Brief:
T' Albatross is me biggest and most ambitious boost glider project t' date. Avast, me proud beauty! 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 be built first from 1/4" balsa. Ya scallywag! Each win' portion was sanded t' a full airfoil profile. Ya scallywag! T' wings were glued together before I began t' body portion o' t' bird. Avast! Avast! T' build t' body, arrr, I first glued together several slabs o' 1/4" balsa, shiver me timbers, cut in t' rough shape desired. Aye aye! This included a sturdy mountin' bracket on t' underside of the body. Ya scallywag! T' body/head/mountin' assembly was then sanded t' get t' albatross shape. Avast! 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. Blimey! Blimey! 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. However, ya bilge rat, this spreadsheet is made for gliders with fuselages and horizontal and vertical tail stabilizers. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Blimey! Mine was basically a flyin' win' with a bird head. Well, blow me down! Blimey! For what it's worth, me bucko, 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). Ya scallywag! Blimey! This was astonishingly far forward. I wasn't even sure it could be achieved.

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

On a breezy afternoon, me hearties, arrr, 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. Avast! Blimey! I also needed t' induce circling. Arrr! Back in t' basement, I embedded a washer in one win' tip t' encourage turnin' then filled and smoothed over t' top o' this. Begad! Blimey! Returnin' t' t' park, I tried some more test tosses, matey, and that's when disaster struck. Begad! On a bad toss, me hearties, ya bilge rat, she crashed hard and be pretty much demolished. Begad! Begad! Blimey! In disgust, arrr, me bucko, I set t' debris aside.

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

Then when t' warm weather o' sprin' came six weeks later, I took it out, matey, slowly sanded it down, inserted head weight again, and made some real progress. Avast! This time, I kept t' test glides very limited. Aye aye! Begad! Nothin' was broken during testing, ya bilge rat, 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, arrr, I went ahead and painted t' glider. Avast! It took a lot o' white t' cover t' massive wingspan. Arrr! 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, shiver me timbers, 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, arrr, 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, ya bilge rat, I smartly finished t' boost pod. It was BT-70, 29mm, ya bilge rat, about 4 feet tall. Ya scallywag! I put t' glider bracket on one side. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Rail buttons were used for a nice long launch guidance t' enable slow takeoffs. Avast! 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. So I decided t' add a fin shaped like a fish. Arrr! This made it look like t' albatross was carryin' t' fish in its claws. Avast! Begad! Aside from that, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! It is set 4.5" from t' tail o' t' tube, matey, and I added 0.5oz o' nose weight t' be sure.

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

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

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

Where does this leave me? Perhaps I'll rebuild for another attempt. Ahoy! I'm too crushed today t' decide so I'll think about it for a while. Blimey! If I don't rebuild, shiver me timbers, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! We'll see.