a straight nose dive. They say that she hit a crosswind. Begad! Apparently t' glider had only limited roll stability. Begad! Arrr! It got knocked too far sideways by t' crosswind and couldn't recover. Arrr! It plunged t' last 50 feet and lawndarted in t' prairie, arrr, buryin' the whole head. Well, blow me down!

Summary:
My feelings about this are funny. Ya scallywag! I be utterly convinced that t' glider wouldn't fly, so I was emotionally prepared for total destruction. Avast, me proud beauty! I was deeply satisfied with t' 10-month project anyway, me bucko, which challenged every aspect o' design and craftsmanship. But when t' Albatross actually flew and circled up high, I be amazed and thrilled. Blimey! What a fantastic feeling! Those brief moments changed me hopes, and when Albatross crashed I was completely heartbroken. Arrr! Well, arrr, blow me down!

Where does this leave me? Perhaps I'll rebuild for another attempt. Avast! I'm too crushed today t' decide so I'll think about it for a while. Aye aye! If I don't rebuild, me bucko, I have a new opportunity t' dream up and build some other excitin' giant glider project. Begad! For me, t' pursuit o' somethin' new is usually t' most fun so perhaps t' Albatross will have t' be only a memory now. Ahoy! We'll see.