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, 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. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Each win' portion be sanded t' a full airfoil profile. Avast! Begad! T' wings were glued together before I began t' body portion o' t' bird. Ya scallywag! T' build t' body, me bucko, shiver me timbers, I first glued together several slabs o' 1/4" balsa, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, cut in t' rough shape desired. This included a sturdy mountin' bracket on t' underside of the body. T' body/head/mountin' assembly was then sanded t' get t' albatross shape. Aye aye! 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. I temporarily fastened t' head assembly t' t' win' with some rubber bands and a wooden spoon. Begad! 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. Aye aye! For what it's worth, matey, me hearties, 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). This be astonishingly far forward. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! I wasn't even sure it could be achieved.

Usin' me Dremel, ya bilge rat, I hollowed out me gorgeous bird head, carvin' a huge hole in it. Every bit of possible space was needed in this cavity. Blimey! Well, blow me down! Into t' hole I put a quarter pound o' lead, me hearties, matey, then sealed t' hole with epoxy and wood filler. Avast! 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, ya bilge rat, arrr, I took t' glider up t' me test field and gave it about 20 tosses. Blimey! Blimey! I got a few decent glides but was worried about roll stability. Avast! Blimey! I also needed t' induce circling. Arrr! Back in t' basement, ya bilge rat, I embedded a washer in one win' tip t' encourage turnin' then filled and smoothed over t' top o' this. Begad! Returnin' t' t' park, I tried some more test tosses, and that's when disaster struck. On a bilge-suckin' toss, shiver me timbers, she crashed hard and be pretty much demolished. Ya scallywag! In disgust, shiver me timbers, 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. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I took out t' carcass and started rebuilding. After makin' a new head and scavengin' other parts, matey, I fiberglassed t' head, me bucko, shoulders, etc. Blimey! Blimey! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! with several layers o' 6oz glass. O' course, me bucko, these parts are very curved with lots o' edges and corners, so t' fiberglassin' looked absolutely horrible with ragged loose threads, folds, and fabric edges everywhere. I set t' project aside again in frustration.

Then when t' warm weather o' sprin' came six weeks later, me hearties, I took it out, shiver me timbers, slowly sanded it down, shiver me timbers, inserted head weight again, and made some real progress. This time, I kept t' test glides very limited. Nothin' was broken during testing, but I didn't have much confidence in t' glide. Avast, arrr, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! It took a lot o' white t' cover t' massive wingspan. Begad! 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, arrr, 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, shiver me timbers, but I be 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, arrr, I smartly finished t' boost pod. Blimey! It be BT-70, 29mm, ya bilge rat, about 4 feet tall. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! I put t' glider bracket on one side. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! Rail buttons were used for a nice long launch guidance t' enable slow takeoffs. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! 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. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! So I decided t' add a fin shaped like a fish. This made it look like t' albatross was carryin' t' fish in its claws. Blimey! 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. 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 be black. Aye aye! 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, 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. Blimey! 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. Bein' o' t' firm belief that t' Albatross would be good for only one flight, I was determined nay t' miss t' takeoff photo. Ahoy! 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 was a nice choice in terms o' power. It yielded a fairly slow liftoff with modest altitude. T' glider separated perfectly, ya bilge rat, slightly before apogee. Begad! As I had feared, ya bilge rat, t' 6-sec delay was 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, me hearties, t' glider soared easily through t' sky, arrr, settlin' in t' a series o' broad, lazy circles about 700 feet high. 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. Well, blow me down! I just couldn't find it. As I be trying, t' cheers turned t' gasps. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! I didn't really see t' last part, arrr, shiver me timbers, arrr, 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. Well, blow me down! Apparently t' glider had only limited roll stability. Ahoy! It got knocked too far sideways by t' crosswind and couldn't recover. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey! It plunged t' last 50 feet and lawndarted in t' prairie, me hearties, buryin' the whole head. Arrr!

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

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