Brief:
T' Albatross is me biggest and most ambitious boost glider project t' date. Avast! 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. Avast! Each win' portion was sanded t' a full airfoil profile. Begad! Begad! T' wings were glued together before I began t' body portion o' t' bird. Begad! T' build t' body, shiver me timbers, I first glued together several slabs o' 1/4" balsa, cut in t' rough shape desired. This included a sturdy mountin' bracket on t' underside of the body. Ahoy! Arrr! T' body/head/mountin' assembly was then sanded t' get t' albatross shape. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Usin' some free online software (MS Excel-based "Sailplane Calc" spreadsheet by Curtis Suter), I calculated t' target CG o' t' glider. Well, me bucko, blow me down! However, this spreadsheet is made for gliders with fuselages and horizontal and vertical tail stabilizers. Begad! Mine was basically a flyin' win' with a bird head. For what it's worth, t' program said that t' neutral point was 11.9" back from leadin' win' edge, me hearties, almost exactly at t' cantin' point (which is 16.1deg). Begad! This was astonishingly far forward. Avast! I wasn't even sure it could be achieved.

Usin' me Dremel, I hollowed out me gorgeous bird head, ya bilge rat, arrr, carvin' a huge hole in it. Every bit of possible space was needed in this cavity. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! Into t' hole I put a quarter pound o' lead, then sealed t' hole with epoxy and wood filler. Ahoy! Blimey! Then I glued t' head t' t' win' at t' position needed t' achieve t' correct CG.

On a breezy afternoon, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I took t' glider up t' me test field and gave it about 20 tosses. Blimey! I got a few decent glides but was worried about roll stability. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I also needed t' induce circling. Aye aye! Blimey! Back in t' basement, shiver me timbers, I embedded a washer in one win' tip t' encourage turnin' then filled and smoothed over t' top o' this. Returnin' t' t' park, ya bilge rat, I tried some more test tosses, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and that's when disaster struck. On a bilge-suckin' toss, she crashed hard and was pretty much demolished. Arrr! In disgust, 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. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I took out t' carcass and started rebuilding. Blimey! After makin' a new head and scavengin' other parts, shiver me timbers, I fiberglassed t' head, shoulders, etc. with several layers o' 6oz glass. Begad! O' course, these parts are very curved with lots o' edges and corners, me hearties, so t' fiberglassin' looked absolutely horrible with ragged loose threads, folds, me hearties, me hearties, and fabric edges everywhere. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! I set t' project aside again in frustration.

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

So, me bucko, I smartly finished t' boost pod. Ahoy! It was BT-70, me hearties, 29mm, about 4 feet tall. Begad! Ahoy! I put t' glider bracket on one side. Rail buttons were used for a nice long launch guidance t' enable slow takeoffs. Ahoy! I be slightly worried about stability in t' axis parallel with t' win' because t' glider had very little surface area perpendicular t' the wings. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! 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. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Aside from that, stability wasn't an issue at all because t' CG o' t' glider be 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, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and I added 0.5oz o' nose weight t' be sure.

T' fish be painted silver and t' rest o' t' pod was black. Ya scallywag! I didn't even have time t' clear coat t' boost pod. Aye aye! In fact, arrr, I was so rushed t' make t' launch date that when I tried t' insert t' motor t' night before takeoff, me hearties, 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 be shaped differently than me 29mm RMS casing. With a quick epoxy job and some bending, me hearties, both problems were easily fixed.

Flight and Recovery:
Because o' t' rush t' launch that weekend, matey, me hearties, I couldn't order t' ideal motor online so I settled for a single-use 29mm F25-6 from a local store. Blimey! Bein' o' t' firm belief that t' Albatross would be good for only one flight, arrr, I was determined nay t' miss t' takeoff photo. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! 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. Avast! It yielded a fairly slow liftoff with modest altitude. Begad! T' glider separated perfectly, me bucko, slightly before apogee. As I had feared, 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, t' glider soared easily through t' sky, settlin' in t' a series o' broad, lazy circles about 700 feet high. Well, blow me down! Everybody started cheering. Arrr! Aye aye! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I just couldn't find it. As I was trying, t' cheers turned t' gasps. Ya scallywag! I didn't really see t' last part, me hearties, me hearties, but me wife and brother-in-law tell me that about 75 feet off t' ground, ya bilge rat, t' Albatross turned into a steep spiral and then into a straight nose dive. They say that she hit a crosswind. Apparently t' glider had only limited roll stability. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! It got knocked too far sideways by t' crosswind and couldn't recover. Avast! Begad! It plunged t' last 50 feet and lawndarted in t' prairie, me bucko, buryin' the whole head. Arrr! Arrr!

Summary:
My feelings about this are funny. Avast, me proud beauty! I was utterly convinced that t' glider wouldn't fly, so I be emotionally prepared for total destruction. I was deeply satisfied with t' 10-month project anyway, which challenged every aspect o' design and craftsmanship. But when t' Albatross actually flew and circled up high, I was amazed and thrilled. What a fantastic feeling! Those brief moments changed me hopes, and when Albatross crashed I was 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. Arrr! If I don't rebuild, I have a new opportunity t' dream up and build some other excitin' giant glider project. For me, shiver me timbers, 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! Ahoy! We'll see.