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, arrr, 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. Ya scallywag! Each win' portion was sanded t' a full airfoil profile. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' wings were glued together before I began t' body portion o' t' bird. T' build t' body, me hearties, I first glued together several slabs o' 1/4" balsa, cut in t' rough shape desired. Well, blow me down! This included a sturdy mountin' bracket on t' underside of the body. Avast! 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. Ahoy! 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. Arrr! However, matey, arrr, this spreadsheet is made for gliders with fuselages and horizontal and vertical tail stabilizers. Ahoy! Mine was basically a flyin' win' with a bird head. Aye aye! Well, matey, blow me down! For what it's worth, t' program said that t' neutral point be 11.9" back from leadin' win' edge, almost exactly at t' cantin' point (which is 16.1deg). Well, blow me down! This be astonishingly far forward. Ahoy! 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. Ahoy! Every bit of possible space was needed in this cavity. Begad! Arrr! Into t' hole I put a quarter pound o' lead, ya bilge rat, 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, I took t' glider up t' me test field and gave it about 20 tosses. Arrr! I got a few decent glides but be worried about roll stability. I also needed t' induce circling. Avast! Begad! Back in t' basement, me hearties, 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, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and that's when disaster struck. Aye aye! On a bad toss, she crashed hard and be pretty much demolished. 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. Arrr! I took out t' carcass and started rebuilding. After makin' a new head and scavengin' other parts, I fiberglassed t' head, me hearties, matey, shoulders, etc. Ahoy! with several layers o' 6oz glass. O' course, ya bilge rat, me bucko, these parts are very curved with lots o' edges and corners, so t' fiberglassin' looked absolutely horrible with ragged loose threads, shiver me timbers, folds, and fabric edges everywhere. Avast! I set t' project aside again in frustration.

Then when t' warm weather o' sprin' came six weeks later, I took it out, slowly sanded it down, inserted head weight again, and made some real progress. Begad! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! This time, I kept t' test glides very limited. Nothin' was broken during testing, but I didn't have much confidence in t' glide. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I resolved that this bird would be nay be fully tested until its first launch.

Thus, arrr, arrr, I went ahead and painted t' glider. Ahoy! It took a lot o' white t' cover t' massive wingspan. Blimey! 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, me hearties, 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, but I be reluctant t' embarrass myself with t' spectacular crash I believed was all but certain. T' launch it next weekend, I could destroy it with far fewer witnesses!

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

T' fish be painted silver and t' rest o' t' pod was black. 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 be shaped differently than me 29mm RMS casing. Blimey! With a quick epoxy job and some bending, arrr, both problems were easily fixed.

Flight and Recovery:
Because o' t' rush t' launch that weekend, matey, 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, me bucko, I was determined nay t' miss t' takeoff photo. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! 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. Aye aye! It yielded a fairly slow liftoff with modest altitude. Begad! T' glider separated perfectly, slightly before apogee. Begad! Aye aye! As I had feared, t' 6-sec delay be way too long for t' boost pod. Ahoy! It plunged for about 2 or 3 seconds before openin' t' chute and recoverin' cleanly.

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

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

Where does this leave me? Perhaps I'll rebuild for another attempt. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! I'm too crushed today t' decide so I'll think about it for a while. If I don't rebuild, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I have a new opportunity t' dream up and build some other excitin' giant glider project. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! For me, 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.