On Oct 27, 8:37*pm, Eric Greenwell wrote:
...Without the motor, I'd land out about
10 times a year, so guessing at $100 average for tow and trailer
retrieves = $1000.

You are a braver man than I am Eric. I've landed out once since 2003
and that was an airport - but without a motor I probably fly
differently when things get dodgy. I don't have a soaring operation
close to home - but the air is generally stable around the SF Bay so
I'd have relocate by ground or air either way. As you said -
everyone's mileage varies.

Aside from the absolute capital cost my main issue is I just don't
want to do all the additional fiddling and troubleshooting that a
motor demands - at least not while my free time is in short supply. I
used to work with my Dad on his Nimbus 3DM and we had more mechanical
gremlins ground us for days on end than I'd care to recall. Maybe
after a few seasons it all sorts itself out but I see lots of guys at
the airport heads down in the engine bay.

Do you think motorgliders are owned disproportionately by pilots who
are fully or semi-retired? That is my casual observation, but I don't
know if it's true in general. If true it could be simply that that's
where the money is or it could be that's when the extra time comes
available.

9B