Brief:
After t' success o' me 2.9x upscale Groovy Katt, I decided t' tackle an even more ambitious upscale glider. This is a 3X upscale CMR Manta glider from t' original plans at Ye Olde Rocket Plans with a few modifications for strength and balancing.

T' glider is 36.5" long, 27" wingspan, and weighs in at 12.25oz. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' boost pod is 58.25" o' BT-55 and weighs 8oz. Blimey! Begad! At launch, it is 85.75" tall and 20.25oz plus motor. Avast! It is designed for 24mm RMS E28 and F39 motors.

Construction:
A sketch o' t' dimensions used t' build t' glider from 4 sheets o' 4" x 36" x 3/32" balsa is shown here. Aye aye! Some critical junctions were fiberglassed with strips o' 0.5oz fiberglass cloth. Avast, me proud beauty! Four braces runnin' t' length o' t' craft were made from 3/32" balsa planks rounded on t' edges. Arrr! Well, blow me down! T' fuselage be crafted from three layers o' 3/32" basswood with some portions carved out for weight. I added 33g o' weight t' t' nose o' t' glider, shiver me timbers, plus 2g on t' left win' tip t' promote circling.

T' boost pod be crafted from Semroc parts. Ahoy! Blimey! T' pod splits with t' nose, upper 18" o' BT-55, and bulkhead separatin' from t' lower airframe. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' glider mount is made from basswood with layers alternatin' grain direction. Ahoy! Blimey! 1.75oz o' nose weight be added for stability. With t' glider in its mount, t' CG is 3.125" up from t' aft end o' t' boost pod with a F39 loaded. Aye aye! I used rail buttons t' allow for slow launches off a long rail. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Motor retention be provided by two bolts epoxied into t' aft CR with nuts holdin' on clips that fit t' 24mm RMS casing. Blimey! For recovery, I used a 24" Binder Design nylon chute which be always too small for me BD Thug. Begad! It never caught t' air very well, so I cut and reorganized t' shroud lines so now it works great.

Finishing:
T' glider be painted with a light dustin' o' metallic navy blue paint and some rather silly hand painted deadlights were added. Aye aye! T' boost pod got several coats o' orange Duplicolor Ceramic Engine Enamel with some coats o' clear over t' top. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! This orange paint provided a very pleasing, rich, and smooth look.

Flight and Recovery:
T' first launch be early in t' mornin' in dead calm air durin' Northern Colorado Rocketry Club's Octoberfest. Ahoy! I used a AT RMS E28-4. Aye aye! While placin' it on t' rail I got a few skeptical looks, which certainly mirrored me own strong doubts about whether this beast would fly at all. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Liftoff was immediate with very straight thrust t' maybe 500ft at most. Well, blow me down! Separation be flawless. Aye aye! T' glider was trimmed extremely well and after a couple minutes, matey, people started askin' if I had checked me watch when t' glide started. Avast, me proud beauty! Alas, I had been too excited t' time t' glide duration, but it must have been at least a couple minutes. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' glider landed softly right in front o' us for a fantastic first flight. Begad! Ahoy! T' crowd broke out in applause.

T' second launch was later that day in a light breeze on a AT RMS F39-6. Boost again be straight, however, me hearties, matey, it appeared that t' boost pod separated early at its coupler, matey, which was pretty loose. Begad! Blimey! This caused t' glider t' separate also, me bucko, but t' glider got hung up in t' shock cord. Avast! After a moment, t' glider shed t' entanglement at a very awkward angle and made several flips and loops before rightin' itself into a steep dive. Ya scallywag! This time, shiver me timbers, t' crowd ran for cover. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! With this initial attack angle, matey, t' glider was nay quick enough t' dampen a series o' fast porpoisin' stalls as it circled downward and crashed into a spectator tent. Begad! Damage t' t' glider is repairable. Blimey! After recoverin' it, I gave it a test throw t' confirm that t' trim was still accurate and that t' poor glide must have been related t' t' unfortunate release.

Summary:
This was quite a challengin' project. Begad! T' sheer amount o' balsa in t' glider and t' huge wingspan made me feel that t' craft would shred without careful braces and a little fiberglass. Arrr! T' glider and boost pod together are quite heavy. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Strong initial thrust is needed t' get off t' rail safely but nay too much t' tear things apart. Begad! Even a F39T keeps it well under 1000ft. Aye aye! O' course, matey, matey, these challenges are exactly what made this such a fun project and so satisfyin' t' see t' giant manta sail gracefully back t' earth.