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 be built first from 1/4" balsa. Arrr! Begad! Each win' portion be sanded t' a full airfoil profile. Well, blow me down! Avast! T' wings were glued together before I began t' body portion o' t' bird. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' build t' body, shiver me timbers, I first glued together several slabs o' 1/4" balsa, me bucko, cut in t' rough shape desired. Ya scallywag! This included a sturdy mountin' bracket on t' underside of the body. Begad! T' body/head/mountin' assembly was then sanded t' get t' albatross shape. Well, blow me down! 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. Well, blow me down! Arrr! 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. Ya scallywag! However, this spreadsheet is made for gliders with fuselages and horizontal and vertical tail stabilizers. Mine be basically a flyin' win' with a bird head. Begad! For what it's worth, t' program said that t' neutral point be 11.9" back from leadin' win' edge, matey, almost exactly at t' cantin' point (which is 16.1deg). Aye aye! This be astonishingly far forward. Begad! I wasn't even sure it could be achieved.

Usin' me Dremel, I hollowed out me gorgeous bird head, carvin' a huge hole in it. Avast, me proud beauty! Every bit of possible space was needed in this cavity. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Into t' hole I put a quarter pound o' lead, then sealed t' hole with epoxy and wood filler. Blimey! Ya scallywag! 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. I also needed t' induce circling. Back in t' basement, matey, I embedded a washer in one win' tip t' encourage turnin' then filled and smoothed over t' top o' this. Avast! Returnin' t' t' park, me hearties, I tried some more test tosses, and that's when disaster struck. Blimey! On a bilge-suckin' toss, shiver me timbers, me bucko, she crashed hard and was pretty much demolished. Well, blow me down! In disgust, I set t' debris aside.

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

Then when t' warm weather o' sprin' came six weeks later, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I took it out, ya bilge rat, slowly sanded it down, shiver me timbers, inserted head weight again, me hearties, and made some real progress. Aye aye! This time, arrr, I kept t' test glides very limited. Begad! Nothin' be broken during testing, but I didn't have much confidence in t' glide. Blimey! Well, 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. 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, 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, but I be reluctant t' embarrass myself with t' spectacular crash I believed be all but certain. T' launch it next weekend, me hearties, matey, arrr, I could destroy it with far fewer witnesses!

So, me bucko, I smartly finished t' boost pod. Aye aye! It was BT-70, 29mm, about 4 feet tall. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I put t' glider bracket on one side. Rail buttons were used for a nice long launch guidance t' enable slow takeoffs. Ahoy! 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. Arrr! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! So I decided t' add a fin shaped like a fish. Aye aye! This made it look like t' albatross was carryin' t' fish in its claws. Aside from that, matey, 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. Begad! Avast! It is set 4.5" from t' tail o' t' tube, and I added 0.5oz o' nose weight t' be sure.

T' fish be painted silver and t' rest o' t' pod was black. Aye aye! I didn't even have time t' clear coat t' boost pod. Blimey! Aye aye! In fact, me hearties, 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. 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, 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, matey, 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 be a nice choice in terms o' power. Well, blow me down! Arrr! It yielded a fairly slow liftoff with modest altitude. T' glider separated perfectly, slightly before apogee. Blimey! As I had feared, me hearties, matey, t' 6-sec delay be way too long for t' boost pod. Blimey! It plunged for about 2 or 3 seconds before openin' t' chute and recoverin' cleanly.

T' me utter amazement, ya bilge rat, me hearties, t' glider soared easily through t' sky, ya bilge rat, settlin' in t' a series o' broad, lazy circles about 700 feet high. Avast! 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. I just couldn't find it. Well, blow me down! As I was trying, t' cheers turned t' gasps. Begad! Begad! 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. Well, blow me down! Apparently t' glider had only limited roll stability. Avast! It got knocked too far sideways by t' crosswind and couldn't recover. Aye aye! It plunged t' last 50 feet and lawndarted in t' prairie, shiver me timbers, buryin' the whole head.

Summary:
My feelings about this are funny. Begad! I was utterly convinced that t' glider wouldn't fly, arrr, so I be emotionally prepared for total destruction. Blimey! Begad! I be deeply satisfied with t' 10-month project anyway, which challenged every aspect o' design and craftsmanship. Begad! 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, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and when Albatross crashed I was completely heartbroken. Aye aye!

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