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The Bowlus BA-100 Baby Albatross glider was designed by sailplane designer Hawley Bowlus. (Mr. Bowlus earlier worked as a plant manager at Ryan Airlines in San Diego, and supervised construction of Charles Lindbergh's Ryan NYP, The Spirit of St. Louis.) Designed to be a more affordable and easier to assemble glider than his previous designs, the Baby Albatross was sold fully constructed by the factory or in pre-fabricated kits. In the pre-fabricated kits, the parts of the aircraft were 85% completed by the factory and were divided into 10 separately purchased sub-kits, a popular method of sale that allowed homebuilders to purchase sub-kits as time and money allowed. Total cost was $385; plans for a carrying trailer could be purchased for an additional $5. A complete, factory-finished Baby Albatross sold for $800. As many as 176 kits were delivered, with production ending at the outbreak of World War II. Only about 50 of the gliders were believed to have been completed.
The Baby Albatross was a strut-braced, high-wing monoplane, primarily constructed of wood with canvas-covered wing and tail surfaces. The pilot sat in a "pod" made of three-ply wood veneer. Tail surfaces were attached to the wing via a boom made of duralumin.
The Museum's BA-100, constructed in 1940, quietly soared Northwest skies for many years. It was one of three prototypes assembled in the Bowlus shop, originally owned by Harold Huber, a Bowlus worker. Ray Lungar owned and operated the Baby in the late 1940s. In 1949, the left wing was damaged in a ground loop accident. It was eventually repaired in 1952 in Vancouver, B.C. and acquired by Peter M. Bowers in 1953. Mr. Bowers flew the glider until 1967, when it was retired. The Museum obtained the glider from Mr. Bowers in 1980. It is currently on display at the Museum's Restoration Center at Paine Field.
The Bowlus BA-100 Baby Albatross glider was designed by sailplane designer Hawley Bowlus. (Mr. Bowlus earlier worked as a plant manager at Ryan Airlines in San Diego, and supervised construction of Charles Lindbergh's Ryan NYP, The Spirit of St. Louis.) Designed to be a more affordable and easier to assemble glider than his previous designs, the Baby Albatross was sold fully constructed by the factory or in pre-fabricated kits. In the pre-fabricated kits, the parts of the aircraft were 85% completed by the factory and were divided into 10 separately purchased sub-kits, a popular method of sale that allowed homebuilders to purchase sub-kits as time and money allowed. Total cost was $385; plans for a carrying trailer could be purchased for an additional $5. A complete, factory-finished Baby Albatross sold for $800. As many as 176 kits were delivered, with production ending at the outbreak of World War II. Only about 50 of the gliders were believed to have been completed.
The Baby Albatross was a strut-braced, high-wing monoplane, primarily constructed of wood with canvas-covered wing and tail surfaces. The pilot sat in a "pod" made of three-ply wood veneer. Tail surfaces were attached to the wing via a boom made of duralumin.
The Museum's BA-100, constructed in 1940, quietly soared Northwest skies for many years. It was one of three prototypes assembled in the Bowlus shop, originally owned by Harold Huber, a Bowlus worker. Ray Lungar owned and operated the Baby in the late 1940s. In 1949, the left wing was damaged in a ground loop accident. It was eventually repaired in 1952 in Vancouver, B.C. and acquired by Peter M. Bowers in 1953. Mr. Bowers flew the glider until 1967, when it was retired. The Museum obtained the glider from Mr. Bowers in 1980. It is currently on display at the Museum's Restoration Center at Paine Field.
