Brief:
T' Flamingo rose from t' ashes o' t' Albatross, which was me huge boost glider built as part o' EMRR Challenge 2007 and be destroyed near t' end o' its first flight when it glided into a freak crosswind gust. Avast! After that setback, matey, matey, I decided t' return t' a much more stable glider design with a superior glide ratio aided by a canard and a "smaller" two-foot wingspan.

T' glider is 6 3/8oz, me hearties, me hearties, 30.5in tall includin' t' sweep, ya bilge rat, with 22.5in wingspan. Begad! Arrr! T' boost pod is 43in tall, me hearties, me hearties, based on BT-60 tubing. Arrr! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! It weighs about 12 oz. This is a 24mm design for E28 motors or better.

Construction:
I built t' entire glider first. Avast, me proud beauty! T' body o' t' glider is 1/8in basswood with a layer o' 6oz S-weave fiberglass on each side. T' wings and win' tips were cut from t' 3/8in balsa remains o' t' Albatross wings. Arrr! These were sanded thinner for reduced weight and given a better airfoil.

T' glider is designed t' be mounted so that t' attack angle t' main wings is zero (i.e., t' win' surface is parallel t' t' booster body tube). For this t' work: A) t' attack angle o' t' canard will nay be zero, and B) the glider must be positioned on t' pod so that it is exactly at t' CG o' t' glider/pod unit. Well, blow me down! T' second requirement is needed so that t' canard's non-zero angle o' attack won't send t' rocket into an arcin' boost. Aye aye! Arrr! Both t' canard and win' are slid in t' angled slots cut in t' glider fuselage.

T' shape o' t' fuselage has an unusual curve. Arrr! Nay only does this help with t' canard and win' alignment, but it also enables t' win' t' hang more directly under t' rocket while providin' sufficient space so t' glider win' and body are nay burned by t' engine blast. Avast, me proud beauty! It is also this curvin' fuselage that allows both t' win' and canard t' be feathered into t' fuselage at an angle, me bucko, givin' it a smooth, futuristic look.

T' ideal CG o' t' glider is slightly in front o' t' aft wing. Avast! I achieved this by carvin' some holes in the canard and epoxyin' in some washers. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Then this area be filled with putty and sanded smooth. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Unfortunately, me bucko, t' epoxy added too much weight, so I had t' dig out t' washers and re-fill with just epoxy and putty. Arrr! It seems I need a better way t' pre-estimate t' epoxy weight.

T' trimmin' was quite successful though. On me first toss, shiver me timbers, it went so far it almost hit t' backyard fence so I took it up t' t' local school and easily got 50 or 60 yards o' glide from a hill that couldn't be much more than about 10 feet tall.

T' mountin' system for t' glider uses t' pin and notch strategy. Blimey! Well, blow me down! T' pin was formed from a bolt with t' head ground off. Ya scallywag! Arrr! T' pin is set into t' mountin' bracket and fits a notch cut in t' glider fuselage. T' mountin' bracket was three layers o' 1/8in basswood with t' middle layer fiberglassed on both sides t' match t' thickness o' the glider fuselage. Ahoy! After assembly, me bucko, I feared that t' mountin' bracket be quite heavy, shiver me timbers, matey, so I drilled five holes o' varying diameters t' reduce weight. Ahoy! It looks pretty cool, too.

T' boost pod body tube was constructed from t' boost pod that used t' serve me upscale Groovy Katt glider. Avast, me proud beauty! I stripped off t' old mountin' bracket and gave t' whole thin' a nice new coat o' Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish and primer. Well, blow me down! Begad! Two fins, arrr, each at 135 degrees off from t' mountin' bracket, arrr, were added for even better boost stability. Begad! These fins were shaped t' mimic half the canard.

Finishing:
My daughter had a lot o' influence on t' paint colors and glider name. Well, blow me down! T' boost pod is Duplicolor Ceramic Enamel Grabber Green. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' glider is Rustoleum Painter's Touch Watermelon. Well, blow me down! Avast! Wal-Mart Clear went over t' top o' everything.

Flight ad Recovery:
First flight was on day 1 o' NCR's Oktoberfest 2007. Begad! Aye aye! I used t' ideal motor: E28-4. Boost was swift and straight with only slight arcing. Unfortunately, ya bilge rat, matey, t' chute never made it entirely out o' t' tube, snaggin' just inside t' lip. Thus, t' glider never separated and t' whole assembly came down ballistic as one unit. Ya scallywag! Amazingly, t' glider simply separated when t' pod nose hit and lawn darted separately into t' prairie mud. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! I yanked it out t' find it totally unblemished!

I took it home that night and wiped t' mud off. Ahoy! T' repair t' boost pod, me bucko, I cut off t' top two inches patched a couple o' tube dimples. Ahoy! Ahoy! T' whole thin' was ready t' fly again on day 2 o' Oktoberfest. Avast! That morning, however, matey, matey, I discovered that shortenin' t' boost pod had removed t' old Estes-style shock cord mount so during breakfast I hastily epoxied in another before headin' out t' t' prairie. Ya scallywag! This repair proved t' be too hasty as it pulled loose at ejection after a great boost on another E28-4. Begad! T' nose floated down gently on t' 27in nylon chute (with 4 in spill hole) while t' pod plummeted. Avast, me proud beauty! Luckily t' pod again suffered only a few more dimples which have already been repaired.

However, this shock cord failure occurred after ejection, which meant that t' glider got way up high and separated successfully. Blimey! Fantastic! T' flamingo enjoyed a nice lazy flight over t' prairie and t' NCR Oktoberfest audience before settlin' in for a smooth, arrr, me bucko, gentle landing. Aye aye! I'm lookin' forward t' t' next flight, ya bilge rat, arrr, hopefully completely glitch-free.