On Wednesday, May 22, 2013 12:14:27 AM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
On Tuesday, May 21, 2013 10:29:39 PM UTC-7, wrote:

I would never make any derogatory remarks about motorgliders… or motorglider pilots. Someday I may be so old that I no longer enjoy the intense thrill, excitement and adventure of flying a pure sailplane cross-country.



Mike Koerner



Same here. No disrespect whatsoever. On the contrary, some of my best buddies are flying motorgliders and are also better pilots, as they fly further AND rarely use the engine to make it back. you know who you are I am hoping someday to switch to a motorglider myself. But when I'll do, I will push the envelope further than I do now, thanks to he extra security. And yes, I certainly do fly in the high desert of the west. And yet, I can only recall one time in the last 10 years that a motorglider buddy of mine needed a ground retrieve (which I provided btw), while I cant count how many times myself or my non motorglider buddies needed ground retrieve. So I don't buy this "motorglider does not get you very far" claim. Not even in the high desert. True, it wouldn't get me the whole way back from where I go sometimes, but one rarely lands out so far from home anyway, just doesn't always make it all the way home. And none of my cross country buddies start their engine at 1500 feet AGL, unless it is obviously hopeless. So there is obvious pros and cons. You give up some of the intense thrill and adventure of flying pure sailplane cross country, for the convenient and less stress of flying even further or to places you otherwise wouldn't reach with a pure sailplane. And last, the main reason why my motorglider buddies still need to do ground retrieves every now and then, is to retrieve me...



Ramy

I look forward to the day (nay, season) that you actually fly a motorglider so that you will be qualified to speak about them. Until then, you are simply SPECULATING (talk is ALWAYS cheap!). MG pilots don't land out much because they fly them with the same philosophy as non-MG pilots.

At the higher altitudes of the high desert the effective retrieve distance drops dramatically (I leave it as an excersise to the student to figure out why), making self retrieves problematic. You can get yourself out of a localized problem and get you to another thermal. But if there are no other thermals to be found, good luck!

The BEST advice I can give to prospective MG pilots is to fly it as you would a pure glider. Then you won't be disappointed. If you want to push the envelope, fine - just don't expect to make it back!

Tom