Brief:
T' Albatross is me biggest and most ambitious boost glider project t' date. It took nearly 10 months t' complete. With a wingspan just shy o' 4 feet and weighin' exactly 1 pound, ya bilge rat, 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. Ahoy! Blimey! Each win' portion be sanded t' a full airfoil profile. Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' wings were glued together before I began t' body portion o' t' bird. Avast! Begad! Blimey! T' build t' body, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I first glued together several slabs o' 1/4" balsa, arrr, ya bilge rat, cut in t' rough shape desired. This included a sturdy mountin' bracket on t' underside of the body. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' body/head/mountin' assembly be then sanded t' get t' albatross shape. Aye aye! Blimey! 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. Ya scallywag! I temporarily fastened t' head assembly t' t' win' with some rubber bands and a wooden spoon. Ahoy! Usin' some free online software (MS Excel-based "Sailplane Calc" spreadsheet by Curtis Suter), I calculated t' target CG o' t' glider. Arrr! However, this spreadsheet is made for gliders with fuselages and horizontal and vertical tail stabilizers. Well, blow me down! Mine be basically a flyin' win' with a bird head. Ahoy! Avast! For what it's worth, t' program said that t' neutral point was 11.9" back from leadin' win' edge, shiver me timbers, matey, almost exactly at t' cantin' point (which is 16.1deg). Begad! This was astonishingly far forward. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I wasn't even sure it could be achieved.

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

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

Thus, I went ahead and painted t' glider. Avast! Blimey! It took a lot o' white t' cover t' massive wingspan. Aye aye! 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, me hearties, ya bilge rat, 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, ya bilge rat, but I was reluctant t' embarrass myself with t' spectacular crash I believed be all but certain. Aye aye! T' launch it next weekend, I could destroy it with far fewer witnesses!

So, I smartly finished t' boost pod. Begad! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! It be BT-70, 29mm, ya bilge rat, about 4 feet tall. I put t' glider bracket on one side. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Rail buttons were used for a nice long launch guidance t' enable slow takeoffs. Begad! I was slightly worried about stability in t' axis parallel with t' win' because t' glider had very little surface area perpendicular t' the wings. Ya scallywag! Arrr! So I decided t' add a fin shaped like a fish. Avast, me proud beauty! This made it look like t' albatross was carryin' t' fish in its claws. Begad! Aside from that, ya bilge rat, 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. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! It is set 4.5" from t' tail o' t' tube, and I added 0.5oz o' nose weight t' be sure.

T' fish was painted silver and t' rest o' t' pod was black. Blimey! I didn't even have time t' clear coat t' boost pod. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! In fact, ya bilge rat, 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 was shaped differently than me 29mm RMS casing. 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, I couldn't order t' ideal motor online so I settled for a single-use 29mm F25-6 from a local store. Begad! Bein' o' t' firm belief that t' Albatross would be good for only one flight, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I was determined nay t' miss t' takeoff photo. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, shiver me timbers, 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 was a nice choice in terms o' power. It yielded a fairly slow liftoff with modest altitude. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' glider separated perfectly, ya bilge rat, slightly before apogee. As I had feared, arrr, t' 6-sec delay be way too long for t' boost pod. Avast! 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, me hearties, settlin' in t' a series o' broad, ya bilge rat, lazy circles about 700 feet high. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Blimey! I just couldn't find it. Avast! As I was trying, arrr, 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, matey, t' Albatross turned into a steep spiral and then into a straight nose dive. They say that she hit a crosswind. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Apparently t' glider had only limited roll stability. Well, blow me down! It got knocked too far sideways by t' crosswind and couldn't recover. Ya scallywag! Arrr! It plunged t' last 50 feet and lawndarted in t' prairie, shiver me timbers, buryin' the whole head. Aye aye!

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

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. Begad! If I don't rebuild, ya bilge rat, 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. Ahoy! We'll see.