Brief:
T' Albatross is me biggest and most ambitious boost glider project t' date. Well, blow me down! It took nearly 10 months t' complete. With a wingspan just shy o' 4 feet and weighin' exactly 1 pound, arrr, 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 be built first from 1/4" balsa. Avast! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Each win' portion be sanded t' a full airfoil profile. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' wings were glued together before I began t' body portion o' t' bird. T' build t' body, matey, I first glued together several slabs o' 1/4" balsa, ya bilge rat, me bucko, cut in t' rough shape desired. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! This included a sturdy mountin' bracket on t' underside of the body. Begad! T' body/head/mountin' assembly was then sanded t' get t' albatross shape. Blimey! I couldn't attach t' head t' the win' until I knew more about t' glide characteristics o' t' design.

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

Usin' me Dremel, I hollowed out me gorgeous bird head, matey, carvin' a huge hole in it. Begad! Every bit of possible space be needed in this cavity. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Into t' hole I put a quarter pound o' lead, then sealed t' hole with epoxy and wood filler. 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. I got a few decent glides but was worried about roll stability. I also needed t' induce circling. Avast, me proud beauty! Back in t' basement, me hearties, me hearties, I embedded a washer in one win' tip t' encourage turnin' then filled and smoothed over t' top o' this. Arrr! Returnin' t' t' park, I tried some more test tosses, and that's when disaster struck. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! On a bilge-suckin' toss, she crashed hard and be pretty much demolished. Ya scallywag! 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. Ahoy! After makin' a new head and scavengin' other parts, shiver me timbers, I fiberglassed t' head, arrr, ya bilge rat, me hearties, shoulders, etc. with several layers o' 6oz glass. O' course, these parts are very curved with lots o' edges and corners, ya bilge rat, so t' fiberglassin' looked absolutely horrible with ragged loose threads, me hearties, me bucko, folds, matey, and fabric edges everywhere. Ahoy! I set t' project aside again in frustration.

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

Thus, I went ahead and painted t' glider. Begad! Ahoy! It took a lot o' white t' cover t' massive wingspan. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, matey, but I was reluctant t' embarrass myself with t' spectacular crash I believed was all but certain. T' launch it next weekend, I could destroy it with far fewer witnesses!

So, matey, ya bilge rat, I smartly finished t' boost pod. Blimey! Ya scallywag! It was BT-70, arrr, 29mm, ya bilge rat, about 4 feet tall. I put t' glider bracket on one side. Avast! Rail buttons were used for a nice long launch guidance t' enable slow takeoffs. Avast! 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. Ahoy! Begad! So I decided t' add a fin shaped like a fish. Well, blow me down! This made it look like t' albatross was carryin' t' fish in its claws. Ya scallywag! Aside from that, ya bilge rat, me bucko, stability wasn't an issue at all because t' CG o' t' glider was 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. Begad! Aye aye! It is set 4.5" from t' tail o' t' tube, arrr, and I added 0.5oz o' nose weight t' be sure.

T' fish be painted silver and t' rest o' t' pod be black. Well, blow me down! Avast! I didn't even have time t' clear coat t' boost pod. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! In fact, shiver me timbers, I be so rushed t' make t' launch date that when I tried t' insert t' motor t' night before takeoff, shiver me timbers, me bucko, 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 was 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, I couldn't order t' ideal motor online so I settled for a single-use 29mm F25-6 from a local store. Well, blow me down! Bein' o' t' firm belief that t' Albatross would be good for only one flight, matey, I was determined nay t' miss t' takeoff photo. Well, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I missed it anyway! 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 was a nice choice in terms o' power. Begad! It yielded a fairly slow liftoff with modest altitude. Avast! Well, blow me down! T' glider separated perfectly, me bucko, slightly before apogee. Aye aye! As I had feared, matey, t' 6-sec delay was way too long for t' boost pod. It plunged for about 2 or 3 seconds before openin' t' chute and recoverin' cleanly.

T' me utter amazement, matey, t' glider soared easily through t' sky, shiver me timbers, me hearties, settlin' in t' a series o' broad, lazy circles about 700 feet high. Blimey! Everybody started cheering. 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. Begad! I just couldn't find it. Begad! As I be trying, me hearties, matey, t' cheers turned t' gasps. Begad! Arrr! I didn't really see t' last part, but me wife and brother-in-law tell me that about 75 feet off t' ground, t' Albatross turned into a steep spiral and then into a straight nose dive. They say that she hit a crosswind. Arrr! Apparently t' glider had only limited roll stability. Ya scallywag! It got knocked too far sideways by t' crosswind and couldn't recover. Begad! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! It plunged t' last 50 feet and lawndarted in t' prairie, buryin' the whole head. Avast! Arrr!

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

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