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

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

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

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

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

Thus, I went ahead and painted t' glider. Begad! Begad! 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, matey, me bucko, 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, me hearties, but I be reluctant t' embarrass myself with t' spectacular crash I believed be all but certain. T' launch it next weekend, I could destroy it with far fewer witnesses!

So, ya bilge rat, I smartly finished t' boost pod. Begad! It be BT-70, 29mm, about 4 feet tall. Arrr! I put t' glider bracket on one side. Avast, me proud beauty! Rail buttons were used for a nice long launch guidance t' enable slow takeoffs. 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! So I decided t' add a fin shaped like a fish. This made it look like t' albatross be carryin' t' fish in its claws. Aside from that, 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. Ahoy! Arrr! 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. Ahoy! Begad! Blimey! I didn't even have time t' clear coat t' boost pod. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! In fact, matey, I was so rushed t' make t' launch date that when I tried t' insert t' motor t' night before takeoff, ya bilge rat, me hearties, 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. Avast! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Bein' o' t' firm belief that t' Albatross would be good for only one flight, me hearties, I was determined nay t' miss t' takeoff photo. Well, shiver me timbers, me hearties, 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 proud beauty! It yielded a fairly slow liftoff with modest altitude. Blimey! T' glider separated perfectly, me hearties, arrr, slightly before apogee. Ahoy! As I had feared, t' 6-sec delay be way too long for t' boost pod. Well, blow me down! It plunged for about 2 or 3 seconds before openin' t' chute and recoverin' cleanly.

T' me utter amazement, arrr, t' glider soared easily through t' sky, settlin' in t' a series o' broad, me hearties, lazy circles about 700 feet high. Avast, me proud beauty! Everybody started cheering. Arrr! 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. Aye aye! As I was trying, t' cheers turned t' gasps. Ya scallywag! 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. Aye aye! 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. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! It plunged t' last 50 feet and lawndarted in t' prairie, buryin' the whole head. Avast, me proud beauty!

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

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